Back to the Future
19th February 2008
Eighty years ago, 1928 was the year of the first House of the Future at the Daily Mail Ideal Home Show. In the days when fridges were new-fangled gadgets and the dishwasher a distant dream, the House imagined what life might be like in 2000.
The interior space (coloured to suit the temperament of its occupants) was adaptable, with roller shutters available to turn two double bedrooms into four small ones, chairs that could be deflated and rolled up when not needed and a dining table that could be wheeled between rooms.
Heating came from electric panels on the floor. On the roof was a pergola for roasting yourself on sunny days, and when you felt in need of another blast, you could top up with ultra-violet ray treatment throughout the house.
Domestic labour, it was confidently announced, had been eliminated. No washing-up was needed as plates and cups were disposable and cooking was simply a matter of making concentrated foods enriched with vitamins. The garden was a series of geometric blocks crammed with flowers, which the ‘public gardener’ would simply lift and replace.
