1930s House Original Features

Happy New Year everyone, I hope this year is kind to you all.  I'm long overdue in sharing some pictures of some of the original features left in my 1935 house.  We're lucky to have these features preserved, as in the 1970s a lot of work was done to the house in the form of an extension, an avocado toilet suite, feature wall with knick-knack shelves and lots of artexing.  I'll save photos of those delights for later, when I can show 'before' and 'after' our rennovations.

To anyone interested in 1930s homes in the UK, I can't recommend The 1930s House Manual by Ian Rock enough.  It was invaluable when we were looking at our property, as it helped us understand a few things that our surveyor's report said, and helped allay some of our fears about old features and their potential dangers.  It also helped us to visualise some of the things we will be trying to achieve as we 'undo' some of the 1970s work and take it back to a more traditional and authentic finish.

First of all, our entrance hall.  Apparently in the 1930s, large entrance halls were popular as it helped you impress visitors - an idea of how social standing was important to people at the time.  The stair panelling is original, and in the book I read that - and saw visual evidence of - quite outlandish colour schemes in greens, reds and yellows.  I wonder if ours was ever bright and clashing, or if our previous owners just kept it neutral?  Our hallway is currently carpeted, but the original parquet is preserved underneath.

The original parquet flooring is also in the dining room, and is under the carpet in our living room.  The blocks are in a herringbone pattern, approx 3" by 8", and apparently oak was commonly used at the time our house was built.  We can't be sure what wood it is - my other half thinks it might be pine, but that's quite a soft wood so I'm not convinced that it would have been used for the flooring.  Interjection by other half leaning over my laptop - I've just been told that 'pitched pine' is hard-wearing and used a lot as flooring, so there's my theory out the window!!

As well as the parquet, our dining room has a beautiful bay window.  Curves were very popular in the 1930s, especially with the Art Deco aesthetic, and a bay window really does introduce a lot of light into a room and open it up.

 
Stained glass portholes are another common feature of 1930s homes.  On the inside, ours is in the under-stairs cupboard, a shame really to have the feature tucked away!  But at night, with the light on in the cupboard, the glass looks beautiful as you approach our doorway.  The glass is leaded, and with age, the whole panel can start to bow slightly.

The lovely black and white tiled floor of our under-stairs cupboard.  Excuse the mess!

Upstairs in one of the bedrooms, the original 1930s linen cupboards are present.  Today, the boiler is in one half, but we still have the rest of the space to fill up with towels and sheets.

Two of our bedrooms have the orginal panelled ceilings.  The book was very helpful in explaining that the panels would be made of fibreboard, which was good to know because our surveyor wasn't 100% sure what they were made of, and if they'd been made later could have contained harmful asbestos.  Knowing that they were the original panels, we could identify that they were perfectly safe.  (I have to say, our estate agent mentioned that we'd probably 'want to change those', but then she thought the house was from the 1960s!).

Finally, upstairs all of the original doors, and possibly the original handles, are all present and correct.  The doors have 'rising butt' hinges, which means that as the door swings open, the whole door rises slightly in order for the door to smoothly rise over the carpet.  Downstairs, 4 of the original doors have been replaced with 1970's ones, the ones with a veneer over a hollow centre filled with what looks like corrugated cardboard.  They are on the list for replacing.

There are some more features that are hidden away a little - I have peeked behind our electric fire in the lounge to see a glimpse of some original 1930's tiles, but most are cracked or missing.

I wonder what else we will discover as we embark on our DIY projects?  If you are interested in seeing more 1930's interiors, you might like this post that features authentic 1930's decoration and furnishings at a museum.

What is your favourite feature of a 1930's house?  Do you like the style??