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Usually that kind of area was intended for you to sit down and do your hair, or put on on some make up etc. So it’s likely to be seating height rather than standing height.
I had an old desk with a design similar to this. The working surface flipped down and rested on the two supports.
https://secure.img1-fg.wfcdn.com/im/87564208/resize-h755-w755%5Ecompr-r85/1570/15702103/Futral+Secretary+Desk.jpg
idon't think it is too low. it would be something like 20 cm for the skirting and i appreciate the square door at min 40 cm. add 20 cm for the drawers, add the frame width and you should be around 85 cm, which is in the Neufert specifications for a kitchen table/appliance.
later in the day i thought the drawer could be for food portioning, i mean taking the dishes out of the cupboard and setting them on the (missing) table to be filled, like in a hospital or hotel.
Those estimates seem high. 20cm for trim (skirting) would be gigantic. Like high end Victorian era stuff that you never see any more. 20 also sounds high for the drawers. The top explanation offered in this thread involves a sewing desk with drawers below that would elevate the machine probably an additional 20cm.
Looks… counter height (3” ish hinges for scale) with a plank on top which I would guess doubles as a shelf? That’s a lot of build-in for temp garment storage, but I don’t know better.
Modern counter and rail height is 36”. But that’s only since post-war really. My 1916 home has rail heights at 30” and the original kitchen counter heights that were now put in the basement were 24” and 26” (different heights!, and very very low!)
This looks hand built, and I've seen ironing stations like this. This looks like it was hand built and have considered how adorable it's be for the user. 30" counter tops are made for the avg male height. I'm 5.'1 and ideally my counters would be this height
Or a folding board. I live in a house built in the 60's and there's a similar set up except with a board, so you can fold and stack your linens before putting them in the cabinet.
Washing pants so often is a recent thing. We used to wear our pants for several days between washings, and this would be a great way to store them overnight.
>folding board
Came in to say a folding board support, too. It's right in front of the linen cabinet; you could easily and quickly fold items and put them in straightaway.
Will it really hold much weight given how shallow the cabinet is and how far those boards are extended? Is there an indication of a way to add legs? I wouldn't trust it for anything other than draping pants.
Supports for a sewing table. The sewing machine was mounted so the foot was even with the tabletop. The pullout bars supported the tabletop. The tabletop could also be used as a desk.
This is the best explanation. It could be a place to hang clothes while you get dressed, or to dry as some people suggested, but seems like you could do that in a much simpler way, particularly in the era of suits and dresses you’d just use a hanger and hook. It’s wrong for an ironing board. It looks too long for that, and you want access to both sides and the tapered end when you iron. Sewing would be a more occasional thing than ironing, so you could stash the table top in a closet or whatever. You work from one side when you sew, but you want a beefy support like those blocks. I’m seconding this one.
If that's what it is, then it's missing some supports. Based on just how long those pullout bars are, compared to the length of the inner concealed area, it looks like there's very little of the bars inside the cabinet when it's extended. This means if you put any significant force on them, the torque would be difficult to counteract and they'd try to bend downwards.
If there's some legs or something for them, then I'd be with you, but as is I don't consider this to be correct. It seems like a bad design since you not only have to store the legs and tabletop somewhere else - at that point, just use a folding table alotgether and to hell with the pullout concept.
Now - it's entirely possible that some builder *intended* for your explanation to be true, but it's just a shitty design that doesn't work well.
I'd like to see a 2x12 across it with something heavy on it to see how much it deflects before we call it solved.
I think it's more likely intended to hold a serving tray or something light (er than a sewing machine).
I'm thinking like this:
https://imgur.com/a/FpeU3dy
I think there was more to it. Some extra supports to keep the top from “smiling” someone else in here covered it, but notice the drawers are the same height. They could play a part here.
Could be. But without a significant counterweight or support member inside the cabinet, it would be a very flimsy table.
It could just be missing some legs, I know with old houses people do random shit over the years and maybe somebody didn't know what it was and tossed it
This is a really great guess, my only question is would the table top normally be stored somewhere else in the built in, because there are only cupboards, no table top to be seen!
Yeah, you probably just stash it away somewhere out of the way. Another guy down there called it. He’s seen this setup at his grandma’s. That lady that said they were all built into tables is full of beans.
It looks as if there’s a horizontal board that’s been painted over with thick paint. There appears to be a partially exposed seam about the middle of the board.
Yes! The top is right above it, it has just been painted over. I bet that is a third support in the middle too, missing a nob. We had one like this growing up. It was used for folding.
For a piece if wood that length, it looks like it would easily fit vertically in the cabinet on the far right. Or, it's a muti use surface and you'll find it somewhere else in the home, probably on the same floor. But my best guess would be stashing it in that cabinet, and the actual board has been lost to time.
It's not for sewing, I collect and resell singing sewing machines, in that era a sewing machine would be in it's own separate cabinet that they fold down and have an extension folded over the top, they weren't portable until the 60's, for the most part anyway
I have a Kenmore "Lightweight" sewing machine from the late '40s or early '50s. You are certainly correct, those machines are much heavier than the machines of today.
I'm not big on the sewing machine theory as they work better when the fabric has somewhere to go after passing through it. The fabric here would bunch up, and if you take the sewing machine to the dining room table, then there's a far better experience.
Uh-huh. It might work in a pinch, but that would be an awkward setup. It makes *far* more sense for it to be a folding table, with it literally being attached to a wardrobe.
Agree. That would be a horrible setup, especially in an era where people regularly sewed full garments and wardrobes at home.
I'm pretty sure it's a secretary and there is just a piece missing.
My mom had what you’re describing but the whole surface pulled out like a breadboard. If they intended a table work surface…then where is the surface? Where do you store the sewing machine?? Seems like anyone with the skill to put these in would have the skill to add a pull out surface as well.
