Top 21+ mysterious old home features that aren’t useful anymore

Brass Cylinder with Handle Next to Tub

A Reddit user recently posted an image of a brass cylinder with a handle that moves back and forth. This device is a type of standing drain, often found in older plumbing systems. Acting as a trap or valve, it helps regulate the flow of water by either opening or closing the drainage path, with the movable handle serving as the control. Made of brass, a material known for its durability and resistance to corrosion, it’s a reliable choice for plumbing components exposed to water.

The term “standing drain” can also refer to a specific kind of floor drain or any drain designed to remain upright (typically vertical) to allow fluid to flow into it from a higher point.

A black iron decorative piece resembling a fleur-de-lis is mounted on a textured, light-colored brick wall, highlighting its intricate design against the background.

Metal Plates on Old Homes

These metal plates, often shaped like an “S,” an “X,” or a star, are called anchor plates (or wall anchors). They are often seen on the outside of old brick homes and are used to help prevent walls from bowing outwards and collapsing.

A sliding barn door with a wooden frame moves along a metal track, separating two rooms in a light, modern hallway with tiled flooring.

Ice Door

Are you puzzled by the funny little door in your home’s pantry? This is an access door the ice delivery man used to use. Homes had an area in the pantry or kitchen dedicated to the icebox. Access was created for this door on the exterior, allowing for the delivery of fresh ice to the house without coming inside.

A white wall niche displays an arched top, with a small shelf and a drawer below, set against a pale green wall.

Phone Niche

Landline telephones used to be an essential means of communication, but they weren’t always so compact. Because of their big, heavy stature, they required quite a bit of space. Homes used to have niches in walls for this purpose. Today, however, they’re a place to store things like mail or display a plant.

A rectangular, dark metal hatch is mounted on a red brick wall, next to a vertical pipe that has a circular opening at its bottom.

Tiny Iron Door Leading to the Basement

While natural gas is the heating fuel of choice for many today, up until around 1940, most families heated their homes by burning coal.

Coal delivery men traveled door-to-door to provide people the fuel they needed to power their furnace. They shoveled coal through the small door and down the chute into the basement. Once in the basement, homeowners could shovel the coal directly into the furnace. Today most of these chutes have been sealed, though you will often still see the iron doors on older homes. What was once a functional part of the house is now a great conversation starter and history lesson.

A disorganized pile of assorted clothes rests on a textured, concrete floor, alongside a single dark sock.

Some Features in Old Homes are Still Useful!

Although technology has given homeowners huge advantages in improving their homes, there’s a lot of untapped wisdom in some of the old home features that have been phased out over time. Some of these inventions brought great use and quite a bit of charm to a home, but there’s one feature, in particular, that should return to homes because it would save many people trips up and down the staircase: laundry chutes.

Two Ethernet ports are visible, with a black cable partially connected to one. The ports are mounted on a white surface within a typical indoor setting.

Landline Phone Jacks

Take a look around your dated apartment or home. How many unused phone jacks are there in the walls? Once essential, today you’d be hard-pressed to find someone using all those phone jacks—thanks to the invention and advancement of cell phones! Ready to modernize?

A white toilet sits on a concrete floor in a bare basement, with a roll of Scott toilet paper placed on top of the tank.

Random Toilet in the Basement

Usually found in pre-World War II-era homes, this lone toilet looks entirely misplaced—not just because it’s in the basement, but because there is nothing around it to make it feel like a proper, private bathroom! And while many don’t even have a sink nearby, others are paired with a crude basement shower apparatus and large sink.

It’s often referred to as the “Pittsburgh potty” because there are so many of them in that city. Legend has it that the historically industrial town’s steelworkers and miners used them after a long day of work. They’d clean up in their basements before entering the main part of the house to avoid tracking in grime.

Wooden beams support exposed wires and ceramic fixtures, with a backdrop of textured wood paneling, indicating an interior construction or renovation setting.

Knob and Tube Wiring

This early standardized method of electrical wiring in buildings began around 1880 and lasted until the 1930s. The system consisted of single-insulated copper conductors run within wall or ceiling cavities. They passed through joist and stud drill holes by way of protective porcelain insulating tubes. For support along their length, porcelain knob insulators were nailed down. Knob and tube wiring was displaced from interior wiring systems as a result of the high cost of installation in comparison to power cables.

A hidden bed is raised into the ceiling, supported by a frame with visible beams, showcasing a multifunctional space within a room.

Why Do Old Homes Have a Bed in the Ceiling?

