The 1940s House

Furnish your house in authentic 1940s style with Moi Ali’s style guide to all things forties!

The 1940s was the decade that style forgot. The 1930s was all jazz, cocktails, vibrant colour and decadent Deco. The 1950s was an era of post-war optimism, science and technology (with the Festival of Britain, fun atomic and sputnik-inspired interior design, frivolous fashion and rock and roll). By contrast the 1940s were characterised by shortages, food rationing, make do and mend, air raids, death and destruction. Everything was drab and depressing.

Why then are so many miniaturists eager to recreate interiors from that era, myself included? I think it’s because there’s so much nostalgia for that time, when communities pulled together in the face of hardship, the privations of war and post-war austerity. Also, for those like me who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, we can recall vestiges of that era from our childhoods – such as playing in defunct Anderson shelters, finding old gas masks and enamel bread bins in the shed, and marvelling at the war medals of the old chap down the road.

Creating a 1940s house is a challenge because there was no archetypal 1940s architectural style (aside from the ‘prefab’), unlike the previous era with its iconic geometric shapes and distinctive curves. Material shortages affected construction but also the furniture industry. Right through until 1952, furniture was rationed as Britain was not self-sufficient in timber. New furniture was restricted to newly-weds and those bombed out of their homes.

I have photographed my own collection to help you recreate the 1940s look in your miniature home.

I splattered it with a darker shade using a toothbrush. Real versions were painted in stove enamel, which had heatproof qualities. You would have found these coal-fired boilers in kitchens, heating water for hot baths.

TIN BATH

Many houses had no bathroom so the tin bath, which often lived outside, would be hauled in. Dad would get first dibs, and the cooled down (dirty) water would then be used on the young ‘uns, often in front of a lovely warm coal fire. This one hangs in my 1940s back yard.

CARBOLIC SOAP

Forget pretty French soaps scented with essential oils, lavender or rose. Even soap was utilitarian! Typical of the era was Carbolic soap, a distinctive deep pink soap with antiseptic properties and a foul smell. I made these with polymer clay by mixing pink and translucent then forming into blocks to make a kitchen soap. I added more translucent clay to create a paler pink bar for the bathroom and the pale yellow bar is ‘posh’ soap!

Some homes had a vacuum cleaner but most had to make do with this classic Ewbank carpet sweeper. I made this one from a Jane Harrop kit. Ewbank carpet sweepers went into manufacture in 1889 but the company had its heyday from 1945. Hard floors were cleaned with a mop and bucket – the squeegee had yet to be invented! I painted this one cream, like the enamel ones from the 1940s and filled it with resin to look like water.

LAUNDRY DAY

Forget setting the washing machine to automatic and leaving it to do its work – wash day was hard labour! If you were lucky enough to have a washing machine, it still had to be filled, the water heated and then later emptied. This Phoenix kit has yet to be built.

A washboard was an essential wash day item, and a clothes horse was erected in front of the fire for drying off smalls.

DRYING CLOTHES

Without a spin dryer or tumble dryer, clothes had to be run through a mangle to squeeze out excess water. This one was made from a Phoenix kit.

BUCKING BRONCO!

Forget super soft, cushioned Andrex or toilet tissue in pastel colours. Scratchy Izal and slippery Bronco toilet paper was all that was available – if you were lucky! Many had to make do with last Sunday’s News of the World torn up into squares. I made this loo from a plastic kit made by Chrysnbon. Although it’s a Victorian design, it fits well into a 1940s interior.

THE

LAVVIE

Many families didn’t have a toilet in their home. An outdoor ‘lavvie’ at the end of the backyard was not uncommon. No one liked being ‘caught short’ on a dark, cold winter’s night! I made this cubicle for my wartime backyard using balsa wood. My kids when they were young persuaded me to make a poo from polymer clay to go in the pan!

HIGH LEVEL

For those lucky enough to have an indoor loo, high level cisterns were the norm. This one from my collection was made by the much-acclaimed miniaturist Henry Colbert in the 1980s and is based on an Art Deco design that would have been found in many 1940s homes.

Keeping warm ROUND THE FIRE

Coal fires were the main source of heat. Although they were sometimes lit in a bedroom on especially cold winter nights, generally only the living room was heated – and central heating a luxury not for the likes of the working classes. These fireplaces from my collection are from Phoenix. You can see how a paint effect transforms plastic into authentic looking ceramic tiles.

These resin fireplaces from Halls have light up inserts to simulate coal. Deco in style, they would have also been found in 1940s homes. Given their size, they are most likely bedroom fireplaces.

IN THE BUNKER

Coal was rationed, meaning houses could be a bit chilly in winter. Coal was stored in a concrete coal bunker, and was brought into the house in a coal scuttle. I made this bunker from thin hardboard using a pattern I found in a book.