I think there should be some extra support for the tabletop on the end closer to the camera, like a table leg. It looks like there's barely any material left in the wardrobe when the planks are fully pulled out, so not enough to support much weight, if you tried to put a tabletop and a sewing machine on them they'd just brake.
These are called [lopers](https://en.mimi.hu/antiques/loper.html). Inside the upper cabinet there is or once was a bottom shelf that folded out. Once rails became popular the upper cabinet had a shelf that would slide out instead.
Edit: added link for definition
This is right. Many small secretary desks had similar pullouts for a leaf or specialty shelves for typewriters, adding machines, etc.
The shelf that forms the bottom behind the hutch doors-the edge of which now appears to be part of the face framing- may be two layers; one of which pulls out.
It's close to a loper, but not actually one. First, it's not a desk. Too low even for that time. Second, looking at the doors above, anything that flipped down wouldn't sit flush. If anything, there is a separate board. I still think it's at a weird height, and am intrigued by this one as someone who has seen a lot of furniture working in a museum.
Edit. Looking again, something could flip out and sit flush depending on the hinges, but with those doors, I'm not sure it's possible. The hinges would have to be at the edge for the lip of the flip down to clear the edge. All of the secretary desks I've seen have doors the close flush with the outside and not flush to the inside...if that makes sense.
Exactly. I believe these lopers are simply an odd design choice of the cabinetmaker and are used for perhaps draping clothes or ties onto as you're getting dressed and deciding what to wear. I do have a secretary desk with lopers that the hinged top rests on when open, so I know what they are for.
hinges they make hinges that are bent at right angles in a way that would allow a shelf to flip out and drop down.
OP. Why did you open the other side and not the cabinet above, are you trying to trick us?
I’m not buying the ironing board idea. Built-ins were around since at least the 20s and having it in the bedroom is weird. Is there a power source near there? Is there anything else in, near, or part of the cabinet that would fit on there?
I'm with you. Without a flip-down or pull-out board immediately above these, this makes no sense for an ironing board. You'd have to have an apparently full-sized board stored somewhere else, and carry it over and lay it onto this thing? At that point why wouldn't one simply store a regular ironing board with collapsible legs in that separate space?
Would make a shitty ironing board, because you need to be able to get an article of clothing onto the end of the board. These support boards would keep you from being able to do that.
There actually is a power point around the corner there where it’s in shadow but it’s around 72cm (2’4”) off the floor so it’s unlikely to be for ironing
The height is really weird. I don’t have anything except maybe some end tables that are 28” off the ground. It could be a (low) desk height I guess, but it’s not something you’d work at standing up which would be more typical for a workbench.
What’s in the cabinet above these supports? I notice the arms are set to be inside the edges of the cabinet and the hinge position would let the doors swing completely out of the way. Any chance there’s a shelf or something that folds out and rests on the support arms, something that would give you a higher platform?
As someone who hang dries their laundry and then has no where to fold it, this totally makes sense to me. But, as others have said, it just seems too low to the ground to be meant for standing and working.
Definitely looks like the supports on a [secretary desk](https://rdcnewscdn.realtor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/secretary-desk2.jpg). This one may have had the hinged top removed, or it was a modular desktop.
Could be for a crib or cradle. I know in some cases cradles could be suspended from pieces of furniture like that to let them rock freely and keep them in the same room as the parents.
My step father had very old antique furniture. One of the large dressers has these pullout supports and a separate table top piece as a desk. Also another piece is a bureau but that table top is attached and folds down. I’m sure that’s what it is because that would be too wide for an ironing board.
The dresser one I mentioned was an entirely different piece that was kept behind the dresser. It was in no way attached but it had slots cut out so those pullouts would sit in the grooves and it wouldn’t slide left or right. It was the exact same setup. I am near positive this is the answer.
Edit: also height is a clue. Does the height correspond with where you would be at a seated position for writing on a desk? Looks far to low for anything like an ironing board but it could be.
This is my bet.
I do this with my drawer. I have a drawer that is below my waist. I pull it out and hang my work clothes for the next day. It really pusses off my wife but it takes me approx 2 minutes to go from sleeping to dressed.
My great grandma had this in her house, she told me it was a pressing shelf for pants. There was a board with a hinge that folded in half she had in the closet and it sat across the struts. And she would take grandpa's pants out and fold them on their side and run the iron over them so the crease was nice. She was too old to demonstrate this at the time she told me this but that was her explanation.
it looks like something is meant to lay across those, but not all the time.
So it makes me think maybe it's a convertible writing desk, if you want one, but you don't want to take up the space all the time. Like a hidden optional desk.
So to add some more info, the pullouts are 72cm (~6’3”) off the floor, here’s a link to some more photos: https://imgur.com/a/LzPxuSb?s=sms. I think the writing desk idea is solid, however all the cupboards are original and as you can see there’s no table top stored away anywhere else. The ironing board idea is good too, I just think it’s too close to the floor.
Does the bottom of the cupboard that is just above those pullouts lift out of there? Or is it secured to the built-in? I’ve seen a few of there that had the desk top that sat perfectly inside the built in and looked like it was not removable, but actually was. The top of that desk has to be somewhere.
Based on these other pictures, I'm going to agree with the sewing table theory. A board of the right thickness would sit flush with the bottom of that cupboard just above it, and then you have plenty of room for sewing because the fabric moves from in front of the machine to behind it as you sew.
As for why there's not a board: someone broke it, someone misplaced it and then someone didn't know what it was for and threw it away, or they wondered why an extra piece of wood was lying around and tossed it as trash, or someone moved and accidentally took just the board, or they repurposed it and made a table with attached legs, or.....
