From your morning cup of coffee (or, for the health-conscious, sparkling water), to the luxe velvet sofa you spend your evenings on and the sit-stand desk you work at, many of our modern conveniences are rooted in the past.

Click or scroll through to find out how many of the beloved items around your home date back decades, centuries and even millennia…

Inventor Marie Van Brittan Brown made one of the first the home security systems in 1966, receiving a patent for it in 1969. It involved a 'video scanning device‘ mounted on an entrance door of a house, so the occupant could see who was there.

It was also kitted out with 'audio intercommunication equipment' to allow the two to communicate if necessary, and a radio-controlled alarm could be used for 'alerting a guard, policeman or watchman at a security station.'

Polytetrafluoroethylene (better known by the common brand name Teflon) was accidentally discovered in 1938. But it wasn't until 1961 that the first PTFE-coated pan, known as 'The Happy Pan', was launched.

There are now lots of brands offering non-stick pans, which remain popular with consumers around the world thanks to the ease of use. 

People often call any plastic food storage Tupperware, but the real deal was invented in 1942 by Earl Tupper. What set his product apart was the airtight nature of it, thanks to the patented 'burping seal'.

Tupperware really picked up in the 1950s thanks to Tupperware parties, and while many people have swapped over to glass storage containers, plastic containers remain a kitchen staple. 

The celestial-style light was first designed by Gino Sarfatti in 1939 and while he unofficially named it Fuoco d’Artificio which is Italian for fireworks, its connection to the first-ever satellite, which was launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union and increased Cold War tensions, lasts to this day.

The Sputnik light has since been copied and updated all over the globe and is hard to beat when creating a statement ceiling. Despite its long history, these designs still look fresh and continue to be used in homes around the globe.

Swirl 10 light ceiling light available from Dunelm.

A staple in many family gardens all over the world, the trampoline provides hours of entertainment.

A similar game was created by the Inuits, who used a taut walrus skin to launch dancers into the air during their spring celebrations, but the first modern trampoline as we know it was built in 1936 and invented by a pair of gymnasts.

The rise of slow cookers grew with the advent of women working outside the home. Irving Naxon applied for the first patent for a slow cooker in 1936, which was granted four years later, but the device wasn't put into commercial production until the 1950s. A slow cooker meant that dinner could be prepared in the morning, and the family would return home to a hot, nutritious meal after school and work.

With our hectic modern lifestyles, it's easy to see why they remain a must-have yet retro kitchen appliance. 

For many busy people, the microwave is the cornerstone of the kitchen – but just how long has this modern convenience been around? As early as 1933, a shortwave radio transmitter was demonstrated at the Chicago World's Fair.

Then after the Second World War, an American engineer inspired by radar technology developed during the war debuted the 'RadaRange' in 1946, but commercial microwaves didn't really take off in a big way until the 1970s when both the size and price point became more accessible.  

Love to lounge? Then you should thank cousins Edward Knabusch and Edwin Shoemaker. Builders of novelty furniture, in 1929 they patented a chair that followed the curves of the human body when sat and leaning back, and the La-Z-Boy was born.

This style has remained popular throughout generations, and is particularly suited to a Netflix binge.

Essential to the making of delicious smoothies, soups and sauces, most contemporary home cooks wouldn't be without a blender. The first one was developed by Polish-American chemist Stephen Poplawski.

It started off as a drink mixer in 1919, but by 1922 he had developed the ‘liquefier blender’. As the design was refined through the 30s and 40s, blenders became more widespread. 

Paper coffee filters were invented by Melitta Bentz in 1908 and are now used for drip brew coffee the world over.

She was inspired to look for a solution to remove the bitter taste that comes from boiling loose grounds; once she found it, she hired her husband and sons to assist her with the launch. 

It’s pretty much accepted wisdom that sparkling water is infinitely more exciting than still. So it was good news all round when the SodaStream was invented, meaning sparkling was available at home.

But did you know this nifty machine has some serious history? The company was founded in 1903, and while its commercial carbonation machines were popular with the upper class through the 20s, the first machine for home use was produced in 1955. It's been a hit with the masses ever since.

Without this invention, our homes wouldn't be filled with our favourite tunes. Used in 1880, horns were the earliest form of noise amplification, but they wouldn't be appropriate for home use.

Alexander Graham Bell patented his first electric loudspeaker capable of reproducing intelligible speech in 1876 as part of his telephone. But, the modern speaker that we know today required an understanding of electricity, radio, sound waves, mechanics, chemistry and physics and, as such, wasn't invented until the 1920s by Americans Edward W. Kellogg and Chester W. Rice.

The thought of having to clean a house without a vacuum cleaner would have most of us breaking out in a cold sweat, but before the turn of the 20th century, that's exactly what you'd have to do.

While the first manual vacuum cleaner was developed in the 1860s, followed in 1901 by huge horse-drawn petrol-powered machines invented by English engineer Hubert Cecil Booth which were manned by uniformed operators, it wasn't until the 1950s that vacuums became more affordable and were manufactured on a large scale. And all our lives got significantly easier. 

This ubiquitous jar is named after John Landis Mason, who patented Mason jars in 1858. Made to preserve or can food, mason jars remain popular with home cooks across the world, with the original style being the most covetable (there are many imitations nowadays).

As well as being used for preserving food, they are also used to store juices and smoothies as well as salads, and even for home decoration.

Bread bins (or, in America, bread boxes) were used to keep baked goods fresh in the days before commercial bread was commonplace. The history is sparse, but the Smithsonian has a bread bin from the late 1800s in their collection.

