1940s homes: from bomb shelters to blackout curtains

Travel back in time to the 1940s

After the glitz and glamour of the 1920s and 30s, the party came to a screeching halt in 1939 as the world went to war once again. We take a look at the impact this important decade had on everyday life, exploring the architecture, décor and habits of a 1940s home both during and after the war.

Read on to discover life on the home front and explore how people 'kept calm and carried on' when the world went to war…

The world at war

The outbreak of the Second World War marked the end of normalcy, bringing drastic changes to daily life, much like the economic crash a decade earlier. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, prompting France and Great Britain to declare war two days later. The conflict rapidly expanded to involve major powers like Russia, China, Japan, Italy and eventually the United States, leading to the deaths of over 60 million people worldwide and widespread destruction.

An international conflict

The US entered the war in December 1941 after Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, which claimed over 2,400 lives. By 1945, the Allied Forces (Great Britain, America, Russia and China) emerged victorious. The war’s impact reshaped societies globally, altering everyday life, from clothing and food to overall living conditions.

On both sides of the Atlantic, a genuine community spirit developed and often transcended class and other barriers as people 'battened down the hatches' to protect their homes and lives.

War on the home front

While the war effort was, of course, focused on the frontlines, it dramatically altered the lives of those left behind as well. With the majority of men of working age engaged in combat, women in Britain and America rolled up their sleeves and joined the workforce in droves to fill in the gaps left behind by husbands and fathers. Home lives were simplified, family units condensed and many people moved away from cities, where possible.

Rationing and reduction

With supply chains cut off all over the world, the 1940s saw a dramatic reduction in consumption across the board from food and clothes to home goods. Plus, the majority of factories were repurposed to aid the war effort by producing uniforms, weaponry and other equipment, putting a halt on the production of whatever goods they had previously produced and reducing the quantity of consumer items available.

Back to basics

On both sides of the Atlantic, families queued for hours to collect ration books. These were forms of documentation which outlined the holder’s entitlement to the various goods in short supply due to import reductions. Rationing forced families in both Britain and the US to limit ‘luxury’ items such as coffee, sugar, butter, alcohol and certain meats.

The average 1940s home

The war had an impact on homebuilding and architecture for similar reasons. The high industrial demands on steel and other construction materials during wartime led to new developments in products such as aluminium and synthetics. Simple, efficient and effective, modernist-style homes dominated the construction market during the war years.

1940s homes in the UK

During the interwar period (1934 to 1939), semi-detached homes like these were built en masse as part of urban expansion in the UK. Most new UK homes were built on cheap land on the outskirts of cities and it was a great time for social housing with around 214,000 council properties built by 1939.

These homes were often built in estates of cul-de-sacs and characterised by low-hipped rooflines, curved bay windows and some elements of the Arts and Crafts movement, such as pebble-dashed walls, hanging tiles and recessed porches. Tudor-style houses, with their telltale half-timbers, were also popular and the number of private flats surged, with an estimated 56,000 built in London during the decade.

1940s kitchens

A 1940s kitchen was compact, practical and designed for efficiency. Built-in cabinets were rare; instead, freestanding cupboards and tables were used, with wall-mounted shelving or big pieces such as a dresser or sideboard added for extra storage. Colour schemes often featured muted pastels, with floral or checkered patterns on walls and curtains in pinks, pale blues, soft greens and cheery yellows.

With wartime rationing in full effect, kitchens were geared for frugal cooking, preserving food through canning, pickling and preserving, and making the most of limited supplies. They also served as multi-purpose spaces for housework like laundry and sewing, making them the hub of daily home life.

Old and new technologies

1940s kitchens also frequently featured a hodgepodge of appliances, depending on the wealth and location of the household. A new Frigidaire refrigerator might be seen next to an antiquated Chambers stove, for example. Essentials included a gas or coal stove and an icebox or basic refrigerator, while electric gadgets were minimal and most things were done by hand. Meanwhile, newly developed materials were on full display, with linoleum floors, enamel tabletops and chrome fixtures and fittings.

Living rooms in the 40s

The heart of the home, the living room was where families gathered to listen to the radio, anxiously following the world’s news. Most living rooms also featured phonographs, later better known as gramophones, which played the latest hits from Bing Crosby and Glenn Miller when spirits needed lifting.

In terms of interior design, the 1940s were an eclectic mix of leftover Art Deco glamour and the dawn of mid-century modern minimalism. With furniture, like most goods, in short supply, most families kept their furniture from the 1930s throughout the war.

Blackout Britain

In Britain, there would have been thick blackout curtains or boards at the windows. Designed to block out the ambient light, they made it more difficult for cities to be targeted by Germany's Luftwaffe air force bombers and were made mandatory for all households in 1939.

Fuel, too, was in short supply, so fireplaces played an essential part in the home and were another reason the living room became a central gathering place. The living room pictured here is a classic example of a traditionally furnished early 40s home, with seating gathered close to the warmth of the hearth.