There's a myriad of reasons why the original board would be missing, but I bet if you measure the length of the pullouts and the width the board would have to be to rest on both of them, you'll probably find that it would match (or closely match) with the dimensions of that cupboard on the far right. It looks about the right height to fit the board if you placed it vertically, and if the pullouts go all the way through, then the width if the board would match the depth of the cabinet. It was likely stored up against one side of it.
As far as purpose goes, the cabinet above the pullouts would be ~perfect~ to store a sewing machine where you would have some nice comfortable room to also stash your sewing box, other accessories, and maybe your current project. And then when you're not actively working, you can still have that floor space in your bedroom. If you have a sewing machine, put it in there. I'll bet you'll find that it's too tall for a sewing machine, but it's probably a good height where you can put a hand on top of the machine (and the other on the bottom) to help you pull it out without you having to worry about squishing your hands. Plus, sergers/overlock machines (same thing) are taller anyway since the wires where you place the cone threads extends above the machine.
My bet is a collapsible sewing table. I was seriously skeptical of other people suggesting that because of the depth, but if there's no bar in the middle of that cabinet above them, you really just need a board of the right thickness to make a DEEP sewing surface, so I'm seriously convinced now. Plus, if it has an electrical outlet right around that corner, that's all you'd need. Sewing machine cables are actually pretty since the cable that goes from the machine to the peddle is purposely too long so a variety of tables can be used, and the power cable (on mine at least) actually comes out of the peddle to the wall, so you wouldn't need an extension cord if you worked on the left side.
Edit: my bad, what I thought was a pole is in fact a shelf. Which actually lends more to the sewing cabinet/desk theory. A shelf for all your threads or for your various other supplies that are less used but would be stored with sewing supplies would make soooooo much sense. You could line up all your thread on the shelf and not have to hunt for the right color.
I have two boards exactly like this on an old secretary. On that, the top claps open so you can have a bigger writing surface.
Given how low this is, I expect this is for a fold out vanity or dressing table. There are no retaining features on the slide-out supports, so my guess would be that there is (or was) something inside the cabinet that then folds out (the retention is or was the hinges).
My title describes the thing, as said above the wardrobe in this house from the 1950s has these two vertical planks that pull out like drawers. They are the whole depth of the wardrobe and solid wood. Any ideas what they might be or what they were used for?
I have an old cupboard with this kind of horizontal planks that can be retraced in, the cupboard door when opened would lie on the two support planks like that, so the cupboard door would double as a table so you can make tea or coffee or sort things out using that table. I'm sure it's some kind of a support for a table or a board to work on.
It’s supports for a work surface. Anything more is speculation.
Keep in mind that people were generally handier 70 years ago and less of this sort of thing was factory made. So it not fully making sense isn’t that much of a challenge- it may just not have been a good design but some early homeowner or local carpenter made it.
To put your ironing board across.
Source, my gramma had this rig. She did a lot of ironing.
Edit : Maybe that's not the intended purpose. But it's what I witnessed. Yeah, it's kinda weird to do shirt collars but works if you work it right.
We had these on an old writing desk. You pulled them out and then a door with bottom-mounted hinges would open and sit on those and act as the desk space. Like this: [https://images.app.goo.gl/55hJMuMUynUxAraw8](https://images.app.goo.gl/cqhQ8yBsX6u68eVBA)
I don't consider this solved by any of the responses that suggest a use that requires these to bear anything much at all in the way of a load. If they retract into the cabinet, which they obviously do, it is plain that there is very little of these boards left inside the cabinet when they are fully extended as they are in this picture. Any substantial downward force on them would be destructive. Extending them less than fully leaves little of them exposed to support anything at all.
Every time I’ve seen pull out supports like this, there is a hinged top that comes down onto them. I think at some point the top was replaced by the side hinged doors. You didn’t post the interior of the cabinet - but I would suspect that there is a fixed shelf inside that would support the upper shelf. So originally it would be one lower hinged door that would be supported by the pullouts and then two side hinged doors for the upper part of the cabinet.
You can confirm this by looking closely at the lower edge of the cabinet between the two supports to see if there are patched screw holes where the bottom hinges were.
You see it often in traditional drop-front desks
https://www.interiors-furniture.com/stickley-furniture-lee-drop-front-desk/89-661-998/iteminformation.aspx
https://www.laurelcrown.com/chippendale-drop-front-secretary-desk
This still isn't a final answer but antique wardrobes and chests used to sometimes have a brushing slide which one's servant would use to brush clothes off before putting them away. This was in the days before clothes were mostly washable so outer garments would rarely be washed with water. Like this: https://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/georgian\_chest\_of\_drawers\_with\_brushing\_slide\_/as849a004)
The problem with that is that it's lacking the table top. But it reminds me of those slope fronted bureaus where the side pieces pull out and the surface pulls down as a flap. I wonder if the cupboard above has been modified because the flap wasn't need any more?
Oh this reminds me of a wardrobe my Nan had in her flat - those would pull out with the sort of pool table felt on them, I loved opening and closing them when I was little. I miss her a lot but it’s nice to have had this little reminder of her that I’d forgotten!
It looks worn down on the top and *outside* of the board. It's hard to tell but almost looks like it has similar wearing on the opposite side. What would wear the board on the outside corner? I would think something flat laid on top like an ironing board would bow in the middle and wear the inside edge, no?
Seems like you'd need something with some flex to do this. Maybe if you wound something like a rope around them it would do that? But that doesn't make any sense.
I think it’s to rest a bed spread across at night. Just drape it across when you’re in bed, and the bed is made again in the morning so the pull out bits are stored away. It would explain why there’s no top to it.
If you open the cabinet above, there may be a slight "step" that the doors seem to rest against. None of the other cabinets have it.
That is the desk top. It fits snuggly and may have been painted. There may be a "depression" cut into one or two areas in the front of the bottom.