While most bread we buy now has preservatives in it, the rise of home baking and artisan bakeries has seen a return of the humble bread bin.

With a history going as far back as ancient Egypt and Greece, the humble headboard has been around for a long time. Headboards started off carved in ebony, silver and gold for Egyptian pharaohs, before moving on to a practical wooden design for ancient Greeks and Romans.

Upholstered headboards became popular in the 17th century as a comfier alternative, and they've remained a popular choice ever since.

The idea of a conservatory began to gain traction in the 16th century, when rich homeowners developed a taste for lemons and oranges. They bought these interesting citrus fruits from traders from the Mediterranean and promptly decided to have a go at cultivating them for themselves.

Orangeries, as they were known, were used not only to grow crops but also as venues for social interaction, which is how many of us like to enjoy them to this day.

They look entirely of the moment, but this popular mirror design actually has a long history. Some say that Louis XIV of France (1643-1715), known as 'The Sun King', invented this mirror, others suggest its heritage is found in ecclesiastical designs dating back to medieval times.

There is a similar mirror in the background of the Arnolfini Portrait painted by the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck in 1434, so we can comfortably date it back to before the 15th century.

Of course, the design really took off in the 20th century, gracing the walls of mid-century homes on and off until today.

The hallmark of an office worker who takes their health seriously, it would be easy to assume a standing desk was a modern reaction to a modern problem.

Yet it's believed its history goes way back: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was said to come up with many of his best ideas at his standing desk. Regardless, the contraption became more popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a self-help book from the era recommending them. 

While apothecaries have been around since the Middle Ages, they were originally grocers, who may have used chests to keep their herbs and spices in.

Characterised by many square pull-out drawers, these antique cabinets were once used by the apothecaries of the 17th century to store their concoctions. They would either be mounted in shops, or carted from house to house, as an efficient way to store lots of individual items.

Today the item is enjoying a resurgence, thanks to the high-quality craftsmanship, retro style and many practical uses.

References to horologia (from Greek, meaning 'hour' and 'to tell') started to pick up from 1280, while spring-driven clocks arrived in the 15th century, followed in 1656 by the development of the pendulum clock.

Despite all these advances, it wasn't until 1816 that clocks became a staple of many home, after a US-based clockmaker developed a system for mass-producing clocks by using interchangeable parts. 

The modern-day four poster is believed to have been born in Austria, sometime between the 12th and 15th centuries, with the canopy added in the 13th century. They're delightfully whimsical and add grandeur to any bedroom they're in, but what exactly is the point of a four-poster bed? Well, first of all, they were built to have the curtains drawn which kept common draughts out.

They were also popular in royal servant quarters, as they provided privacy. From the medieval era, beds became popular spots for public appearances and holding court, so the bed needed to impress too. Fortunately, those days are behind us. 

Long associated with nobility, velvet was first introduced in Baghdad around 750 AD. The time and skill involved in making velvet was such that it was only available to the wealthiest members of society.

The industrial revolution changed all that, and from the 1900s velvet became a mainstay of interiors. Today we associate velvet sofas with the glamour of the 1920s, and they are popular in all manner of styles and shades, from sweet pastels to rich jewel tones. 

There's plenty to suggest that our appreciation for curtains goes way back. There’s evidence of their existence at excavation sites in Pompeii and Herculaneum, while mosaics from between the 2nd century and 6th century also depict curtains hanging from rods across arches.

In England, they started to overtake wooden shutters at the end of the 16th century, and now there are more styles of curtains than you would ever believe!

Developed in the Persian Empire, kilim rugs have been produced since ancient times –  rugs have been found that date from the 4th or 5th century BC.

Characterised by flat surfaces that come from tightly interwoven weaves, kilim rugs have well and truly stood the test of time and remain as popular now as they were when they were first invented.

If you enjoy the feeling of toasty toes when you get out of bed or step out from your morning shower, you have the homes of the ancient Romans to thank. They developed the ‘hypocaust system’, which circulates hot air via pipes beneath the floorboards of a room to keep you warm.

In fact, the earliest system on record looks likely to have been installed at the temple of Ephesus in 350 BC. And there we were, thinking this upgrade was the height of modernity. Pictured is the remains of the underfloor air heating system of the Roman public baths of the ancient city of Scythopolis.

Dating back to the Mesopotamia era, the oldest mosaic tiles that we know of date back to 3000 BC. Most often associated with Ancient Greece and Rome, artists used pieces of tiles to create pictures and later decorated walls and ceilings in religious buildings with their designs.

Modern craftspeople continue to make use of this flexible form of decoration, but they're just as popular with homeowners looking to add a touch of handmade aesthetic to their bathrooms and kitchens.

They add a splash of colour to our beds in winter, not to mention an extra layer of warmth, but how long ago did humans cotton on to the idea of quilting? The oldest known quilt is shown on a carving of a Pharaoh from the ancient Egyptian First Dynasty, around 3400 BC.

Nevertheless, quilting didn't take off in Europe until around the 12th century when they were discovered after the return of the Crusaders from the Middle East.

Cushions are a decorative must-have for most of us, but they used to be a luxury item that only the richest members of society could afford.

They date back to 7000 BC, when they were used as a status symbol – being uncomfortable was not a good look for the status-obsessed living in those times. While no cushions from this period survive, they are depicted in ancient wall art.

Loved this? Check out these retro homewares that will fill you with nostalgia