Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Feb 17, 2007 05:56pm | #1

   Styles and tastes change over the years.  Once upon a time, you just had to have green shag carpet if you were "with it".  If it was really long shag that needed periodic raking, you were just too cool for words. - lol

   Then there were Harvest Gold and Avacado appliances.

   And, let's not forget bell bottom pants with white belts.

   The true tragedy of changing styles was the loss of the leather mini-skirt.  I still pray for their comeback!! - lol

1. 
   Danno | Feb 17, 2007 11:44pm | #5

   The true tragedy of changing styles was the loss of the leather mini-skirt.  I still pray for their comeback!! - lol

   Yes, especially when worn with white leather go-go boots! (And black fishnet stockings--though that may be more from my fantasy than from 60's reality.)

2. 
   telephoneguy | Feb 17, 2007 10:17pm | #2

   My MIL still has those with the 2 way bar hinges...they drive me crazy everytime I have to go thru.They are an obstacle when ever you try to carry something thru and are always banged up and the paint is worn.These doors are aways losing the caps on the hinges no matter what you do to keep them on.As well little kids are always getting whacked in the head or having their fingers pinched...I should try to talk her into modernizing and hang beads in the doorway.

3. 
   Tomrocks21212 | Feb 17, 2007 10:38pm | #3

   I think the biggest factor was the changing view of the role of the kitchen. It isn't just a place where the food is prepared, it's the homework area, computer station, etc., in addition to being the focal point of a lot of socialization when entertaining. So the kitchen, unlike its earlier, more utilitarian role, is now a place where family members and guests gather, and doors of any sort would reduce its accessibility.

   Seems like this came about when kitchens started getting bigger and more open. Sort of a chicken vs. egg discussion, I'm not sure which came first.

   Many older homes I visited in my youth had still-functioning buzzers so the domestic help could be summoned to the dining room (not that anyone had servants any more). One home I worked on last year had a system with lighted indicators in the kitchen, laundry, and servants' quarters areas which would show what part of the house the owners needed assistance.

4. 
   Hackinatit | Feb 17, 2007 11:05pm | #4

   They became Utility Room doors.

   Much easier to carry the laundry basket though them.

   Troy Sprout

   Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
   -- Thomas Sowell

5. 
   brownbagg | Feb 17, 2007 11:50pm | #6

   What caused the 50s era swinging doors between the kitchen and dining room to drop out

   because they went dadoom, dadoom, dadoom, ouch, watch it you idiot.
1. 
   etherhuffer | Feb 18, 2007 01:41am | #7

   Aside from the surface of the door getting beat up, a lot of these things go away due to extra costs. The hinge cost money, people live in tract houses and VOILA! Swinging door is gone. Me, I would rather have a nice heavy pocket door there with a single lite glass in it. Light can go through but the noise does not. Open when you wish, closed when you are done or the dishwasher is going.

   I have a real rare one for you. My grandfolks had a house with a neon tube running around the top of the living room. It had a small suspended 2x4 like track under it to hide the tube. The ceiling has a small cove in the plaster where it met the wall. Indirect lighting from neon! Never seen one like it.http://www.etherhuffer.typepad.com

6. 
   Stuart | Feb 18, 2007 02:07am | #8

   My 1913 house had 'em.  Two, in fact - one to the kitchen and one to the butler's pantry.  They're still here, but they're now stored away in the basement.  Surprisingly, after all these years they're still in great shape, and I could put them back up without refinishing them if I wanted to.

   The thing I've been wondering about is the current fashion of putting granite counter tops in every house...it seems like even cheap tract houses have them.  At some point I suppose they'll go out of fashion and some new material will come into vogue, and then people will have to tear out the granite and throw it away.

1. 
   Piffin | Feb 18, 2007 02:24am | #9

   Nah - somebody - like Lowes or Sears - will come out with a granite re-surfacing kit...LOL 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

7. 
   CAGIV | Feb 18, 2007 05:09am | #10

   we had one of those in one of my parents past homes...  I remember one chrismass me and my dad trying to come through at the same time, both at a pretty good pace.

   Broke his glasses and gave me a bloody nose

   

8. 
   stevent1 | Feb 18, 2007 06:55am | #11

   Edward,

   We are the third owners of a bungalow built in 1921. The double swing door between the kitchen and dining room survives. This view is the closed door from the kitchen.

   View Image

   Kitchen to dining room

   View Image

   Dining room to kitchen.

   View Image

   Check out that 1950's shop built range hood.

   Chuck S

   live, work, build, ...better with wood

   
   

   ---

   Edited 2/17/2007 10:58 pm ET by stevent1

9. 
   Ragnar17 | Feb 18, 2007 06:59am | #12

   Edward,

   Are you talking about a full-sized door that swings both inwards and outwards?  Or are you talking about something else?

1. 
   edwardh1 | Feb 18, 2007 07:28am | #13

   Yes in my moms 1958 home it works great

1. 
   Ragnar17 | Feb 18, 2007 07:59am | #16

   Good - I wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing.

   As others here have pointed out, those "butler doors" go back to at least the 1910s.

   Why are they virtually gone from new construction these days?  Probably since the floor plans are so "open" now.   This is especially true of the kitchen -- most houses now have a big room where one part is used for cooking and the other part is used for hanging out.  Kind of hard to incorporate a butler door into this concept.

   Personally, I like being able to close off rooms from time to time.  As someone else here said, a great solution is to use a pair of large pocket doors.

    

10. 
    DougU | Feb 18, 2007 07:41am | #14

    I'm working on a house right now that has the double swinging door going into the pantry so there not completly dead.

    Doug

1. 
   caseyr | Feb 18, 2007 07:57am | #15

   We had a swinging door into the kitchen when I was a kid. It was my grandmother's house and she was the original low impact environmentalist. Actually, she was raised dirt poor and tried to spend as little as possible, thus most of the time, the kitchen was the only room in the house that was heated and the swinging door avoided having the necessity of twisting a door knob when your hands were loaded, or having the door hanging open and letting all the heat out.