The 1940s Home

A nostalgic illustrated history of the British home and its furnishings during wartime and in the early, difficult years of peace.

The history of the British home in the 1940s is dominated by the Second World War. In the first five years of the decade homes were adapted to better survive the affects of bombing. The 1930s home became the wartime home with the addition of anti-blast tape to the windows, sandbags round the door, and a Morrison shelter in the kitchen.The history of the British home in the 1940s is dominated by the Second World War. In the first five years of the decade homes were adapted to better survive the affects of bombing. The 1930s home became the wartime home with the addition of anti-blast tape to the windows, sandbags round the door, and a Morrison shelter in the kitchen. In the garden, lawn and shrubs gave way to vegetable plots and chicken coops. For those whose houses were damaged or destroyed, or those moved out of their homes by post-war rehousing schemes, the picture was very different. For many the pre-fab became home, and new designs of furniture made under the utility scheme furnished rooms cheaply and stylishly. And new estates, different from anything tried before the war, rose from the bomb sites, offering state-of-the-art sanitisation and modern facilities to thousands.