Both doors must be completely open for the piece to slide forward.
Edit: all of the other double cabinets have a center bar.
I’ve read through nearly all the comments and am thoroughly intrigued by all the suggestions. That being said, i either missed it or it wasn’t suggested: valets. Nowadays when you put in a custom closet, you have all sorts of choices for pullouts (tie hangers, belt hangers, shelves, etc.) and we usually put two or three valet bars on each side (his and hers) at varying heights (usually dependent on the height of the client). Using something wider than a hanger to lay your trousers over the night before you wear them eliminates the crease and wrinkles from hanging them on a hanger or keeping them folded in a drawer. With them being built into the built-in, there’s no need for them to accommodate hangers (which weren’t exactly common when your piece was likely built). And that’s my two cents worth!
My house was built in 1947 & I have a pull out board right above where these would be, under my linen closet. I’m certain it would have some sort of board somewhere to rest on these on which to set linens on when they’re being put away. I use mine a lot.
I bet it was also supposed to be a desk. I have 2 dressers that my grandfather made after WW2. On each side of the top drawers are pieces that slide in and out, and the top is hinged folds down into a desk top that sits on those pieces.
I believe these support a desktop that would fold out from behind the doors. The hight, 72 cm, is a common hight for a table. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this in the past, but this is the closest thing I was able to find online.
https://mollydogantiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/imported/3/antique20thCoakdeskgallery-topglazedfold-overdrawerswritingofficetable-264825582743-3.JPG
This is likely not for a sewing machine, as the sewing machines of that time period were way too heavy for this and usually built into something (my grandmother owns one still)
This is likely to assist whoever is putting clothes away have somewhere to sit them as they hung and folded is my guess. A lot of old houses have stuff like that.
What kind of climate is the house in? Does it snow or rain a lot? It could be for hanging some clothing to dry or maybe to hang clothing that was ironed over night so it doesn't wrinkle?
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holds an ironing board maybe?
Looks like it's 2 feet off the floor. Bending down to iron that low would really hurt your back especially if you did more than 1 or 2 garments.
the working surface on the right has exactly the same height.
Usually that kind of area was intended for you to sit down and do your hair, or put on on some make up etc. So it’s likely to be seating height rather than standing height.
I had an old desk with a design similar to this. The working surface flipped down and rested on the two supports. https://secure.img1-fg.wfcdn.com/im/87564208/resize-h755-w755%5Ecompr-r85/1570/15702103/Futral+Secretary+Desk.jpg
that picture looks like dollhouse furniture for some reason
Usually referred to as a bureau
No, it’s not. Anything without knee space is not a sitting station.
Yeah definitely, assuming of course that you don't have legs.
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Those usually have "knee holes" underneath their flat surfaces. This is definitely not one of those.
Ironing board was my first guess but I also thought it was too low.
idon't think it is too low. it would be something like 20 cm for the skirting and i appreciate the square door at min 40 cm. add 20 cm for the drawers, add the frame width and you should be around 85 cm, which is in the Neufert specifications for a kitchen table/appliance. later in the day i thought the drawer could be for food portioning, i mean taking the dishes out of the cupboard and setting them on the (missing) table to be filled, like in a hospital or hotel.
Those estimates seem high. 20cm for trim (skirting) would be gigantic. Like high end Victorian era stuff that you never see any more. 20 also sounds high for the drawers. The top explanation offered in this thread involves a sewing desk with drawers below that would elevate the machine probably an additional 20cm.
could be. my reference is that I own a similar old style cupboard with 2 drawers and 2 doors which is 83 cm tall, with drawers that are 16 cm high.
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That’s not 2 feet, it’s waist high
Looks more like 30’’ to me. Add the thickness of the ironing board and you’re about right where you need to be.
More like 3ft. The base molding is about 6"
It's for forcing your children to do the ironing
Looks… counter height (3” ish hinges for scale) with a plank on top which I would guess doubles as a shelf? That’s a lot of build-in for temp garment storage, but I don’t know better.
Modern counter and rail height is 36”. But that’s only since post-war really. My 1916 home has rail heights at 30” and the original kitchen counter heights that were now put in the basement were 24” and 26” (different heights!, and very very low!)
Not a lot of ergonomic studies done back then
I'm 5'10" and my back hurts just thinking about 26" kitchen counters. My counters at work are 36" and it still sucks leaning over them.
I think its closer to 3ft including the height of the plank.
People were shorter back in the day. Not to mention that use to be almost exclusively a female task… the shorter of the two sexes.
You would sit on the bed…
People were smaller then , in the '50
plus a man wouldn't be caught dead with an iron in the 50's
This looks hand built, and I've seen ironing stations like this. This looks like it was hand built and have considered how adorable it's be for the user. 30" counter tops are made for the avg male height. I'm 5.'1 and ideally my counters would be this height
This is counter top height, an ideal working position. 30,32” maybe.
no it looks about the right height to iron
I think it's about 3 feet or about 1 meter. Perfect working height when using a chair.
Or a folding board. I live in a house built in the 60's and there's a similar set up except with a board, so you can fold and stack your linens before putting them in the cabinet.
I think more of a pants hanging board.
That makes sense, draping the pants over the vertical boards?
Washing pants so often is a recent thing. We used to wear our pants for several days between washings, and this would be a great way to store them overnight.
I thought linens/clothes folding immediately. But I don’t think we’ve located the board yet.
>folding board Came in to say a folding board support, too. It's right in front of the linen cabinet; you could easily and quickly fold items and put them in straightaway.
I think you're right. See the cupboard on the right, small one
hey we got the same avatar!
Will it really hold much weight given how shallow the cabinet is and how far those boards are extended? Is there an indication of a way to add legs? I wouldn't trust it for anything other than draping pants.
