Over time, some designs and layouts of older homes have fallen into disuse. 'oversight.
By dint of wanting to innovate, the architects of modern houses have abandoned these old designs.
Yet these designs were particularly ingenious .
It's high time to rediscover these elegant layouts and practices , which can help you save time and money — that, our elders understood it well :-)
Here are the 15 design ideas for our grandparents' houses that we should never have given up:
The farm door, also known in some regions as the door-broken, is composed of 2 leaves on the height. Each sash can be opened independently or joined together to form a single sash. So you can open the upper leaf to prevent animals from entering in your home.
Making your own farm gate is not that complicated. Using a saw, cut any type of door in half. Then attach each door half to the jamb, using 2 hinges for each half. Attach a simple bolt to join the two leaves together, forming a single solid leaf.
Veranda bedrooms became popular in the 20th century, when medical professionals advocated the benefits of fresh air on the immune system.
This type of veranda was particularly common in regions with a temperate climate, where it is good to sleep in the open air . To sleep well during periods of extreme heat, consider transforming your terrace, balcony or veranda into a bedroom-veranda.
To discover: 21 Tips for Surviving Hot Summer Nights WITHOUT Air Conditioning.
A transom is the glazed part that surmounts the doors of old houses, particularly houses from the end of the 19th century.
Before the advent of electricity, the transom allowed natural light to illuminate the entrance and the interior rooms of the apartments. Some transoms are opening. You can thus ventilate your home, even when the door is closed. Very practical to keep your privacy without suffocating in the bedroom!
Today, this system is just as effective. So why not install one above your door? Plus, they're crafted from timelessly beautiful colored glass.
Do you have a multi-story house and need to climb 2 floors to get from the laundry room to your bedroom? So, it's time for you to rediscover another intelligent arrangement old houses:the laundry descent.
To build a laundry descent in your home, weld metal plates together to create a dirty clothes slide, towards your laundry room. You can also use PVC pipes of large diameter to create a tube that leads directly to the laundry room.
A laundry descent is a practical tip to make your life easier for everyday household chores.
In the days when horse-drawn carriages criss-crossed unpaved streets, wrought iron scrapers were affixed to the entrances of all buildings. Thus, people could scratch their soles before entering the building in question.
Nowadays, all the roads are paved and the hooves of horses have been replaced by car tires. In fact, the scraper has fallen into oblivion.
But, as its name suggests, the scraper is very practical for scraping your shoes and your boots. Moreover, you can still find traditional models of cast iron scrapers (they are sealed in the masonry of your porch). There are also modern scrapers in wood, rubber or plastic, which are equipped with brushes to easily scrape your boots from all angles. Very practical to avoid dirtying the inside of the house, right?
In the 1970s, it was common to install intercoms in the main rooms of large houses. It's a convenient way to communicate with the whole family (even if you don't have 6 children and a cleaning lady at home!).
An intercom system consists of a base and several remote modules, which are distributed throughout the house. Newer models can even stream music throughout your home. And if you don't want to make electrical connections, you can try a wireless intercom system like this.
Otherwise, you can also choose landline cordless telephones with an integrated intercom function.
The old buildings of the 18th and 19th century had particularly thick walls (this is because they were built of brick). In fact, the window openings of this type of building are deep enough to be equipped with folding interior shutters .
It is high time to rediscover this old equipment, because interior shutters have several practical advantages. Indeed, the shutters protect your privacy and are effective in regulating the temperature of your accommodation.
In the days when telephones were heavy and unwieldy, houses were equipped with special niches , designed to accommodate these bulky devices.
Certainly, it is because of their size that a dedicated alcove for the telephone was necessary. But on closer inspection, having a space in your home dedicated to the telephone is a great idea, even nowadays.
Indeed, if you're like me, you waste 5 minutes looking for your phone in the whole house every when you are about to leave the house! :-)
Very popular in the 19th century, dumbwaiters were very useful for raising and lowering any load (laundry, meals, etc.) from one floor to another. They are still used today, but mostly in restaurants and schools.
However, you can very well install a dumbwaiter in a modern multi-storey house. And besides, thanks to modern technologies (electric motors, automatic control systems, etc.), dumbwaiters are even more efficient than older models.
There was a time when almost every front door had a mail slot. We can still imagine the postman, with his leather satchel, doing his rounds and swiping letters in every mail entry :-)
But today, La Poste is struggling to compete with modern technologies. More and more people pay their bills online and send emails instead of letters.
Morality, the mail entries are not as common as before, despite their elegant and security that they brought. Why not add a little panache and utility to your door? Equip it with a mail entry like this. This will save you from going outside to get the mail and no one will be able to steal it from you.
Popular in the residences of the bourgeoisie and haute bourgeois of the 19th century, rosettes embellished the ceiling and gives it an architectural quality. Typically, rosettes are placed just above a chandelier, to highlight its delicate designs.
Traditionally, ceiling roses are made from light materials, such as plaster or papier-mâché, but also from heavy materials, such as iron or marble. Nowadays, you can decorate your ceiling with a polystyrene, plastic, light wood or even stucco rosette like this one.
To discover: The trick to drilling a hole in the ceiling WITHOUT the dust falling on you.
If you live in an area where the ground freezes in winter, join the eco-friendly movement too and build a cellar in your backyard.
To build a cellar, you basically just have to dig a hole a little over 2 meters deep, consolidate the hole with solid walls and a ceiling and cover everything with soil.
Result:your cellar is the ideal place to perfectly preserve your winter vegetables in large quantities (potatoes, squash, cabbage, etc.).
To discover: 20 Brilliant Tricks To Preserve Your Food For Longer.
Not only are these tubs beautiful, but they are more comfortable than modern tubs. Indeed, clawfoot tubs are deeper and allow you to totally immerse your body when you take a bath.
So if you have enough space in your bathroom, consider adding that touch of luxury in your life. Or, be totally original and install one in your garden or on your terrace. That way, you can take a bath under the stars in summer!
Clawfoot tubs are easily purchased second-hand. They are easily found in recovery centers and on online ad sites like leboncoin.
With a little elbow grease (and maybe a little porcelain paint), it will look like new or rather like old :-)
To discover: 5 Upcycled Ideas For an Original Bathroom Decor.
These fireplaces, invented by Count Rumford, were common in the early 18th century. They are characterized by their narrow hearth with splays at pronounced angles, to reflect the heat more .
With the cost of fuel oil constantly rising, these fireplace designs have become popular again. Indeed, their ingenious design can really help you save money on the heating of your home.
To discover: 32 Surprising Uses of Wood Ash:Don't Miss #28!
Picture rails, also called picture rails, are wooden moldings positioned near the ceiling to suspend pictures and executives. Indeed, in the 19th century, the walls were covered with plaster, a material that crumbles too easily when you try to drive a nail into it.
Today, picture rails are a practical accessory and visually appealing to hang your paintings or photos.
A few tips:consider aligning your picture rail with the top of the room's window frames. Try painting it the same color as your ceiling.
There you go, now you know the 15 ingenious layouts of old houses that needed to be rediscovered :-)
