1940s At Home

--------------	1940s At Home
	Home Styles Home Features Living Room Bed & Bath Kitchen

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Home Styles in town In older neighborhoods, traditional two-story frame houses and foursquares were common. Newer neighborhoods had bungalows, cape cod homes and prairie style homes. If you owned a shop or small business, you probably lived in an apartment above or behind the store. Many families with larger homes occupied only the first floor, and rented out the second floor. After the war, the housing shortage prompted many owners of larger homes to divide them into apartments. Quite often, you shared your home with your extended family. It wasn't unusual for an elderly aunt or grandparent to live with you, or for related families to share a two-flat. in the city In the city, we lived in row houses and apartments. This was a world of brownstones, five-story walkups, fire escapes and front stoops. Children played on the sidewalk and clotheslines were draped between tall buildings. Many people didn't have a car, but this wasn't a problem. There were plenty of trains and streetcars to take you where you needed to go. older suburbs At first, suburban residents lived in the modern bungalows that became popular after the turn of the century. Prairie style homes, cape cod homes and tudor homes were added later. In the 1930s, ranch homes and tract homes became popular. after the war: the freeway suburb Mass-produced tract homes are built quickly and cheaply. This method of home construction was developed in the 1930s. The need for speed and efficiency in the postwar housing market made it extremely popular in the late 1940s. Tract homes use prefabricated materials and factory techniques to keep costs down. The resulting homes are usually very simple and have a tendency to all look alike. The ranch homes that were becoming popular in California were easily adapted to this style, and they began to dominate suburban landscapes all across the country. The American Bungalow Levittown Homes Lustron Homes Cliff May Ranch Homes

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Home Features the G.I. Bill When the war ended, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act made it easier for war veterans to buy homes. Also known as the G.I. Bill, this act insured lenders against loss, which resulted in lower interest rates and lower down-payments. Before the war, only 44 percent of Americans owned their own homes. The G.I. Bill helped raise this figure to 55 percent by 1950. 20 percent of all homes built in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s were funded by this program. attached garages In the old days, if you had a garage (and many people didn't), it was probably a detached building or converted barn added many years after the house was built. Generally, only a small number of new suburban homes had attached garages To keep costs down after the war, new tract houses were built on very small lots. An attached garage accomodated the automobile while making it possible for the house to fit on the lot. This new feature quickly became very popular, and soon having a garage was considered a status symbol. By 1950, 45 percent of all new homes included an attached garage or carport. the front porch & patio During the first half of the century, people sat on the front porch and socialized with their neighbors. After the war, the front porch was no longer part of the modern floor plan. In many new homes, this spot was taken over by the attached garage. Our lifestyles were changing, and we were placing greater emphasis on our homes as places to park our cars, watch TV and retreat from the world. Outdoor living spaces moved to the rear of the house, where they became patios. interior spaces Open the front door of a modern house in the 1940s, and you'll see family rooms, breakfast nooks and an increase in the use of wall-to-wall carpeting.		Helpful ideas for your postwar home

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In The Living Room Visit my Products & Technology page to learn about radios, record players and TVs in the 1940s!		small cocktail bars elegant white sofas radios black rotary-dial telephones Bendix radio Radios and radio-phonograph consoles occupied a prominent place in the living room. They were not just appliances, they were furniture. Early television sets were also regarded as furniture, with doors that could be closed when the set wasn't on. Click here for more interior views of 1940s homes!

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Bed & Bath		In the 1940s, the presence of modern plumbing depended largely on a home's location. The gap between poor and affluent areas was very large. Census figures from 1940 illustrate this: indoor toilets were present in 85 percent of urban homes and 9 percent of farm homes. Flush toilets were present in 94 percent of Maryland homes and 19 percent of Mississippi homes. Overall, 65 percent of American homes had a flush toilet in 1940. This figure increased to 76 percent by 1950.

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In The Kitchen refrigerators & iceboxes Mechanical refrigerators for the home were introduced in the 1910s. The first freezer compartment was added in 1939. In the 1930s, the sale of refrigerators surpassed the sale of iceboxes for the first time. By 1940, half of all American homes had a refrigerator. The remaining homeowners continued to use their old-fashioned iceboxes, or kept their food cool in a spring house or root cellar. During the war, production of new appliances came to a halt. Prices fell and demand soared when mass production of refrigerators resumed after the war. By the late 1940s, nearly 75 percent of all American homes had a refrigerator. Betty Crocker The character of Betty Crocker made her debut in 1921. During the war, General Mills published Betty Crocker's Cook Book Of All-Purpose Baking, which was designed to help frugal wartime cooks plan their meals. Betty also published recipe sets and hosted her own radio show. formica In 1913, the Formica company went into business producing laminated electrical insulators and plastic gears for cars. In the 1930s, they branched out into decorative laminates for restaurants and homes. Demand for their laminated countertops and tabletops rose dramatically during the home construction boom of the late 1940s. Vintage Stoves & Refrigerators Formica Company History Betty Crocker History decor metal canister sets chrome tables with formica tops white enamel surfaces chicken & rooster designs pretty aprons gadgets metal cookie cutters flour sifter cake saver egg whisk potato masher canning supplies cookware & dinnerware Pyrex glass cookware Kromex Ware pots & pans Tupperware (1946) Revere Ware small appliances Waring blender Pyrex glass coffeepot electric can opener Sunbeam Mixmaster electric roaster coffee percolator		Pretty aprons and rooster designs Kromex gives your kitchen the MODERN LOOK you're dreaming of! --1947 ad for Kromex Ware pots and pans

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