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“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Home & DesignNOV 14, 2024

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History

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Trends are everywhere, influencing everything from clothing to homes, hairstyles, and even dances. And while many of them come and go in cycles—just look at the fashionistas nowadays rocking outfits resembling what Britney wore in the early 2000s—some never seem to regain the popularity they once had.
Today, we’re focusing on home trends that failed to stand the test of time. One redditor recently started a discussion about them, asking fellow netizens what some fancy home features are that have faded into history, and many people went down memory lane, recalling what they had in their own homes or saw in other people’s. If you’re curious to see what features are no longer considered fancy—nor legal, in some cases—scroll down to find their answers on the list below.
If you’re curious to see what features are no longer considered fancy—nor legal, in some cases—scroll down to find their answers on the list below, where you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with a social historian and author of 70s House: A bold homage to the most daring decade in design, Estelle Bilson.

#1

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Laundry chutes. In one house it was from the second floor to the basement, in another from the kitchen to the basement.
65points

#2

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Phone nooks.

nakedonmygoat: My house has one. I use it for knick-knacks.
59points

#3

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Solid oak doors. Oak everything. This house was built in the 90's but to old standards. It was oak plate rails in the walls. I was going to have them removed when I repainted, but they are glued and screwed to the walls. Removing them would have cost a small fortune, so I left them up... As a result, this house is incredibly solid and very, very quiet. Even my WIC has solid oak doors. Why? Who knows. I'm pretty sure this house could take a direct hit from a nuclear missile and not be worse for wear.
59points

Nowadays, vintage furniture and details that many people would consider outdated can be beautifully incorporated into home interiors. However, few homes are built in the exact same style as they were back in the ‘60s, or the ‘80s, for instance.

This list is great proof of that – unless your home was built back in the day, it’s unlikely to have a phone nook or a dumbwaiter, or other features the netizens mentioned, which were once considered fancy but are now obsolete.

#4

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Bright pink or turquoise or green tile bathrooms with matching tub and toilet and sink. Whole house attic fans that could suck all of the heat out of the house in minutes.
57points

#5

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Milk doors. Small doors usually adjacent to side entrances, where the dairymen would leave products.
57points

Some people on this list expressed regret over certain features going out of style; as did social historian and vintage item enthusiast Estelle Bilson. “I have always been interested in interiors since I was a child,” she told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “I grew up with an antique dealer father and was constantly at auctions and junk shops; I was instantly drawn towards bright colors, plastics and space-age shapes.”

#6

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
China cabinets in the dining room.
52points

#7

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Living rooms with 1-3 steps down.
Decorative tile in bathrooms in god-awful color combinations -pink/black, etc.
49points

#8

My friends bought a home in FL that was built around an indoor swimming pool. The house was a U-shape and every room (except bathrooms) opened onto the pool deck.
47points

Talking about features that have changed significantly or disappeared altogether, Bilson shared that the thing from the past she misses in homes nowadays is vintage lighting: “[It] was just so EXTRA. They really considered it from a practical and an aesthetic perspective – it was not only functional, but beautiful, too. Modern lighting is just so… flat. And LED lightbulbs really feel harsh compared to incandescent bulbs.”

#9

I've seen photos homes built in the 70s and the living room area is kinda designed like a "conversation pit"...dude that is so cool and I would love to have a home like that
44points

#10

Many homes used to have all-around porches for shade to help in the summer.
44points

#11

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Trash compactors were big in new $$$ homes when I was a kid. We were impressed when people installed them in their existing homes.
42points

“My other favorites are things like kitchen hatches used to serve food and dumb waiters,” the expert continued, adding that she also loves conversation pits. “They went out of popularity in the late ‘80s but I think they are absolutely stunning,” she told Bored Panda.

“I would say that television and later mobile phones, which killed interaction and conversation, helped in the decline of conversation pits. I know there were a lot of fears about people falling in which led to them being filled in. To me they're the height of luxury and sophistication.”

#12

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Glass brick —very desirable in the 1950’s.
42points

#13

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Central vacuum.

I always thought there would be a clog in the pipe inside of a wall somewhere which would render the whole machine useless. I never had one but I had friends who did.

Interestingly, though, I'm seeing these videos on instagram now showing people using them and all the comments are like the people just discovered fire. "WOW!! What a great idea!! No more lugging a vacuum around. Brilliant!!".
40points

#14

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
To show you how poor I grew up: fold away ironing boards. Ooh la la!
39points

The same way features popular in homes back in the day disappeared over time, design trends popular nowadays will likely become obsolete, too. At least some of them.

Speculating which ones will be the first to fade into history, Bilson admitted that she hopes it will be flipping houses. “One trend I hope that'll fade is one where people flip houses and remove all vintage architectural detail. It hurts my soul when I see homes gutted with no appreciation for their past,” she shared.

#15

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
I think hand cranked dumbwaiters are pretty much gone for good.
39points

#16

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Finished basements as “recreation rooms,” long before family rooms were built.
39points

#17

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Knotty pine. Our 1950s house has Knotty Pine kitchen cabinets and flooring throughout. We didn't know about the knotty pine floors when we bought the house, as the owners had them covered with carpet. The floors were in pristine condition, as they had always been covered since the house was built. We kept all the knotty pine. One other oddity was every closet in the house was cedar-lined.
34points

#18

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
High-fidelity radios in the walls of each room. Saw that once in one of the richer towns in the SF Bay Area. Thing is that they were all early '60s models and by the '80s they were dated and sort of beside the point.
34points

#19

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Plate racks built into the wall.
34points

#20

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History
Floor outlets.

I actually had some installed in a condo I owned as the rooms were fairly large and to run a wired lamp across the floor would have been a real trip hazard.
33points
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