Dining rooms and parlours

Dining rooms underwent a similar stylistic shift over the course of the decade. The traditional setup for a wartime dining room was a table and chairs, a buffet (a cupboard with plenty of storage inside), a china cabinet and a phone nook. There would often be a timepiece of some sort, perhaps a mantel or grandfather clock, and a fireplace for heat and warmth.

The phone was traditionally kept in this room to prevent calls from interrupting important radio broadcasts in the living room.

Dining room décor

This picture shows a dining room in Yorkshire, England around 1940. Popular decorations included mirrors, bouquets of wax flowers and chandeliers, even in middle-class homes. Wallpaper was a popular choice when it came to decorating and there would have been a stash of candles and matches kept close to hand.

Safety features

In Britain, people who lived in homes without a basement or a bomb shelter would hide underneath their dining room table when the air raid siren rang, and some even swapped their traditional piece for a 'Morrison shelter'. These came in self-assembly kits that could be configured as a table and aimed to protect the family from falling rubble should their home be hit.

Multi-use Morrison shelters

These multi-purpose pieces of furniture could even double up as a sleeping place for two, allowing residents to rest while sheltering from air raids during the Blitz (as seen here in a home in England in August 1941). By the end of 1941, half a million Morrison shelters had been distributed. They were strong and extremely valuable to homes without a garden bomb shelter. Plus they didn't have the issue of damp or cold during the winter months.

The 1940s bedroom

Clearly more comfortable than a converted table, most 1940s bedrooms featured either a double or twin beds with a down-filled duvet, though hot water bottles were often required in colder months due to fuel rationing.

This illustration from the Ladies’ Home Journal is representative of a traditional bedroom from the time. Replete with ruffles, this cheerful yellow room features a canopied bed and hardwood furnishings.

Glamorous boudoirs

This picture shows a substantially more glamorous bedroom from the period belonging to popular screen actress Florence Desmond, complete with a mirrored niche and sumptuous oversized satin headboard.

Floral and chintz fabrics were popular for bedding and drapes and large mirrors were standard for both practical and ornamental purposes.

1940s bedroom furniture

While wardrobes were becoming standard features in new builds, many older homes still used chifforobes, a piece of furniture that combines a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, or dressers instead.

However, wartime rationing of clothes and fabrics in both the UK and the US also meant that people had fewer garments to store than in previous decades.

British bathrooms in the 1940s

Luxurious tiled bathrooms were not yet the norm in many low-wage homes in the 1940s. In the UK, many houses still had outdoor lavatories, and washing might take place in a bedroom with a wash bowl or in a tin bath in the kitchen. During the war, soap and shampoo were rationed, forcing families to reduce the number of baths they took in a week.

In Britain, families were advised to limit the amount of water in their bath to a mere five inches to save on fuel according to The Imperial War Museum's website. British families were also advised to keep a first aid box in the bathroom to treat minor injuries during air raid attacks.

Anderson shelters

Pre-existing homes also saw wartime updates, largely relating to health and safety. This photo taken in the 1960s depicts a British home which still sports its Anderson shelter. These were an additional structure many Brits constructed in their gardens to provide rudimentary protection during air raids.

Roughly 1.5 million of these structures had been installed in homes by the outbreak of the war in 1939, according to the RAF Museum, with a further 2.1 million built throughout its duration.

Inside an Anderson

This replica Anderson shelter is at Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, a WWII Royal Air Force barracks in Lincolnshire, UK. Designed to hold up to six people, they were typically made of sheets of corrugated steel coated in zinc, which provided very effective protection against rusting and made them strong.

Buried as deep as possible underground they were sparsely decorated, with benches for seating (or sleeping if the raid was overnight). Sturdy boxes to store a book or game were common, as well as rations to keep everyone fed.

Victory gardens

Victory gardens were another popular addition to British and American homes during the war, a trend carried over from the First World War. With widespread food rationing in both countries, home production of fresh fruit and vegetables became essential.

Where possible, they were planted in public spaces too, like this one in London with St Paul's Cathedral in the distance. Slogans such as 'digging for victory' and 'our food is fighting' were propagated far and wide and victory gardens were also planted on the grounds of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to inspire both nations to 'get growing'.

Growing their own

These gardens were easily planted in rural and suburban areas and were sometimes even planted on top of Anderson shelters, like the one pictured here.

In cities, gardens were squeezed into rooftops, window boxes or small urban allotments. The publicity campaigns were a great success and by the end of the war in 1945 American victory gardeners had grown between 8 and 10 million tons of food, according to the National Park Service. Across the pond, Brits were able to produce 75% of their food on home soil, according to The British Nutrition Foundation.

Rural living in the UK

Meanwhile, a vastly different story was unfolding in rural parts of Britain and America. During the first few years of the conflict in the UK, there was a sense that the war was a far-removed concept with little implication for non-city dwellers according to the BBC. In reality, rationing had a lower impact on those in rural areas, as many people had their own farms or allotments as food sources.

