Small Home Gazette, Summer 2019

Phone Niche

By 1930, more than 40 percent of American homes had a telephone installed. The new technology brought housekeeping issues—where to keep the phone and how to deal with all the wires.

The phone niche, or cabinet, solved the problems. Today, the niche is a place of endless possibilities—display a vase or books; store your keys and mail—or even your cell phone.

Montgomery Ward offered this cabinet in its 1929 catalog.