PARAFFIN HEATER

Few homes had the luxury of central heating and they could be cold, damp and draughty. The paraffin heater was a must-have.

Paraffin oil was cheap, and the heaters did not require an electrical supply or socket, making them portable. Unfortunately, they had an unpleasant odour and presented a huge fire risk with their naked flames and flammable fuel. This one is a kit by Phoenix and I gave it a grubby paint effect. The others, all electric, are also by Phoenix but I have yet to add an electrical flex to make them look real.

Keeping fed RATIONS

Rationing began in January 1940 with bacon, sugar and butter. It was a way of ensuring that what little food was available was shared evenly. Other foodstuffs such as milk, meat, tea and cheese were added, so kitchen cupboards were often bare. Shop-bought biscuits and confectionary were off the menu! This ration card is from Poppets Dolly Bits, the bread I purchased from AmanSpeak and the food I made from polymer clay.

Every home had a kitchen table. Meals were taken there (as not everyone had a dining room) and the table’s easy-to-wipe surface meant it could double up as extra worktop space when prepping meals. Often an oilcloth was used as a table cloth, as here.

KITCHEN STORAGE

These enamelware kitchenalia pieces are mainly bare metal items by Phoenix. I have finally finished painting most of them! Humbrol enamel paints in cream and green or black and white are authentic colourways. Use a black Sharpie pen to add chips to the enamel. These canisters and cake tins, purchased ready painted from Country Contrast, are typical of items found in kitchens during this era for food storage.

most had to make do with a small toy and a tangerine in the Christmas stocking. These, plus construction toys and modern favourites like Monopoly kept children entertained in the days before the Play Station and online gaming.

READING

The long dark nights were whiled away with a good book. 1940s classics include Hemmingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls and Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. A few Penguin paperbacks on the bookshelf were essential. I made this 1940s bookshelf and the books in it.

READING THE PAPER

Make some 1940s newspapers like these ones I made for my 1940s shop. Simply print off papers of the era from the internet and fold. Pop one on an armchair, a hall stand or on the breakfast table.

GRAMOPHONE

So many of us sew for pleasure, but it was an essential skill in the 1940s. 'Make do and mend' was the motto following clothes rationing in 1941. Clothing had to be repaired, refashioned or made from scratch using whatever was available – including table cloths and old curtains! Every 1940s home would have a treadle or hand sewing machine.

The kitchen table often became a sewing workshop.

Keeping safe GAS MASKS

Everyone in Britain was given a black rubber gas mask in a cardboard box during the war, to protect them from gas bombs which were sometimes dropped during air raids. These were kept at the ready, often near the back door, and people were expected to carry them when they left the home. This kit from

Jane Harrop contains a gas mask in a box, plus wartime documents such as a ration book. Place one in your 1940s house to evoke the wartime era.

Many homes had two rooms – a front room or parlour for ‘best’ (visitors and special occasions) and a living room which was an informal, everyday room that often doubled up as a dining room too. The best furniture and ornaments were in the front room, while the living room was more utilitarian.

This kind of sofa and armchair, made by Arlette’s Miniatures, is a classic 1930s design found in parlours through the 1940s and into the 1950s. Mine was originally white leather but I dyed it as it looked too glamorous in my shabby house. Moquette and Rexine were typical durable furnishing fabrics.

By 1940, 10 million pieces of Lloyd Loom furniture had been made. It was used for bedroom and bathroom seating (as well as tables, laundry baskets, ottomans and a host of other items).

Plain oak dropleaf gateleg tables such as this one I made from a Jane Harrop kit are typical of houses with a dining room. The dropleaf design was a space saving feature, as the leaves could be dropped and the table pushed into an alcove out of the way. I bought the dinner service from Victoria Fasken. It looks like fine ceramic but it’s hand-painted metal.

WALLS

Wallpaper was a more popular wall finish than paint, and busy floral prints were typical for walls, curtains and furnishings.

Wall ornamentation included pictures, plaster heads, plaster chargers and

Few homes had a fitted kitchen. Most kitchens comprised a hotchpotch of freestanding cupboards and cabinets, and perhaps a few wall mounted shelves and a plate rack.

Colour chart

Colours in the 1940s were drab and dreary...

Brown

Maroon

“There’s so much nostalgia for this time, when communities pulled together in the face of hardship,

the privations of war and post-war austerity”

2 Once the two central pieces have been glued together and the glue is dry, use a hole punch to punch a circle in the centre near the top to form a carrying handle. 5 Cut a small piece of card just under 2x1cm and bend it lengthways. Glue it to the bottom of the central upright to create a better gluing area when attaching this piece.