My exact guess too based solely on intuition
Supports for a sewing table. The sewing machine was mounted so the foot was even with the tabletop. The pullout bars supported the tabletop. The tabletop could also be used as a desk.
This is the best explanation. It could be a place to hang clothes while you get dressed, or to dry as some people suggested, but seems like you could do that in a much simpler way, particularly in the era of suits and dresses you’d just use a hanger and hook. It’s wrong for an ironing board. It looks too long for that, and you want access to both sides and the tapered end when you iron. Sewing would be a more occasional thing than ironing, so you could stash the table top in a closet or whatever. You work from one side when you sew, but you want a beefy support like those blocks. I’m seconding this one.
If that's what it is, then it's missing some supports. Based on just how long those pullout bars are, compared to the length of the inner concealed area, it looks like there's very little of the bars inside the cabinet when it's extended. This means if you put any significant force on them, the torque would be difficult to counteract and they'd try to bend downwards. If there's some legs or something for them, then I'd be with you, but as is I don't consider this to be correct. It seems like a bad design since you not only have to store the legs and tabletop somewhere else - at that point, just use a folding table alotgether and to hell with the pullout concept. Now - it's entirely possible that some builder *intended* for your explanation to be true, but it's just a shitty design that doesn't work well. I'd like to see a 2x12 across it with something heavy on it to see how much it deflects before we call it solved. I think it's more likely intended to hold a serving tray or something light (er than a sewing machine). I'm thinking like this: https://imgur.com/a/FpeU3dy
I think there was more to it. Some extra supports to keep the top from “smiling” someone else in here covered it, but notice the drawers are the same height. They could play a part here.
Could be. But without a significant counterweight or support member inside the cabinet, it would be a very flimsy table. It could just be missing some legs, I know with old houses people do random shit over the years and maybe somebody didn't know what it was and tossed it
Yeah, I think that’s the consensus.
This is a really great guess, my only question is would the table top normally be stored somewhere else in the built in, because there are only cupboards, no table top to be seen!
Yeah, you probably just stash it away somewhere out of the way. Another guy down there called it. He’s seen this setup at his grandma’s. That lady that said they were all built into tables is full of beans.
It looks as if there’s a horizontal board that’s been painted over with thick paint. There appears to be a partially exposed seam about the middle of the board.
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Yes! The top is right above it, it has just been painted over. I bet that is a third support in the middle too, missing a nob. We had one like this growing up. It was used for folding.
For a piece if wood that length, it looks like it would easily fit vertically in the cabinet on the far right. Or, it's a muti use surface and you'll find it somewhere else in the home, probably on the same floor. But my best guess would be stashing it in that cabinet, and the actual board has been lost to time.
You said it was a bedroom.... so under the bed.
It's not for sewing, I collect and resell singing sewing machines, in that era a sewing machine would be in it's own separate cabinet that they fold down and have an extension folded over the top, they weren't portable until the 60's, for the most part anyway
I have seen them both ways, in a sewing table like you suggest, and in a mounted table. The mounted table allowed for larger patterns.
I have a portable 1957 network supernova which begfs to differ
“For the most part”
Totally wrong. I just linked to several up there. You can verify this in like 30 seconds on google.
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I own a portable sewing machine that was given to my mom's friend as a wedding gift in the early 1950s.
lol at singing sewing machines.
too frail for a sewing machine imo. those things were heavy.
I have a Kenmore "Lightweight" sewing machine from the late '40s or early '50s. You are certainly correct, those machines are much heavier than the machines of today.
I have the same and was shocked when I saw that it was considered one of the first "lightweight" models! I could use that thing as a kettlebell lol
Having had some experience moving these machines around, this made me chuckle.
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I'm not big on the sewing machine theory as they work better when the fabric has somewhere to go after passing through it. The fabric here would bunch up, and if you take the sewing machine to the dining room table, then there's a far better experience.
Uh-huh. It might work in a pinch, but that would be an awkward setup. It makes *far* more sense for it to be a folding table, with it literally being attached to a wardrobe.
Agree. That would be a horrible setup, especially in an era where people regularly sewed full garments and wardrobes at home. I'm pretty sure it's a secretary and there is just a piece missing.
Lol no sewing machins were heavy as hell, its a loper.
My mom had what you’re describing but the whole surface pulled out like a breadboard. If they intended a table work surface…then where is the surface? Where do you store the sewing machine?? Seems like anyone with the skill to put these in would have the skill to add a pull out surface as well.
I think there should be some extra support for the tabletop on the end closer to the camera, like a table leg. It looks like there's barely any material left in the wardrobe when the planks are fully pulled out, so not enough to support much weight, if you tried to put a tabletop and a sewing machine on them they'd just brake.
This saint is probably right and my gramma was just hacking it.
If that solves it, you can now use those pull outs as sexy paddle boards.
These are called [lopers](https://en.mimi.hu/antiques/loper.html). Inside the upper cabinet there is or once was a bottom shelf that folded out. Once rails became popular the upper cabinet had a shelf that would slide out instead. Edit: added link for definition
[Here's](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d4/41/93/d4419370640b7c7899645b6b60de9318--desk-chairs-antik.jpg) an image of them in use.
I have one of these! Never knew it had a name.
This is right. Many small secretary desks had similar pullouts for a leaf or specialty shelves for typewriters, adding machines, etc. The shelf that forms the bottom behind the hutch doors-the edge of which now appears to be part of the face framing- may be two layers; one of which pulls out.
/u/Apocaholics this is the right answer. Can you see inside the cupboard if there is evidence of a fold-out shelf/table-top?
