In a kitchen, not many small appliances other than a microwave, kettle and toaster. Everyone has electric kettles in Britain, so they'd definitely have one. A toaster and microwave would be fairly likely. You might have a food processor, but an electric mixer would be handheld and kept in a cupboard or drawer, also known as an electric whisk. Stick blenders like we have now weren't around. At that time in a suburban semi-detached house it would be usual to have a separate kitchen and dining room, the idea of the "kitchen-diner" was just coming in, but it was only really new houses which were accommodating this. Your typical semi would probably still have a serving hatch from the (tiny) kitchen into a generous-sized dining room, although some had been converted into doorways. Some kitchens still had a pantry where dried/tinned goods would be kept, often in the space under the stairs or built as a lean-to on the side of the house. Sometimes there would be a door directly from the kitchen into the garage.
Our old (extremely typical suburban semi) kitchen was narrow, with counters on both sides and only really space for one person. We used to call the counter "the work surface" or "the side" and of course they had cupboards or drawers underneath them. The sink was at the window overlooking the back garden, we had a gas cooker and an under-counter fridge, although this is just called a fridge, full size ones were usually fridge-freezers with the top as the fridge and the bottom as a freezer. We didn't have a freezer in our kitchen, this was typical, we had a chest freezer in the garage, though. Many people just had a fridge with a freezer compartment in the top, or a fridge-freezer if counter space wasn't an issue. We also had a washing machine, but no dishwasher or tumble drier. The boiler would typically be found in the kitchen attached to the wall. Ours was a gas boiler and you could see the flame through a little window, so you could tell if it had gone out. You'd have to put the hot water "on" to heat up and it would be stored in an immersion heater or hot water tank, usually in an upstairs cupboard, called the airing cupboard, because it would be a warm place to put freshly-ironed sheets and towels. The tank would be covered in lagging or insulating material and considered by children everywhere to be "the monster" because it made scary noises! Once the hot water was gone that was it until it could be heated up again, which is probably another reason why showers weren't popular because they were considered wasteful as you could use all of the hot water very quickly by having a long shower, whereas once a bath is run it stays hot for a while and you can stay in until you start getting cold if you wanted to.
The floorplan of this house is absolutely typical for British suburban houses built between the 1920s and 1990s. Probably slightly bigger than this in a middle class area, but certainly the arrangement of the kitchen, living room and dining room around the hallway/stairs, and the bathroom being at the top of the stairs.
Stick blenders were definitely around - my parents are still using their early 1980s stick blender, bought to whizz up grown-up meals into baby food for my brother and me.
Our old (extremely typical suburban semi) kitchen was narrow, with counters on both sides and only really space for one person. We used to call the counter "the work surface" or "the side" and of course they had cupboards or drawers underneath them. The sink was at the window overlooking the back garden, we had a gas cooker and an under-counter fridge, although this is just called a fridge, full size ones were usually fridge-freezers with the top as the fridge and the bottom as a freezer. We didn't have a freezer in our kitchen, this was typical, we had a chest freezer in the garage, though. Many people just had a fridge with a freezer compartment in the top, or a fridge-freezer if counter space wasn't an issue. We also had a washing machine, but no dishwasher or tumble drier. The boiler would typically be found in the kitchen attached to the wall. Ours was a gas boiler and you could see the flame through a little window, so you could tell if it had gone out. You'd have to put the hot water "on" to heat up and it would be stored in an immersion heater or hot water tank, usually in an upstairs cupboard, called the airing cupboard, because it would be a warm place to put freshly-ironed sheets and towels. The tank would be covered in lagging or insulating material and considered by children everywhere to be "the monster" because it made scary noises! Once the hot water was gone that was it until it could be heated up again, which is probably another reason why showers weren't popular because they were considered wasteful as you could use all of the hot water very quickly by having a long shower, whereas once a bath is run it stays hot for a while and you can stay in until you start getting cold if you wanted to.
The floorplan of this house is absolutely typical for British suburban houses built between the 1920s and 1990s. Probably slightly bigger than this in a middle class area, but certainly the arrangement of the kitchen, living room and dining room around the hallway/stairs, and the bathroom being at the top of the stairs.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26169081.html
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