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New homes might be built with modern features – like double pane windows, open floor plans, and deluxe showers. But, for vintage lovers all the comforts of a modern home can’t compete with the quirks of an older house. There were so many little touches in the homes we grew up in that are now long gone in new construction. These details at one time made the home more convenient, more inviting, and just a whole lot cuter. Have a look 15 whimsical features you’ll never find in a new home these days.

Via/ Flickr

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14) Milk Doors

Apartments often had the milk door on the floor, while houses sometimes had the milk door up high. Either way, this let the milkman deliver your bottles of milk without you having to come to the door or even be home. Locks were often added to keep anyone from stealing the milk. They are such cute little features!

Via/ Flickr

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13) Built-in China Cabinets

These relics of another era were once found in farmhouses, city apartments, and even in kit houses and suburban homes. They were elegant and unassuming at the same time and really added character to a dining room or kitchen.

Via/ Library of Congress

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12) Phone Nooks

As a luxury item in the first decades of the 20th century some homes had telephone nooks (sometimes also called telephone niches or telephone cabinets). The idea was to beautify the home by making a dedicated architectural space for the phone and it also kept the unseemly wires hidden away. Some telephone nooks also had a seat built into the wall which could fliped down when needed.

Via/ Instagram

11) Colorful Bathrooms

The vibrant tile and matching tubs we grew up with is now a fading memory. Most people who buy an old home today will immediately rip out these lovely old bathrooms (especially the pink ones), meaning that there are fewer and fewer of them in existence.

Via/ Flickr

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10) Coal Chutes

The coal man would drop coal down the chute on the outside, much like the milk door, and then the stock would be accessed through a compartment (or a coal room in larger houses) in the basement. From there the boiler or furnace could be stoked with coal much more easily and cleanly than bringing it through the house.

Via/ Internet Archive

9) Breakfast Nooks

This type of bench and table, often done in a Pennsylvania Dutch sort of style, was very common in kit homes since it was yet one more thing the homeowner could have built-in to the home. However, there are also apartments and regular homes from the era which also have these little breakfast nooks.

Via/ Internet Archive

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8) In-wall Razor Disposals

They were sometimes separate and sometimes discreetly hidden inside of the medicine cabinet (this one has a shaving tool space below the mirror as well) and allowed the resident to drop his used safety razor blades into the hallow space behind the
wall. Over the years this has made for more than a few confusing bathroom renovations since many people had no idea these chutes existed! Since safety razors are making a comeback we hope some of these are left in place!

Via/ Library of Congress

Click “Next Page” to see the rest of these old house quirks!

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