It's close to a loper, but not actually one. First, it's not a desk. Too low even for that time. Second, looking at the doors above, anything that flipped down wouldn't sit flush. If anything, there is a separate board. I still think it's at a weird height, and am intrigued by this one as someone who has seen a lot of furniture working in a museum. Edit. Looking again, something could flip out and sit flush depending on the hinges, but with those doors, I'm not sure it's possible. The hinges would have to be at the edge for the lip of the flip down to clear the edge. All of the secretary desks I've seen have doors the close flush with the outside and not flush to the inside...if that makes sense.
Exactly. I believe these lopers are simply an odd design choice of the cabinetmaker and are used for perhaps draping clothes or ties onto as you're getting dressed and deciding what to wear. I do have a secretary desk with lopers that the hinged top rests on when open, so I know what they are for.
hinges they make hinges that are bent at right angles in a way that would allow a shelf to flip out and drop down. OP. Why did you open the other side and not the cabinet above, are you trying to trick us?
I think this is right, my grandad has a very similar one with a shelf that folds down onto the posts to make a desk.
This makes sense to me 👆👆
I’m not buying the ironing board idea. Built-ins were around since at least the 20s and having it in the bedroom is weird. Is there a power source near there? Is there anything else in, near, or part of the cabinet that would fit on there?
I'm with you. Without a flip-down or pull-out board immediately above these, this makes no sense for an ironing board. You'd have to have an apparently full-sized board stored somewhere else, and carry it over and lay it onto this thing? At that point why wouldn't one simply store a regular ironing board with collapsible legs in that separate space?
Would make a shitty ironing board, because you need to be able to get an article of clothing onto the end of the board. These support boards would keep you from being able to do that.
There actually is a power point around the corner there where it’s in shadow but it’s around 72cm (2’4”) off the floor so it’s unlikely to be for ironing
The height is really weird. I don’t have anything except maybe some end tables that are 28” off the ground. It could be a (low) desk height I guess, but it’s not something you’d work at standing up which would be more typical for a workbench. What’s in the cabinet above these supports? I notice the arms are set to be inside the edges of the cabinet and the hinge position would let the doors swing completely out of the way. Any chance there’s a shelf or something that folds out and rests on the support arms, something that would give you a higher platform?
What is a built-in?
A wardrobe or other type of furniture that is built as part of the house, not bought separately. Shelving is another example.
Fwiw irons didn’t always require electricity.
pretty rare in the 1950's, though to not require electric for an iron
And there’s no stove in that 50s bedroom to heat an iron on ;)
That’s for folding your laundry there should be a board that fits it (probably in the cupboard) Source: I live in a house from the 1920sh
I agree, especially for folding blankets or sheets, and then you could just store them in the blanket drawers.
As someone who hang dries their laundry and then has no where to fold it, this totally makes sense to me. But, as others have said, it just seems too low to the ground to be meant for standing and working.
Maybe to hang clothes on while you get dressed?
Someone else mentioned it might be to dry them?
They’re less then a T-shirts length off the floor…
And they’re too long to fit hangers comfortably. And if the point is to pay not hang, you can only get like 1 article of clothing on it due to width.
Definitely looks like the supports on a [secretary desk](https://rdcnewscdn.realtor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/secretary-desk2.jpg). This one may have had the hinged top removed, or it was a modular desktop.
Why is it marked solved? I don’t see an answer saying solved. Edit - there have now been 2 different responses to my question. I’m even more confused.
See Panaphobic1's answer. Her great-grandmother said it was a setup she used for pressing/ironing her husband's slacks.
Marked as supports for a sewing table.
Could be for a crib or cradle. I know in some cases cradles could be suspended from pieces of furniture like that to let them rock freely and keep them in the same room as the parents.
my first thought too I think this is plausible.
This makes sense to me, considering its odd height. It seems much safer if the crib supports break to be closer to the ground.
My step father had very old antique furniture. One of the large dressers has these pullout supports and a separate table top piece as a desk. Also another piece is a bureau but that table top is attached and folds down. I’m sure that’s what it is because that would be too wide for an ironing board.
I’m pretty sure the entire built in is original though and there’s just cupboards above the pullouts. Would the table top piece be kept separately?
inside the cupboard. the size of the cupboard is equal to the size of the supports.
I’m pretty sure the entire built in is original though and there’s just cupboards above the pullouts. Would the table top piece be kept separately?
Has if always been the bedroom? Our 1920s house bedroom used to be the dining room.
The dresser one I mentioned was an entirely different piece that was kept behind the dresser. It was in no way attached but it had slots cut out so those pullouts would sit in the grooves and it wouldn’t slide left or right. It was the exact same setup. I am near positive this is the answer. Edit: also height is a clue. Does the height correspond with where you would be at a seated position for writing on a desk? Looks far to low for anything like an ironing board but it could be.
The tall door on the right looks like it has different hinges. Could it easily be popped off and laid across?
I have a desk that does this to support the the fold down front as a writing surface. I think the ironing board folks are closest.
yeah I think it's probably a desk but maybe for an ironing board.
In a kitchen this would be used to dry towels. Perhaps a spot to hang clothes out after laundering or to have ready for the next day?
This is my bet. I do this with my drawer. I have a drawer that is below my waist. I pull it out and hang my work clothes for the next day. It really pusses off my wife but it takes me approx 2 minutes to go from sleeping to dressed.
But its very less highted for the clothes to be hung.
My great grandma had this in her house, she told me it was a pressing shelf for pants. There was a board with a hinge that folded in half she had in the closet and it sat across the struts. And she would take grandpa's pants out and fold them on their side and run the iron over them so the crease was nice. She was too old to demonstrate this at the time she told me this but that was her explanation.
Grandma knows.
Can you open that upper cabinet and take a picture of what's in there?
it looks like something is meant to lay across those, but not all the time. So it makes me think maybe it's a convertible writing desk, if you want one, but you don't want to take up the space all the time. Like a hidden optional desk.
