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“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.

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#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.

MissHibernia , Eugene Kim / flickr Report

60points

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#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.

glaurieb , Mirandartv / Imgur Report

55points

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#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.

CrazyIrina , marco4371 Report

55points

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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 Milk doors. Small doors usually adjacent to side entrances, where the dairymen would leave products.

ThinkAndDo , jsakic99 Report

51points

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#5

“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.

Kingsolomanhere , [deleted] Report

50points

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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.”

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#6

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

RedLensman , bnilse Report

49points

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#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.

challam , ongnoi Report

44points

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#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.

54radioactive Report

42points

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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.”

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#9

“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.

MeanderFlanders , mememarcy Report

41points

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#10

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

RedLensman Report

41points

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#11

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

iLuvFrootLoopz Report

39points

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“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.

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“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 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!!".

Eye_Doc_Photog , MyGingah Report

38points

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#13

“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.

challam , Mr Thinktank / flickr Report

38points

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#14

“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.

Awkward_Ad714 , Pretty-Bodybuilder Report

37points

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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 To show you how poor I grew up: fold away ironing boards. Ooh la la!

Overall_Lobster823 , litlnemo / Flickr Report

35points

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#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.

challam , VanWinkle87 Report

34points

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#17

“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.

Tall_Mickey , jossbarraza Report

32points

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#18

“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.

historiangirl , [deleted] Report

31points

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#19

“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.

ejdjd , swilli603 Report

30points

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#20

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

CrazyIrina , dyachenkopro / Freepik Report

30points

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#21

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

Airplade , TheScrubbernaut Report

28points

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#22

I was thinking just the other day how much I miss a water bed and was wondering if you could still get one. We used to have a couple of water bed stores, but they are long gone.

Mediocre-Studio2573 Report

28points

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#23

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History Maybe not particularly fancy, but the house I grew up in (from the late 1950s) had an incinerator in the basement. You could just throw in burnable items and *POOF* they were rendered into ashes.

This now sounds like a nightmare and a disaster waiting to happen, and I am pretty sure they are now illegal, or at the very least, inadvisable.

WEugeneSmith , eightstravels Report

27points

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#24

We had that intercom in our 1973 built house. We used it as a baby monitor, would put the baby’s room on listen and pipe it to the family room which was downstairs. That required a bunch of switch flipping at the central station to figure out. They weren’t exactly flexible or user friendly. Had to do everything at the central station.

That was the only practical use we got out it in over 40 years.

Xyzzydude Report

27points

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#25

Popcorn ceilings.

Gold__star Report

26points

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#26

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History I was surprised to see a motor device embedded into a friend’s house kitchen countertop. They said it’s a built-in blender motor that was there when they bought the house. Seemed like a super fancy thing.

Xanadu87 , --blue Report

26points

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#27

Kitchen counters that wrapped around a corner with a little 4-layer shelf thing at the curve.

25points

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#28

Matchy-matchy draperies, wallpaper, carpeting in every room.

24points

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#29

Four-poster beds with canopies.

24points

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#30

Our house had a brick indoor planter box by the stairs. Never had a plant in it the entire time we lived there. We mostly put junk in it that we couldn't find a place for anywhere else.

oldguy76205 Report

23points

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#31

My dad’s house where he grew up had a ballroom. It was long out of use by the time they bought it.

PunkRockDude Report

22points

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#32

“I Am Pretty Sure They Are Now Illegal”: 44 Home Features That Have Been Faded Into History A bar in the home. They are *wildly* impractical unless you are entertaining (aka giving out free alcohol) a few days a week, at which point you're just throwing away your money.

there_is_no_spoon1 , nostracockus Report

20points

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#33

Most of the houses built in the 1950s in "Lamorinda" area of the SF East Bay have brink fireplaces in the kitchen with a separate fireplace for a rotisserie.

Saxboard4Cox Report

20points

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#34

Double-hung windows are another thing that isn't common these days. My house has them, and guess what they are made out of. And then! And then! My storm windows are also double-hung. They are an absolute PAIN to clean, but then I can heat the house in January with a match.

CrazyIrina Report

19points

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#35

Foil wallpaper.

nakedonmygoat Report

18points

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#36

Mirror-tile walls.

AuntRhubarb Report

16points

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#37

Not sure if it was a "fancy" feature, but you rarely see new homes with detached garages.

murphydcat Report

16points

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#38

At one time people liked wood panelled walls. I think they're horrible, dark and depressing.

videogamegrandma Report

16points

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#39

An oven embedded in the kitchen wall. I can only imagine what a pain in the butt it would be to have to replace!

nakedonmygoat Report

16points

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#40

Round beds.

International_Boss81 Report

15points

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#41

A small tube tv in the kitchen.

Icy-South1276 Report

14points

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#42

I wouldn't call it fancy but some older homes had open bricks in the attic, I mean just holes where there wasn't a brick, in a cute pattern so there was air flow.

Chance-Business Report

12points

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#43

Atriums, unfortunately. Besides bringing the chores and smells of the outdoors indoors, people were lazy and didn't want to maintain them. Plus, they were a security hazard, an easy way-in for thieves.

Desertbro Report

12points

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#44

I still have a rotator on my TV in the shop/man cave.

Mediocre-Studio2573 Report

10points

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Miglė Miliūtė

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

Which outdated home feature do you think could make a comeback?

Corvus 3 days ago

In Southeast Europe (a.k.a. the Balkans), the epitome of fancy back in the day was to have a display cabinet... but not with china/crystal, but rather full of expensive Western booze. Quite the status symbol in the 80's and 90's. And sometimes the bottles were kept as trophies, even after they were empty of their content :P

7points

Auntriarch 3 days ago

Oh dear, I have a shelf of empty champagne bottles in top of my sideboard...

2points

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Vermonta 3 days ago

Finally, items from my era.

3points

PFD 3 days ago

This was pretty interesting. The vast majority of these are things I've never seen irl, and quite a few I've never even heard of (like fold-out ironing boards).

3points

Kelly Scott 2 days ago

Those were usually in the laundry room so a housewife could be ironing and folding one load while another one was still drying. But I think most people preferred the ones you had to set up, so they could iron in front of the TV.

1point

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Corvus 3 days ago

In Southeast Europe (a.k.a. the Balkans), the epitome of fancy back in the day was to have a display cabinet... but not with china/crystal, but rather full of expensive Western booze. Quite the status symbol in the 80's and 90's. And sometimes the bottles were kept as trophies, even after they were empty of their content :P

7points

Auntriarch 3 days ago

Oh dear, I have a shelf of empty champagne bottles in top of my sideboard...

2points

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Vermonta 3 days ago

Finally, items from my era.

3points

PFD 3 days ago

This was pretty interesting. The vast majority of these are things I've never seen irl, and quite a few I've never even heard of (like fold-out ironing boards).

3points

Kelly Scott 2 days ago

Those were usually in the laundry room so a housewife could be ironing and folding one load while another one was still drying. But I think most people preferred the ones you had to set up, so they could iron in front of the TV.

1point

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