But life was far from normal for people living in rural areas of Britain, as around 3.5 million children and vulnerable people were evacuated from cities like London to escape air raids. Some evacuees found countryside life dull or were unhappy, while others were put to work on farms which were now crucial for food production.

Farmhouses and country homes

An average farmhouse in the 1940s was typically modest and functional, reflecting a rural lifestyle focused on practicality. The structure was often built from stone, brick or wood, depending on the region, and interiors prioritised utility over luxury. The main rooms usually included a kitchen, a living room, a scullery or pantry and a few small bedrooms. Larger farmhouses might also have a dining room or a separate parlour for taking meals.

The décor was simple, with practical, hard-wearing furnishings. Wallpaper or painted walls in muted colours were common, with floral or geometric patterns and lots of handmade and homespun fabrics used for soft furnishings. 'Make-do and mend' was the order of the day.

Luxury homes in the 1940s

During the 1940s, the lifestyles of wealthy homeowners in the UK and US underwent significant transformations due to the Second World War. In Britain, affluent families often contributed their estates to the war effort, with grand country houses being converted into facilities such as hospitals, schools and depots.

The war also led to increased taxes and economic controls targeting the wealthy, with estate and income taxes reaching high levels. Wealthy individuals were also subject to rationing, with even the royal family adhering to clothing coupons. Fearing invasion, some prominent British families even evacuated their children to the US and Canada.

Luxury homes in the 1940s

In the United States, similar economic measures impacted the affluent, with higher taxes and stricter economic regulations introduced to support the war effort. Despite their wealth, American elites also experienced rationing and other constraints. The wealthy in both nations adjusted to these changes by sacrificing luxury items and supporting national goals. This era marked a departure from the opulent lifestyles of the 1920s and early 1930s, as many of the rich shifted focus to patriotism and survival.

The Blitz

Of course, no discussion of the war would be complete without acknowledgement of the Blitz, the German bombing campaign waged against Great Britain between 1940 and 1941. With its systematic targeting of London, the German Luftwaffe were responsible for the destruction of 3.5 million homes and 9 million square feet (840k sqm) of office space, rendering 1.5 million people homeless.

With more than 70,000 buildings demolished and another 1.7 million severely damaged as recorded in magazine National Geographic, the city would take decades to fully recover from the assault.

Ready for anything

Of course, the most substantial adjustments to homes were practical rather than aesthetic, designed to conserve resources and protect inhabitants. This was particularly true in the UK, where bombing was an ever-present threat, especially in urban areas.

In addition to Anderson and Morrison shelters, many homes featured Xs taped across pains of glass to try and reduce flying shards in the event of an explosion, and government-issued gas masks became a regular feature.

The end of World War II

The Second World War ended in 1945 with Germany's surrender on 7 May, followed by the official acceptance on May 8, known as VE Day (Victory in Europe). Massive celebrations erupted across the UK, France and Europe, with parades, street parties and joyous crowds.

In the Pacific, the war continued until Japan surrendered on 15 August, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, marking VJ Day (Victory over Japan). The formal surrender was signed on 2 September. The end of the war brought widespread relief, celebrations and hope for lasting peace across the war-torn world.

The dawn of prefab architecture

The war had generated a massive spike in urbanisation in both the US and the UK. Increased production to meet the material needs of the conflict resulted in a vast number of factory jobs, which attracted many migrants and saw people moving from countryside to the city.

The subsequent housing crisis brought about the dawn of prefab architecture, born of the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act 1944. In his 12-year plan, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill outlined the UK's housing future after the war was won, which required the Ministry of Works to produce Emergency Factory Made Houses, or EFMs. These later came to be known more commonly as prefabs – prefabricated homes.

Cheap and speedy

Prefab models were single-storey detached bungalows consisting of two bedrooms, a living room, a fully equipped kitchen and a bathroom, as this advertisement from 1945 illustrates.

They were designed to be cheap to produce and quick to assemble, and, while far from ideal, were a significant improvement on previous emergency housing, which included encampments in Epping Forest and bunk beds set up underground in tube stations.

Out with the old, in with the new

Meanwhile, for those not facing a housing crisis, the end of the war brought about dramatic changes in interior design. As rations were lifted and economies shuddered back into life, both America and the UK saw a rise in consumer culture. Homes became more functional and less formal, with an emphasis on material goods which could now be mass-produced thanks to new processes developed during the war.

Moving towards mid-century modernism

In the second half of the decade, once wartime restrictions and rations were lifted and families were free to spend again, many living rooms got a mid-century minimalist facelift. Mid-century furnishings featured sleek, streamlined silhouettes, plywood panelling, glass tables, geometric prints and orange, brown and green colour palettes. Man-made materials such as plastic and fibreglass came into prominence, as did warm woods such as teak and rosewood.

The dawn of a new decade

As the 40s gave way to the 50s, both the US and the UK entered a new era of rebuilding, reimagining and reinventing what the modern home should look like – a new style of home for a new style of living. Several distinctive architectural styles emerged inspired by the optimism and technological leaps of this transformative decade. People's homes, buildings and lives would never be the same again...