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During your lifetime, what developments have you seen go from non-existent or rare/rich people only to ubiquitous in all homes that changed the way homes are built or used?
A few that come to mind quickly for me are:
Air Conditioning
Alarm systems
Microwave ovens.
more than 1 TV
return of hardwood floors
I grew up in an old Victorian that had a set of back stairs leading to the kitchen. My friends all thought it was awesome! Now, many larger home have two sets of stairs, one leading to a family room.
Also, multi-car garages. Single garages were the norm. Now it's at least two, and often three.
Master bathrooms. Or even multiple bathrooms. They are now must haves, but in some neighborhoods master bathrooms are non-existent, and "powder rooms" have been added on.
The change from conventional construction (standard framing with a hand cut roof) to engineered framing with multiple different elevations and trussed roofs.
I grew up in an old Victorian that had a set of back stairs leading to the kitchen. My friends all thought it was awesome! Now, many larger home have two sets of stairs, one leading to a family room.
Also, multi-car garages. Single garages were the norm. Now it's at least two, and often three.
Master bathrooms. Or even multiple bathrooms. They are now must haves, but in some neighborhoods master bathrooms are non-existent, and "powder rooms" have been added on.
We live in an old house that was added onto majorly. (1836,1850,1868) It is a bit of a maze. It has two stairways, but i am not sure why. The original stair ran alongside the downstairs room to the upstairs room. THe first addition added a second parlor (alongside the stairway) and a second bedroom upstairs. Then a dining room was added to the back of the second parlor and another stair installed between the dining room and the newer parlor. They both go into an upstairs hallway and terminate only a few feet apart. The both go to the same (added) parlor. One goes up from the front door. The other is not far from a side door that goes into the dining room.
Normally the back stairs to to the kitchen and were for servants. But our kitchen was in a separate building and then a milking barn was rolled up against the dining room and made into a kitchen.
Our house also had inside stairs cut into the basement at some time. (that is another new ish development, but it became common before my time). Thus, there are two stairways going upstairs and two into the basement. Coupled with the 8 exterior doors, it is a blast for young kids.
Thus, I have no idea what purpose the back staircase could possibly have served.
Having a dedicated space, spare room or nook to be a home office. I supposed these used to be dens or libraries in ""wealthy" home. Now its like "I need 3 bedrooms AND a home office". This also may have to do with IRS requirements on having dedicated space for an office to maximize deductions.
Pex, the decline and fall in popularity of coal and oil for furnaces, tile pipe changing to PVC, huge refrigerators, variations of "home theatre", decline of fuse boxes going now to anti-arc breaker boxes, cable or satellite tv feed, the internet.
During your lifetime, what developments have you seen go from non-existent or rare/rich people only to ubiquitous in all homes that changed the way homes are built or used?
A few that come to mind quickly for me are:
Air Conditioning
Alarm systems
Microwave ovens.
more than 1 TV
return of hardwood floors
Open floor plans.
While mentioned, better HVAC overall.
Programmable thermostats.
Eliminate oil heat.
Gone are coal burning furnaces. Haul them ashes out son.
Multi bathrooms.
Much better windows.
Much better storm doors.
Much better insulation.
Plenty of hot water.
Seperate shower.
Washers and dryers.
Garbage diposals.
Dish washers.
Garages.
Power lawn equipment.
TV reception and selection.
I cannot name one home living thing I miss from the 50'-60's
"I cannot name one home living thing I miss from the 50'-60's"
Those first tv dinners were real meals.
No boom-boom cars driving by.
There was something homey about the slam of a wooden screen door and no AC.
TV had no more than 5 minutes of commercials per hour.
The news was real news (generally).
Lawn games like croquet and badminton were popular.
The most meaningful changes I have seen lately relate to insulation and ventilation (HRV), resulting in homes that are cheaper to heat or cool, and where the air inside is healthier.
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