Construction on our home began in 1908 and was completed in 1910. We have a traditional Arts & Crafts style home which has all the Craftsman idiosyncrasies that make these homes so attractive. However, closet space in these homes was designed for the standard of living 100 years ago.
My home was built by Henry H. Hudman who was Vice President of the Pingree National Bank in Ogden. He was also Treasurer of the Blackman Griffith Company, a food wholesaler in Ogden. He was an important guy. So, what does a guy of this prominence and wealth build himself for a closet? You would be surprised.
The closet space (now my closet space) is 3' deep and 4' wide. It had a stained wood board on two walls about 6' above the floor with just 8 hooks. That's it. That was his closet. However, his wife's closet was more elaborate with 20 hooks and six shelves...and a window. Clearly, we know who had access to the architect.
My closet got an upgrade sometime in the 1950's. As the standard of living improved and the owners had more use for the space than the paltry 8 hooks could offer, they installed the popular "rod-and-shelf".
Here is the rod and the shelf that made up my closet. I particularly liked the resourceful use of galvanized pipe for the rod. I am glad it wasn't made of exhaust pipe or surplus rebar. This setup got us by for some time but it was extremely inefficient.
The organizer I installed maximizes use of the space. While convenient, I can't help but think what it implies about the standard of living we have today verses 60 years ago and even 100 years ago. New houses today are designed around a materialistic culture. We all need space for our "stuff" that comes with living a modern consumer lifestyle. While I won't go on a long rant about the subject, I will say that having "stuff" doesn't make me happy. Yet, I admit having it organized in my closet does.
fool wholesaler?
ReplyDeleteSeems... not right.
fool = food. Didn't you know?
ReplyDelete