Unlike the famous Murphy bed, which folds into a closet or wall to save floor space when not in use, the Sorlien ceiling bed is stowed in the ceiling! The Sorlien, the Murphy bed’s forgotten competitor, was patented in 1913. The bed was lowered from the ceiling via a crank, with hidden weights in the wall working to counterbalance the bed. “Transmission drum is concealed in the wall by means of a hinged door 15 by 16-1/2 inches set flush with the wall,” according to an ad for the Sorlien bed circa 1917. Folding legs on the bottom of the bed made sure sleepers enjoyed a properly grounded night’s rest.

The bed was marketed as taking up no closet or wall space, with floor space used only when in service. “When not in use, it may remain in the ceiling without collecting dust or getting the mattress and bed clothing disarranged,” the ad reads. Of course, the ceiling bed only worked for houses with an “attic above.”

A framed black-and-white illustration of a ladybug is hung on a light-colored wall, beside a brass light switch plate featuring three buttons.

Push-Button Light Switch

Push-button light switches emerged in the mid-19th century but eventually gave way to the toggle switch. Issues with push-button light switches are no secret, including the buttons easily getting stuck in one position. How inconvenient!

A yellow wooden cupboard displays fruits and vegetables, while a rustic interior with wooden walls and a woven basket enhances the cozy atmosphere.

Hoosier Cabinet

A Hoosier cabinet is a free-standing kitchen cabinet that doubles as a workstation. These cabinets were common in the first few decades of the 20th century. They declined in popularity with the advent of built-in kitchen cabinetry and countertops.

A rusty metal ornament rests on weathered stones, partially embedded in dirt, near a set of uneven concrete steps.

Boot Scraper

If you’ve ever walked up to someone’s front door and seen a strange ground-level cast-iron contraption, it’s a boot scraper! Known as a “decrottoir” in French, which refers to the need to remove excrement (yuck), boot scrapers popped up in the 18th and 19th centuries alongside the invention of walking paths. With modernism came less mud in the streets (as well as less dog, human, horse and pig excrement), so the boot scraper declined in necessity and popularity.

A stone structure with a dark wooden door is partially surrounded by grass and tall vegetation, nestled in a forested area with trees in the background.

Root Cellar

Root cellars existed to store vegetables, fruits, nuts and more for long periods of time. Some were simply unfinished rooms in the basement, while others were built into the ground a short distance from the house. Present-day food distribution systems and refrigeration have rendered root cellars unnecessary for most people. But if you have one, you can certainly still put it to good use!

A clear glass shelf rests over a beige surface, which features an embossed logo reading "General Bathroom Products Corp, Chicago, Ill." with a slot below it.

Razor Slit in Medicine Cabinet

Decades ago, medicine cabinets had a tiny slit to dispose of old razor blades. Where might those dirty razors go? Nowhere, really. They merely went into the wall. Out of sight, out of mind!

A metal door with a circular window is positioned in a wall, showing rust on the lower section, set in a plain, unfinished environment.

Dumbwaiter

Dumbwaiters were most often used to move dishes and food when the kitchen and dining room were on different levels of the house. If you have one in your old house, you could use it as a clothes chute.

A spiral staircase with worn stone steps descends around a curved mint-green wall, creating a cozy, historical atmosphere.

Servant Staircase

Does your old home have a strange staircase? In old mansions, household servants—and pre-Civil War, possibly slaves—were often directed to stay out of sight. The solution was a separate staircase in the back just for the servants to use. This is why your kitchen or pantry might be accessible by two staircases.

A circular metal cover features screws embedded in wooden floor planks, near a small square opening, suggesting access to underneath the floor.

Servant Floor Button

Also known as a butler’s call or ring, a servant floor button was situated in the middle of the floor of the formal dining room. It was used to summon the butler by stepping on it. Today, if an old house has one, it’s likely hidden beneath a rug under the table.

A weathered wooden door is partially closed within a small opening on a textured white brick wall, creating a simple and muted backdrop.

Milk Door

You probably haven’t had milk delivered to your door in a long time. It used to be common, with a milk door standard in many homes. The small door was situated on the outside of the house and was used by the milkman, to pick up empty bottles and leave fresh ones.

A black, paneled door with a brass knob and knocker stands against a textured, gray brick wall, framed by white trim and an arched window above.

Old Homes Often Have Transom Windows

Those panels of glass you’ll still find on old homes are called transom doors. Their main purpose was to let in natural light in the front hallways and interior rooms—like keeping rooms—before electricity became the norm. Today, they still allow in natural light, but they’re more aesthetic than functional. Who doesn’t love natural light?

A brown wingback chair sits beside a wooden table with a vase of orange flowers, under framed paintings in a light-colored room with an open doorway.

Picture Hanging Molding

Picture rails or picture hanging molding became common in the 1840s as a way to hang pictures from a movable hook without damaging the wall surface. By the 1940s, the picture rail was outdated, and the invisible hook was standard. However, you can still purchase molding and install a picture rail if you like the look.