In the home: The home of tomorrow, viewed from 1950's

 The Whirlpool Miracle kitchen

Flicking through the book I bought on Friday (Home Management), I read with interest a  chapter called "The home of today and tomorrow".   It looks at the homes of the future (the 1980's) and says "the next twenty years will bring even more astonishing changes to the home, today's moderns homes will in a very few years look like period pieces".  Here are some of the concepts being considered:

• Handheld TV's and radio's (with remote controls)
• Colour TV looking like frosted glass panel on the wall
• Electric waste-disposal units in kitchens
• Thermostatically controlled water taps over the sinks which are foot operated
• Central heating in winter and air conditioning in summer - provided by atomic power.  The atomic power will replace coal, electricity and gas for all domestic heating, therefore reducing smog in the atmosphere.
• Furnishing fabric that is already proofed against shrinkage, stains, moths and damp
• Water supplied running through unbreakable pipes
• Glass where you can see out but not in
• Inside walls that are movable
• Small gardens set within the house
• The roof is covered with aluminum foil to reflect the sun's rays
• Outside walls are soundproof and fireproof
• Heating in the floors
• Air conditioning that extracts the smells from the kitchen (including dust)
• Rooms vary in size, height and shape
• Two ovens in the kitchen - both at waist level- one a conventional oven and the other a super high-frequency cooker for high speed work - can cook a roast in less than 15 mins.
• Bread and milk that will last for a week
• Perishable food that is bombarded with gamma rays, an atomic pile by-product that kills all bacteria!
• Shell-less eggs

What an interesting list (not sure about the gamma rays) - I wonder what we will see in the next 20 years (2040), probably the same big changes we have witness in the last 20 years.  One thing I think we will see more of is greater interaction with our appliances - if my car can talk to me, now I am sure fridges will like to have a chat about the lack of milk and if it is necessary to order more. 

However what will be interesting is, will we see an increase of people cooking at home, (back to traditional food preparation) or a greater shift towards pre-made foods (as we become even more time-poor).

The future kitchen as seen by General Motors