1. The utility room is the core of the home, on which housekeeping – the good and efficient running of the home – depends. A well appointed utility area that can cope with the laundry, with sports gear, pets, muddy boots and household storage is essential.

Utility rooms need to be sensibly sized spaces, large enough to accommodate the needs of the whole family, if possible not those corners of rooms, that are often given, especially in new buildings almost as an afterthought.

2. Utility also describes furnishings made from whatever was available, especially in times of hardship and particularly in the mid to third quarter of 20thC England, when everything was in short supply. We’ve come across dressing tables, trunks, chests, sofas and chairs that were made from packing cases and ammunition cases; straw stuffing partly or fully replacing horsehair; upholstery tarpaulin and covers made from grain sacks; curtains, sheets and cushions from parachute silk, even plastic drainpipes used to finish the backs and sides of packing case sofas to mimic the Chesterfield style…

3. Utility furniture is a simple style of light wooden tables, chairs, wardrobes, beds and sofas from the 1950s, made for schools, offices and the general market in the most cost effective way possible. Ignored for decades, utility furniture has lately come into it’s own. It is solidly built, made of real wood and belongs perfectly with retro fashion and textile style.

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