Missing rooms

Once upon a time, posh houes had a wealth of rooms dedicated to particular activities - rooms that rarely appear in our modern homes. Victoria Harrison of Angel + Blume considers updated versions of the butler’s pantry et al

Missing rooms

Fashions for rooms come and go as society changes and our relationships with our homes alter. The separate dining room, for example, has all but disappeared in recent years, as dining tables are incorporated into the modern family kitchen, or take up a corner of the living room in a couple’s city flat. However, what we need from our homes on a daily basis essentially remains the same – even if we’re now using the space ourselves, rather than the staff!

Morning suits

The morning room has largely disappeared from modern houses. Traditionally, it was a place where ladies would sit to write letters and meet with the housekeepers to discuss the running of the household. No one now really needs such a room – or do we? Certainly, we need somewhere to catch up with admin, so, the morning room has actually been reinvented in many homes as an office space. Some people have a dedicated room for working at home, but others simply set aside part of the living area.

Missing rooms

In the cooler

The cool room or larder is a traditional room that’s making a bit of a comeback at the moment. Brilliant at freeing up space in a kitchen, an insulated room with shelves and a sink reduces the need for lots of cupboards in the main food preparation area and acts as a natural overflow for your fridge. When planning your home it may be worth going for a smaller kitchen that incorporates a decent-sized larder.

Blooming marvellous

A flower room is likely to appeal to all the gardeners out there. Traditionally set at the back of the house near the gardens, it was used for storing vases and garden tools, with a sink and bench for arranging flowers. Although not many of us would have the space for this in our own homes, if you have a utility room you could always set aside some space with a separate sink for this purpose.

Although some of these historical rooms might seem a luxury to us today, they all evolved to cater for the needs and requirements of everyday life, and likewise our homes are evolving to fit the way we live today. As the size and quality of our TV screens grow by the moment, media rooms and cinema-style screening rooms are becoming more common. And as the amount of electrical hardware in our homes increases, a communications room (or store) is looking like less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

While these rooms all sound appealing, when considering your own home, ask yourself, ‘how do I live in my house?’ and ‘what rooms do I need?’ But be warned, you might be surprised by the answers – I’m now desperate to find space for a flower room!

Photos courtesy of Plain English, Marston and Langinger