Feeling chilly at 19°C and secretly ashamed? You’re not alone! But before you declare yourself hopelessly fragile, let’s unravel how our ancestors braved the cold way before central heating and fuzzy blankets were a thing. Spoiler: they’d probably look at our indoor climate and wonder if we’d lost our ruggedness along the way.
How Cold Was ‘Normal’ for Our Ancestors?
If you think comfort is curling up at 19°C, take heart—or maybe add a layer—because the idea of thermal comfort is a surprisingly recent invention. According to historian Olivier Jandot, doctors in the 18th century recommended bedroom temperatures between 12.5 and 15°C. But here’s the twist: measuring the temperature accurately was a challenge before thermometers spread in the 18th century. People managed, often without knowing the digits—and ignorance might have been bliss…or at least less shivery.
At the turn of the 20th century, heating standards began to shift. Experts and “hygienists” started theorizing about minimum home temperatures. A widespread standard—promoted in commercials, architecture magazines, and technician manuals—was that a heating system should guarantee 18°C indoors, even if it was -5°C outside. This guarantee was serious enough to fight over in court if unmet!
The evolution wasn’t just scientific—it was cultural. Olivier Jandot points out that in the decades covering the so-called “Trente Glorieuses,” comfort standards inched up from 15°C to 19 or 20°C. Old advertising dreamed of perpetual spring indoors, but until recently, it was normal to add a layer upon entering home rather than wander around in a T-shirt, as some might today.
Battling the Cold: Ingenious Tricks from Yesterday
Central heating is the modern luxury we love to grumble about ignoring, but before its reign, strategies were a bit more…creative:
- Warmth by proximity: With open fireplaces ruling French homes up to the 19th century, temperatures inside were wildly uneven. Getting close to the fire meant survival. Venturing too far? Beware the relentless draft.
- Alcoves, curtains, and crowding: Homes used clever interior tricks—such as alcoves for beds or heavy curtains—to shrink the space needing heat. Paintings from before the 20th century often show people clustering in a single room to pool body heat.
- An army of accessories: Tools like portable footwarmers, copper bedpans (a.k.a. chauffe-lits filled with embers), and fleecy housecoats were the norm. According to historian Renan Viguié, the good old hot water bottle (or even the risky copper pan full of coals) was standard bedtime kit—especially in the countryside.
- Species solidarity: It was common in certain settings to sleep near livestock or share beds with other humans, for practical (and thermal) reasons. Hygienists later condemned this, pushing for a cleaner and increasingly solitary approach to sleep and space.
Layer Up: Clothing, Budget, and Social Construction
If you reach for another sweater, you’re in fine company. For a long time, wardrobes included quilted jackets, specialist robes, and multiple layers—sometimes even fur coats for indoor use! The famous French writer Bossuet reportedly wrote through the night in two jackets, feet tucked in a bearskin sack. As Jandot puts it, wearing a turtleneck at home is hardly a modern quirk.
There’s a classic saying: to fend off the cold, layer up (in fancy talk, those are “concentric envelopes”). Some even used newspaper as insulation. While the nightcap’s iconic status is a little suspicious—it rarely appears in historical images from the early 20th century, according to Viguié—the all-covering pyjama was in its golden age before central heating arrived. Today’s minimalist bedtime outfits would likely make ancestors shiver on sight.
Clothing and heating weren’t cheap luxuries. Reports on Swiss households circa 1900 show textile workers’ families spending 11.4% of their budget on clothing and 4.1% on heating and lighting, while teachers’ families spent 13.3% and a whopping 31.1% respectively. For comparison, the modern estimate for clothing is just 2.6% for a modest income.
Comfort Is What You Make It (And Wear It!)
It’s tempting to believe that we’ve grown softer, but as climate historian Pascal Acot stresses, we’re simply more sensitive to cold these days—the result of a completely “artificialized” environment. Fifty years ago, French countryside bedrooms were often unheated; kids did their homework in the kitchen, grateful for a hot water bottle and a (possibly mythical) nightcap.
Ultimately, what feels cold or comfy is as much a social invention as a physical sensation. Historical advice books often prescribed different temperatures for different rooms—keep the bedroom cool, the bathroom toasty, and let the kitchen or hallway chill for the sake of “healthy thermal shocks.”
So next time 19°C feels like Siberia, remember: for centuries, people put on coats indoors and called it normal. Maybe comfort is less a number on a thermostat and more about knowing the tricks (and adding another layer… or two!).
Based in New York, Josh is the creative mind behind Lanco Handmade Furniture.
Passionate about timeless design and fine craftsmanship, he transforms high-quality materials into pieces that are both functional and artful.
With a keen eye for detail and a love for natural textures, Josh creates furniture meant to bring warmth, character, and lasting beauty to any space.
