Usually underground or partially underground, root cellars are what people used to store vegetables, fruits, nuts, or other foods. It was traditionally used for roots (shocker), but a variety of foods can be stored for weeks or months, depending on the condition.
Using a root cellar was often required to make sure there was food to last through winter or a year of bad crops, but these days electricity and other technology have made them less critical. However, a wide range of groups – gardeners, preppers, homesteaders, etc – still use these cellars every day.
Take These Items and Put Them Away
Once upon a time if you wanted to order some tasty food after a long day, you'd reach for the pile of takeaway menus that you have by the phone. This pile would grow thanks to picking one up after dining at a new restaurant, from friends and family, and finding them hanging on your doorknob.
For what seems like the fiftieth time, cell phones have made this common sight uncommon – almost every restaurant has a website with a menu and phone number right on the front page. A lot of restaurants don't even bother with takeaway menus.
The Fabled Ceiling Bed is Here
Like the Murphy bed before it, the Sorlien Ceiling Bed was a way to increase space in a small living area while still giving you a big, comfy place to sleep. The Sorlien was patented in 1913 and was originally lowered to the floor via a crank, using hidden weights in the walls to keep it steady.
Obviously, this feature has faded as time went on, but with the increase in micro-housing and smaller apartments, the Sorlien bed has made a resurgence, with better tech and construction methods making them more viable than ever.
Cooling Pies Has Never Been Cooler
There's a classic scene you may know about: a tramp, dirty and disheveled, smells a delicious pie and follows his nose to a fresh piece on a window shelf. These shelves were pretty popular back when you couldn't pop to the grocery store to pick up your favorite flavor, but thieves (and, more commonly, pests) did sometimes ruin these projects, leading to the cooling shelf.
These items were used to let pies cool before digging in, but also protected them from the elements, and sticky fingers. Since early countertops weren't as heat-resistant as they are these days, these shelves also protected the kitchen from unnecessary damage.
This One's Almost Sad
Fireplaces were once one of the most important items in the house. Before the advent of central heating, families would gather around the fireplace when the sun went down to stay warm and spend time together.
You're probably thinking “but there are plenty of fireplaces around. I have one!” And you're right. However, these fireplaces are often gas or electric and not wood. And while that's not exactly a bad thing – they're safer, cheaper, and cleaner – there's something about the smell of wood smoke, the snapping and popping embers, and the in-and-out waves of heat that you might end up missing.