40 Decor Trends From the 1970s We'll Never Forget
40 Decor Trends From the 1970s We'll Never Forget
The '70s—it sure does seem like it was a more laid-back, dare we say more mellow, time, doesn't it? Disco was king, Jaws menaced moviegoers, and everybody was on roller skates. Houses were one-story ranch-style, or split level and filled with never-before seen design choices (most of which have been never seen again). But whether good, bad, or just plain tacky, home interiors were certainly unique. A little nostalgia is never a bad thing, so let's step inside the time machine and into a typical 70s pad. Just a warning—you might want to put on your sunglasses first!
Linoleum Floors
There was no other kitchen and bathroom flooring in the 70s nearly as ubiquitous as patterned linoleum, beloved by working moms for its durability and easy cleanup.
Bean Bag Chairs
No home in the '70s would have been complete without a few bean bag chairs thrown around the basement. Sure they were comfy, but how did anyone ever get out of them?
Wood Paneling
You still see wood paneling around, but rather than the currently trendy beadboard or shiplap, the '70s version was usually made from anything but real trees and had a painfully obvious fake grain.
Crocheted Blankets
These throws were crocheted in a repeating "granny" square pattern, using colors that clashed. Often made from scratchy wool, they were better tossed over the back of the couch than used to cover up with during movie night.
Lava Lamps
Technically the oddly hypnotic lava lamp was made popular in the '60s, but it continued on strong through almost the end of the 1970s.
Shag Carpeting
If the 1970s were about one interior design trend, it was wall-to-wall shag carpeting, usually in eye-searing colors like bright orange.
Huge TVs
Televisions weren't always so flat and light they could hang on walls. In the 70s they were furniture, a place to put knickknacks as well as watch The Brady Bunch.
Statement Stone Fireplaces
Made of rough rock and usually taking up a whole wall, this design trend wouldn't have looked out of place in a hunting lodge.
Alarm Clocks
Before the world went digital, people woke up with alarm clocks sporting numbers that flipped. They came in the ever-popular fake wood veneer, or some seriously bright 70s colors, and made a cool clicking sound.
Patterned Paper
If 70s walls weren't lined with wood paneling, they were sporting paper splashed with with big and bold geometric shapes in bright, contrasting colors.
Sunken Living Rooms
The '70s were a neighborly time, and conversation pits were meant to encourage socializing. These seating areas sunk down a notch from the rest of the room and were cozy and inviting — as long as your guests didn't break an ankle getting to them.
Floating Stairs
A floating staircase was a focal point on the design-forward set of the The Brady Bunch. Mr Brady might have been an architect, but those stairs still looked a little dangerous.
TV Dinners
Most of us still occasionally eat in front of the tube. But do we do it in style, on molded plastic trays perfectly sized to hold our TV dinners?
Rattan Furniture
Once consigned to patios and the like, rattan furniture become a hot addition to living rooms and other interior spaces in the '70s. It did go rather well with all the macramé and ferns that started turning up everywhere.
Floral Sofas
Much the same as wallpaper, upholstery in the '70s tended toward big, bright, bold, and busy as a bee in a field full of sunflowers. But where wallpaper tended toward geometric shapes, furniture fabric was all about the florals.
Push Button Phones
Between the rotary phones of yesteryear and the cell phones of today, there was the push button phone of the '70s. It seemed lightening fast to dial compared to its predecessor.
Stereo Systems
In the '70s, stereos were whole systems, some so intricate they rose in towers, up the wall. The modern equivalent, a tiny speaker that plays music from cell phones, can't compete.
Macramé Everything
Macramé, created by tying cords into knots, was all the rage in 70s homes, used for everything from potted-plant holders to decorative wall hangings in the shape of owls.
Colonial Furniture
Maybe as a result of patriotism over the Bicentennial, Colonial furniture came back with a vengeance, bringing with it turned wood and other favorites of our forefathers.
Fringe Elements
Fringe was in during the '70s, and not just as a hairstyle or a decorative element on vests and ponchos. Fringe turned up on lampshades, too, where it diffused light and helped create a mellow vibe, man.
Portable Radios
Back before internet and satellite radio, there was only AM and FM, and folks in the '70s listened to it on devices made just for that in seemingly every room of the house. Seriously, don't touch that dial.
Funky Lights
Hard to believe these weird little lamps with the colored filaments that glowed lit up everyone's rec room back in the day, but they did.
Pod Chairs
Whether you call them ball chairs or pod chairs or egg chairs or globe chairs, these seats were comforting and cozy.
Popular Pottery
Whether it was caused by the rise of ceramic artists, or hobbyists getting their hands on a kiln, pottery became popular way before Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze got goopy with wet clay in Ghost. In the 70s, ceramic lamps, vases, and more were in every home.
Chrome Finishes
Despite all the earth colors and hippie accents, the 70s were also about shine, at least where chrome was concerned. Chrome accents on kitchen chair legs, coffee tables, and lamps lent a little bit of Studio 54-style glitz to home sweet home.
Typewriters
Admittedly, it's awfully nice using the backspace key to erase a mistake, rather than getting whiteout involved. But don't you miss those clunky '70s typewriters a little? Anyone?
Pyrex Dishes
It's still available in plain old see-though glass (and occasionally patterns), but back in 70s, Pyrex casserole dishes and mixing bowls came in festive, fun colors you'd love to put on your table.
Record Players
Though there's a resurgence in record collecting today, vinyl peaked in the '70s when ambitious "concept albums" like The Eagles' Hotel California were released. But their sound, according to experts, is far warmer and richer than digital could ever be.
Dark Tones
The muted, flat shades everyone loved so much in the '70s have survived, but rust, sand, brick, harvest gold, avocado, and the like seldom show up all in one room anymore. That's probably a good thing, since taken together they tend to get a little...depressing.
Exposed Brick
Exposed brick was so popular in the '70s, you'd have thought everyone was bunking in an old warehouse. Add in an angled roofline and its twice the time trip back.
8-Tracks
With the exception of bell bottoms, there is little that is so iconically '70s as the 8-track. These plastic analog tape cartridges are long gone—Fleetwood Mac's Greatest Hits is said to be the last 8-track from a seriously successful band ever made—but the legend remains.
Textured Walls
Whether you're talking flocked or foiled paper or textured plaster, walls in the 70s invited you to reach right out and grab them.
Vinyl Tablecloths
Those vinyl tablecloths we use outside today? In the 70s they were spread over kitchen and dining room tables. Hey, they made Kool-Aid spills easy to wipe up.
Slides (and Projectors)
In the 70s, whenever neighbors came back from vacation, it was an unwritten rule that you had to have them over for a slide show.
Rec Rooms
Invariably set in a basement, '70s rec rooms tended to be a bit dark and possibly even damp, but who cared when you could steal your first kiss down there playing spin the bottle?
Concrete Patios
There was a certain look to patios in the 70s that has never been replicated. A slab of concrete, a couple of flimsy plastic chaise lounge chairs, maybe a hibachi, and families would call it good—right after mom slathered up with baby oil, that is.
Pendant Lights
Glass pendant lamps with those outrageously gigantic globes were the height of home kitchen fashion in the '70s, especially if they were orange.
Fondue Pots
Entertaining often involved fondue pots. It was all fun and games until somebody dropped melted cheese in their lap.
Massive Coffeemakers
In this era of Keurigs, can anyone really believe people used behemoths like this to make coffee in the '70s?
Super 8s
Before cell phones, before even digital video cameras, 70s families would record themselves doing '70s family things on Super 8 film and show it back to the embarrassment of all on a nifty home movie projector.
Remember when macramé was everywhere?