Why are Closets in Older Houses so Small? Where did People Store Clothes?

The reason why closets in older houses are so small has to do with the building styles in the olden days. That is why you don’t always have small closets in newer model homes. However, when you are looking at older houses to see if the closets are big enough for your belongings, there are some considerations. You might want to use a wardrobe, which is what they used in the past to store clothes, or a chest. Learn more about the kind of methods that were used to store clothing, and why the closets in older houses are so small.

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Older Homes Had Smaller People

It’s true! According to Live Science, 100 years ago, the people were shorter, skinnier, and didn’t live to be as old as we do today. Men are about 4 inches taller today than they were a century ago thanks to diet, exercise, and the environment. When you are not as tall, you don’t have as long as a pair of pants, times five, let’s say. You are also going to have a smaller house and all of your rooms are going to be smaller, both in height and width, in comparison to rooms today. People 100 years ago were barely industrialized, much less living in dwellings as spacious as we have today. This, of course, is not counting those tiny homes nationwide and micro-apartments in Japan.

As a result, all of the rooms in older homes were built to scale for the size of person they were housing back then. When you are a half a foot shorter than the people about to buy your older home as a remodel, then you can see where the height difference is a disadvantage. Today, people need to have more space, especially vertically, simply to live safely. After all, you don’t want to hit your head on the ceiling of your closet all the time. So if you are planning on buying an older home, just go into the deal knowing that the rooms are smaller and you will have to accommodate the loss of space. Yes, this includes the closets, which are most likely going to be much smaller and few and far between in comparison to newer homes. 

Older Times Meant Fewer Clothes and Accessories

A major reason why closets are so much smaller in older houses compared to the houses being built today is simple. They didn’t need as much closet space back then as they do today. Wardrobes were a lot smaller and more compact and included far fewer items that were hung on hangers or needed to be stored in a closet.

You simply didn’t really have that much stuff that required storing, as most people would maximize each item of clothing and wear layers–or the same style for all four seasons. Also, most people were not rich enough to be able to not wear their clothing. Every single piece of clothing had a function, including indicating their social behaviors.

Therefore, men and women had to wear almost everything they could afford to buy. This was also part of the Victorian Era style where people were far more formal in using clothing for social status, in comparison to today. Now, shopping addiction means you are going to want and need larger and more functional closets. 

Storing Clothes in Wardrobes, Chests, and Drawers

As the following single-door wardrobe description suggests, “The Alcott single-door wardrobe makes resident rooms and senior living facilities look a little more residential and a little less institutional. This USA-made wardrobe comes in warm wood finishes instead of cheap laminate or plastic, which will help the elderly enjoy their time in your facility and feel like they’re at home. They’ll be able to store garments, personal effects, and other small items on hand instead of tucked away in unwieldy chests of drawers.”

You can see that these pieces of furniture were typically used 100 to 50 years ago. If your senior relative is using the furniture model, then it is a clear answer to the question of how they stored their clothes back then.

Source: National Business Furniture

Notice that this Novogratz Owen 6 Drawer Dresser features hairpin legs made of gold plated metal along with a mid-century retro style from the 1950s. This shows you exactly how they used to store their clothing–in similarly styled dresser drawers. Again, we are talking about furniture from over 75 years ago, and this indicates a clear use in the century before us.

They didn’t have enough closet space, but they made up for it with the use of wardrobes, chests, and drawers.

Source: Wayfair

Chests, including the traditional hope chest, were used for storing delicate items. These are also used for dowries for young women in the Southeast and in the UK still today. A chest made of cedarwood is great for storing items including lace and wool that could be eaten by moths.

When you use a hope chest for a dowry, you are storing handmade items including embroidery and other keepsakes that will be gifted to the woman when she is ready to get married. This is the idea of the hope chest tradition, which dates back 100 years and more. While reserved for royals, many people in Georgia, for example, still use hope chests for young women given to them by their elderly family members.

Recapping Closets in Older Homes

In an older home, you are more likely to have smaller closets due to historical relevance for homeowners back a century ago. They didn’t need the closet space that we need today, so they did not invest in building that large amount of closets. Also, people were just shorter and tinier back then, and so were the sizes of their clothing as well as the number of clothes they owned.

As a result, you can expect to see smaller closets in older homes. They often used wardrobes, chests, and dresser drawers to maximize storage, which is the same suggestion that is to be made to homeowners interested in buying older homes with smaller closets. Prepare to invest in a few hefty pieces of furniture that will serve as both a great-looking item in a room, as well as secure and safe storage for clothing and accessories.