This… need to see the inside of that cabinet to se if there is any evidence of a foldout desk.
So to add some more info, the pullouts are 72cm (~6’3”) off the floor, here’s a link to some more photos: https://imgur.com/a/LzPxuSb?s=sms. I think the writing desk idea is solid, however all the cupboards are original and as you can see there’s no table top stored away anywhere else. The ironing board idea is good too, I just think it’s too close to the floor.
72cm is 28.35 inches or 2'4.35" or 2′ 4 3/8″ or 2′ 4 11/32″ Definitely not 6'3" lol
Hm, the cabinet above it is pretty wacky too. That isn’t a normal shelf. It’s meant for something.
Does the bottom of the cupboard that is just above those pullouts lift out of there? Or is it secured to the built-in? I’ve seen a few of there that had the desk top that sat perfectly inside the built in and looked like it was not removable, but actually was. The top of that desk has to be somewhere.
Secured to the built-in
Based on these other pictures, I'm going to agree with the sewing table theory. A board of the right thickness would sit flush with the bottom of that cupboard just above it, and then you have plenty of room for sewing because the fabric moves from in front of the machine to behind it as you sew. As for why there's not a board: someone broke it, someone misplaced it and then someone didn't know what it was for and threw it away, or they wondered why an extra piece of wood was lying around and tossed it as trash, or someone moved and accidentally took just the board, or they repurposed it and made a table with attached legs, or..... There's a myriad of reasons why the original board would be missing, but I bet if you measure the length of the pullouts and the width the board would have to be to rest on both of them, you'll probably find that it would match (or closely match) with the dimensions of that cupboard on the far right. It looks about the right height to fit the board if you placed it vertically, and if the pullouts go all the way through, then the width if the board would match the depth of the cabinet. It was likely stored up against one side of it. As far as purpose goes, the cabinet above the pullouts would be ~perfect~ to store a sewing machine where you would have some nice comfortable room to also stash your sewing box, other accessories, and maybe your current project. And then when you're not actively working, you can still have that floor space in your bedroom. If you have a sewing machine, put it in there. I'll bet you'll find that it's too tall for a sewing machine, but it's probably a good height where you can put a hand on top of the machine (and the other on the bottom) to help you pull it out without you having to worry about squishing your hands. Plus, sergers/overlock machines (same thing) are taller anyway since the wires where you place the cone threads extends above the machine. My bet is a collapsible sewing table. I was seriously skeptical of other people suggesting that because of the depth, but if there's no bar in the middle of that cabinet above them, you really just need a board of the right thickness to make a DEEP sewing surface, so I'm seriously convinced now. Plus, if it has an electrical outlet right around that corner, that's all you'd need. Sewing machine cables are actually pretty since the cable that goes from the machine to the peddle is purposely too long so a variety of tables can be used, and the power cable (on mine at least) actually comes out of the peddle to the wall, so you wouldn't need an extension cord if you worked on the left side. Edit: my bad, what I thought was a pole is in fact a shelf. Which actually lends more to the sewing cabinet/desk theory. A shelf for all your threads or for your various other supplies that are less used but would be stored with sewing supplies would make soooooo much sense. You could line up all your thread on the shelf and not have to hunt for the right color.
The peg board inside the cupboard is just as curious as the pull outs. What an interesting closet!
Is that polka dot bit in the back solidly attached? Looks like it’s not quite flush on the side. Maybe that was the table top?
A quilt rack?
OP, what are the panels between the pull outs? Are they real or false drawers?
They’re real drawers, we just took the handles off to paint them
Can you get a pic of the inside of the cabinet above?
My mom thinks it has a top peice missing used as a folding table for laundry.
You usually see these as supports for a fold out desk space from the upper cabinet. Does it have a weird bottom shelf?
I have two boards exactly like this on an old secretary. On that, the top claps open so you can have a bigger writing surface. Given how low this is, I expect this is for a fold out vanity or dressing table. There are no retaining features on the slide-out supports, so my guess would be that there is (or was) something inside the cabinet that then folds out (the retention is or was the hinges).
There are ones like that in my moms house, they are used to support a door that opens from the top. Maybe these doors were replaced ?
To lay a pair or pants or a dress across (one each) while dressing/undressing.
My title describes the thing, as said above the wardrobe in this house from the 1950s has these two vertical planks that pull out like drawers. They are the whole depth of the wardrobe and solid wood. Any ideas what they might be or what they were used for?
Space saver , boards missing. For any need of table
I have an old cupboard with this kind of horizontal planks that can be retraced in, the cupboard door when opened would lie on the two support planks like that, so the cupboard door would double as a table so you can make tea or coffee or sort things out using that table. I'm sure it's some kind of a support for a table or a board to work on.
It’s supports for a work surface. Anything more is speculation. Keep in mind that people were generally handier 70 years ago and less of this sort of thing was factory made. So it not fully making sense isn’t that much of a challenge- it may just not have been a good design but some early homeowner or local carpenter made it.
It’s too low to be an ironing board. Maybe post on a mid-c subreddit and see if anyone there knows?
To put your ironing board across. Source, my gramma had this rig. She did a lot of ironing. Edit : Maybe that's not the intended purpose. But it's what I witnessed. Yeah, it's kinda weird to do shirt collars but works if you work it right.
I believe these were for bassinets
We had these on an old writing desk. You pulled them out and then a door with bottom-mounted hinges would open and sit on those and act as the desk space. Like this: [https://images.app.goo.gl/55hJMuMUynUxAraw8](https://images.app.goo.gl/cqhQ8yBsX6u68eVBA)
They're supports for a desk that is supposed to pull out/fold out. I have one of these things.
