What was this for and why a bottom shelf

Most homes built in the early to mid-1900s have a small shelf built into the wall in the kitchen or hallway. If you live in an old house, this may be the case. If you didn’t think much of this, you might have asked yourself why it was there. Yes, there was a reason for putting it there!

A phone niche is what that small shelf is called. People used landlines to talk to each other before cellphones. That seems like a very long time ago now. A lot of homes were built with just one space for the phone. A lot of them had a small shelf or drawer above or below the phone where you could put address or phone books. It seems so old-fashioned to even think about an address book these days!

Most people no longer have landlines and only use cellphones these days. But you can use this phone niche in different ways if your home has one! For decoration, you could buy an old phone and put it there. If you want, you could even use it. It’s big enough to hold books or other home decor items. You could also put a bunch of small plants in pots in the niche. There are many choices, and it’s up to you!

While I love how convenient new homes are, I also love how old homes have little details that make them unique. The house we live in is very old, so old that the idea of a phone niche was a long time away. Does your house have a place for the phone? If so, I’m very envious!

This small artifact has a big role in the home

Picture yourself in the warm embrace of a living room from the 1970s, with earthy-hued walls and a shag carpet that features unique, vibrant patterns.

A thin, inconspicuous object lies in the groove of a vinyl record sleeve in this retro-chic environment.

You ask, what is it? It’s nothing more than a simple hook, a throwback to earlier times spent around the house. Continue reading to learn more!

Think back to a period when windows were decked out in their Sunday finest, with pleated curtains hanging proudly to frame vistas of the city’s busy streets or the bucolic suburbs. The curtain hook functioned silently in the background, making sure that the cloth fell in lovely folds and created captivating patterns of light and shadow across the space.

However, the processes of home décor changed along with the sands of time. The once-ubiquitous curtain hook eventually vanished, to be replaced by fixtures that are more contemporary. Even so, the curtain hook’s significance has reduced over time, but it still serves as a moving reminder of a period of scrupulous attention to detail, when even the tiniest accents revealed a homeowner’s sense of style and concern.

“Came loose from one of my father’s record sleeves… A vintage 70s hair piece or a risky roach clip?via Reddit and Broccoli Bastard

The curtain hook is a sturdy reminder of tradition and simplicity in a world when technology rules and fashions change at an alarming rate. Its very existence acts as a gentle reminder that beauty may always be found in the eternal elegance of the past, even in the ever-changing landscape of modern living.

Take a moment the next time you see a curtain hook hidden beneath a mound of housekeeping odds and ends or tucked away in a neglected corner of an antique shop. Because concealed within that inconspicuous bit of metal is not only a useful fixture but also a small fragment of history, a modest reminder of the timeless allure of bygone eras.

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