When it comes to home design, it's always interesting to learn the history of less common features — especially in old houses. Some examples include weep holes in brick houses, slits in medicine cabinets, and toilets in the basement. And now, courtesy of DenGarden and TikTok users, we now know the purpose of another outdated feature.
Last month, TikToker @discogatorade shared a mysterious metal box in her kitchen. She noted that her apartment was built in 1933 and has many cool built-ins, but she couldn't figure out what this box was for.
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Many users speculated in the comments, convinced it was for storing foods like milk, butter, and pies. Others thought it was for keeping bread warm. However, as @discogatorade explained in a second video, the box is too small for holding most of those foods.
"It's just about the length of my hand and it's pretty shallow," she said in the TikTok. There are also holes on the front, meaning it's not airtight and ideal for something like bread.
As it turns out, the box is for an iron! In fact, in another TikTok, @discogatorade shows that there's a built-in ironing board right next to the box. The board literally folds out of the wall, which is a pretty cool feature, if you ask us.
The box is too big for a modern iron, but as one user says, it's for older smaller irons. The box is "lined with metal and vent holes so you can put the warm iron out of reach without causing a fire," they add.
Another person commented: "Old irons were smaller and heated manually, and would have fit in that spot perfectly."
Honestly, we're loving the idea of a built-in ironing board and iron box. It would be so useful for saving space, especially in smaller apartments.
The more you know!