The average dwelling in the 1920s was smaller than in prior decades. It had a front room off the hallway, a second living room in the back, and a kitchen. There were two huge bedrooms on the second floor, a third, much smaller room, and a bathroom with a toilet. There was also frequently a garage. The price of a house was going up but not as fast as the number of houses being built.
In the early 20th century, Chicago had about 8,000 homes on lots larger than a quarter acre. By 1929, that number had increased to more than 16,000. At that rate, it would have taken less than 10 years to double the size of the city's home base!
Housing in the 1920s was mostly made out of brick or stone. A few neighborhoods were developing along wooded areas near large cities - these were called suburbs. But most people lived in central business districts next to government offices and shops.
There were no cars for sale in the 1920s, so everyone walked or took the bus to work and to get things done around the house. There were some bicycles, but they were used for transportation not for fun. People went to movies in theaters that showed films projected on a screen. There were no video games yet!
Most families had their own stove for cooking food. They might have had a dishwasher, too, but these items were rare.
It wasn't until the late 1800s that older residences were converted to incorporate bathrooms. Only in the early 1900s were all but the smallest houses built with an upstairs bathroom and toilet. Bathrooms were not widespread in working-class dwellings until the 1920s.
Bathrooms were originally called "wash rooms" or "wash houses". The term "bathroom" first appeared in 1833. It may come as a surprise to learn that before 1830, there were almost no private baths for house guests or family members. Most people took a bath at home, once a month if they were lucky.
The first public baths in North America were built in Boston in 1772. These baths were extremely popular and soon other cities followed suit. By 1840, there were more than 100 public baths in Boston alone.
In Europe, people took showers since water was scarce and heating it was not feasible. The first shower stalls in Europe were built in London in 1829. They were designed by William Wells and were called "shower baths". They were made out of wood and could hold up to 10 people at a time. In 1834, the world's first true bathtubs were introduced into England. They were made out of terra cotta and were called "Turkish baths". People went to these baths to be pampered and treated for a variety of illnesses.
Almost every home erected in the 1920s has a tale to tell about the neighborhood, the family who have lived there through the years, and even the town politics a century ago. What was unusual about our house was that it was one of five built by the same builder on our block.
After owning a home for the previous 11 years and growing up in one, the only time I'd ever lived in an apartment was with college roommates. I'd always imagined I'd want to buy a house.
The beauty of many 1920s century homes is that they had enough old-fashioned fanciness (no stripped down Depression era architecture), but they were also designed with contemporary plumbing and electrical systems in mind, which many pre-1900 buildings had to graft on. Houses from the 1920s are well worth consideration. They can be bought for less than $100,000 and often have fewer maintenance problems than newer homes.
There are two types of houses built in the 1920s: those built before the advent of energy efficiency standards and those built after. Pre-1928 houses tend to be smaller and cheaper to build than their postwar counterparts. However, they do not use modern materials or techniques, so they can be difficult to repair or update if you need to make changes.
Postwar houses tend to be larger and more expensive to build due to use of steel framing and other advanced technologies. However, they are usually better insulated and equipped with other modern amenities. Postwar houses are also more durable and reliable than pre-1928 houses.
If you will be living in the home full time then it makes sense to get one that meets your needs now and into the future. If you plan to sell it later, then go for something that will attract more money. It's always best to look at both up-to-date information about housing markets as well as research on how much different properties recently sold for. That way you know what you're looking at.
Families make do with a small amount of room and "things." A basic home only featured one 20-by-30-foot room. That's smaller than the majority of classes! Many houses did not have a table and chairs. They sat on the floor or used benches, stools, and tiny chests as seating. Bedding was also limited, so people made use of whatever they could find: hay, straw, pine shavings, or clay soil to name a few.
People worked hard to provide for their families. Housing was no exception. A colonial family needed a place to live that was safe, healthy, and convenient. Sometimes this meant building your own house because you couldn't afford to rent or buy anything else. Other times, it meant making do with what you had. Either way, housing was an important part of life in colonial Maryland.
House construction varied depending on where you lived. If you were rich enough, a house might be built out of brick or stone. Otherwise, it would be made of wood. Wood is easy to get into shape and does not cost much, so many homes were made of this material.
Rich people also had rooms added onto their houses. You might still see these in old photographs. The extensions usually included another bedroom and a sitting room. People used them for more space - to store things, have parties, etc. Extensions were popular from about 1720 until about 1800.
The average home in the 1910s and 1920s was just about 800 square feet, while new homes are about quadruple that size. The average home square footage in the city is little more than 2,400 square feet, which is roughly the same as the national average. While this amount of space seems small today, it was large by 1920s standards.
The average size of houses in America has increased over time. In 1910, there were already 1 million homes built in the country, and they averaged around 500 square feet. By 1920, this number had grown to nearly 2 million homes, with an average size of 1,200 square feet. That's right: Smaller homes were increasingly common at the time.
In fact, between 1910 and 1930, the average size of homes increased by nearly 50 percent! And since then, it has continued to grow annually. Today, we might think of apartments or condos as being small, but they're actually larger than houses were back then. The 2010 census found that the average size of a house is 2,390 square feet; that's bigger than ever before!
There are several reasons why houses have become so big. First of all, people want to live in places that are comfortable and feel like home. They don't want to spend their days sitting in a tiny office or studio apartment that feels like a prison cell.
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