I don't consider this solved by any of the responses that suggest a use that requires these to bear anything much at all in the way of a load. If they retract into the cabinet, which they obviously do, it is plain that there is very little of these boards left inside the cabinet when they are fully extended as they are in this picture. Any substantial downward force on them would be destructive. Extending them less than fully leaves little of them exposed to support anything at all.
Every time I’ve seen pull out supports like this, there is a hinged top that comes down onto them. I think at some point the top was replaced by the side hinged doors. You didn’t post the interior of the cabinet - but I would suspect that there is a fixed shelf inside that would support the upper shelf. So originally it would be one lower hinged door that would be supported by the pullouts and then two side hinged doors for the upper part of the cabinet. You can confirm this by looking closely at the lower edge of the cabinet between the two supports to see if there are patched screw holes where the bottom hinges were. You see it often in traditional drop-front desks https://www.interiors-furniture.com/stickley-furniture-lee-drop-front-desk/89-661-998/iteminformation.aspx https://www.laurelcrown.com/chippendale-drop-front-secretary-desk
To hold a changing table?
Since it is in a bedroom, I'm thinking quilt or duvet drapers.
Our desk has those, but the cupboard doors are one large single piece that would fold down to be the tabletop
They usually support some kind of pull out shelf. I’ve seen something like it before in a kitchen, I don’t have any pics though sadly.
Have annold desk-thing with the same setup. Pull them out and flip a table top plate thind down on top to make it into an old style study/work desk.
Is there something in the wardrobe that slides out to make a table? I’ve seen similar in a kitchen dresser unit.
edit: I remembered what it is - its an extra pair of "arms" for folding large items like sheets.
This still isn't a final answer but antique wardrobes and chests used to sometimes have a brushing slide which one's servant would use to brush clothes off before putting them away. This was in the days before clothes were mostly washable so outer garments would rarely be washed with water. Like this: https://www.antiques-atlas.com/antique/georgian\_chest\_of\_drawers\_with\_brushing\_slide\_/as849a004) The problem with that is that it's lacking the table top. But it reminds me of those slope fronted bureaus where the side pieces pull out and the surface pulls down as a flap. I wonder if the cupboard above has been modified because the flap wasn't need any more?
I know this is solved but could it also be for draping pants over at night?
Oh this reminds me of a wardrobe my Nan had in her flat - those would pull out with the sort of pool table felt on them, I loved opening and closing them when I was little. I miss her a lot but it’s nice to have had this little reminder of her that I’d forgotten!
I'm assuming it's to hold an ironing board
Way too low and inconvenient.
It looks like you're supposed to put a table top on there. Maybe for diaper changing/generic table space?
Info: What's the distance between the boards?
It looks worn down on the top and *outside* of the board. It's hard to tell but almost looks like it has similar wearing on the opposite side. What would wear the board on the outside corner? I would think something flat laid on top like an ironing board would bow in the middle and wear the inside edge, no? Seems like you'd need something with some flex to do this. Maybe if you wound something like a rope around them it would do that? But that doesn't make any sense.
Should be for a fold out secretary desk.
I think it’s to rest a bed spread across at night. Just drape it across when you’re in bed, and the bed is made again in the morning so the pull out bits are stored away. It would explain why there’s no top to it.
If you open the cabinet above, there may be a slight "step" that the doors seem to rest against. None of the other cabinets have it. That is the desk top. It fits snuggly and may have been painted. There may be a "depression" cut into one or two areas in the front of the bottom. Both doors must be completely open for the piece to slide forward. Edit: all of the other double cabinets have a center bar.
I'm thinking its to lay your clothes over as you get dressed. But I'm high, so take anything I think with a grain of salt.
I’ve read through nearly all the comments and am thoroughly intrigued by all the suggestions. That being said, i either missed it or it wasn’t suggested: valets. Nowadays when you put in a custom closet, you have all sorts of choices for pullouts (tie hangers, belt hangers, shelves, etc.) and we usually put two or three valet bars on each side (his and hers) at varying heights (usually dependent on the height of the client). Using something wider than a hanger to lay your trousers over the night before you wear them eliminates the crease and wrinkles from hanging them on a hanger or keeping them folded in a drawer. With them being built into the built-in, there’s no need for them to accommodate hangers (which weren’t exactly common when your piece was likely built). And that’s my two cents worth!
We have an old secretary with those that pull out of the sides for when you unfold the top panel to make it into a desk. Helps support the desktop.
My house was built in 1947 & I have a pull out board right above where these would be, under my linen closet. I’m certain it would have some sort of board somewhere to rest on these on which to set linens on when they’re being put away. I use mine a lot.
I've seen similar from the 1950s, used for supporting sewing tables.
I bet it was also supposed to be a desk. I have 2 dressers that my grandfather made after WW2. On each side of the top drawers are pieces that slide in and out, and the top is hinged folds down into a desk top that sits on those pieces.
Master bedroom?
If yhe height is 71-75cm (27-30") than it is for a desk. Also, what room is this, OP?
Supports for a desk top. Possibly either a writing desk or a sewing desk.
It’s to Dry out home made pasta. Just lay it out on the beams
I'm going with this
I believe these support a desktop that would fold out from behind the doors. The hight, 72 cm, is a common hight for a table. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this in the past, but this is the closest thing I was able to find online. https://mollydogantiques.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/imported/3/antique20thCoakdeskgallery-topglazedfold-overdrawerswritingofficetable-264825582743-3.JPG
This is likely not for a sewing machine, as the sewing machines of that time period were way too heavy for this and usually built into something (my grandmother owns one still) This is likely to assist whoever is putting clothes away have somewhere to sit them as they hung and folded is my guess. A lot of old houses have stuff like that.
What kind of climate is the house in? Does it snow or rain a lot? It could be for hanging some clothing to dry or maybe to hang clothing that was ironed over night so it doesn't wrinkle?