Our weeklong revue of 1965-1970 interiors continues, and gosh, I think I love this brochure of 1969 interiors maybe best of all we’ve seen so far. Or else — I’m getting so sucked into 1960s interior design that it’s all just growing growing growing on me, so much so that every great interior I see becomes my new favorite. I had a really difficult time choosing the lead image from this 16-page Sherwin-Williams brochure. I settled on this family room because of its warm, dense colors, its colonial-modern “coolonial” vibe, and because so many readers are always looking for ideas to decorate a fireplace – especially one with asymmetric architecture. Click on through for some additional, terrific interiors, 15 more photos in all…
Matthew scanned and uploaded the photos, and he was spot on, I think, when he named this 1960s family room “manly mellow.” I love the cafe curtains… and those two little pillows by the fire… and the rust color fabrics. Also, this room demonstrates one of my favorite interior design tips: Strategically place one strong or bold color (black, in this case) all around the room to keep your eye “dancing.” This room is spectacular.
To view the slide show, click on the first thumbnail. Once it’s enlarged, click on the arrow below to move forward or back. You can start the slide show from any spot…
ML Haskell says
Oh my. This is awesome. I have in hand the same BH&G handbook on decorating, but from 1960. It was a wedding present to my mother.
Some of it is fabulous. Some of it is…uh…hard to describe. All of it is mezmerizing-at least, to me.
I would be happy to share some of the highs and lows of the 1960 book, just lemme know.
hannah50 says
That sofa in picture #6 – looks like the one that Florida seller has on Etsy!
I could look at pics like this all day.
Marta says
Our 1967 house has a 10ft floor-to-ceiling granite stacked stone fireplace wall in the 23′ x 14′ sunken living room, with a 16″ high x 16″ deep blue-stone hearth running the length of it. On the far left is a wood bin area open to the kitchen where a smaller stacked stone fireplace backs the one in the LR. (The kitchen was the family room originally.)
When we bought the house ten years ago, the LR fireplace mantel was a piece of warped 4″x4″ about 6ft long. It fell off on my head before we even moved in. Sadly, the fireplace has been naked ever since because I can’t decide where to situate a new mantel. It’s definitely needs to be higher, ’cause I’m only 5’5″ tall, and smacking my head on the old one is what made it fall off. But should it run the whole ten feet, be centered over the fireplace, or what? Right now, there’s an 8ft piece of blue masking tape centered over the fireplace. It’s been there a year. It’s possible I have commitment issues, but this mantel’s going to have electrical outlets, so if it’s not full-width I’ve got to bury the wiring and re-grout over it. Bear in mind, too, that the fireplace is not centered in the stacked granite wall, it’s off-set because of the stupid wood bin.
Frankly, the whole room is difficult. The blue stone hearth is beautiful and makes for lovely seating when we have a crowd over. But, it cuts the width of the LR by almost two feet on that half. Basically, the back wall consists of the fireplace, <1ft of actual wall, then it's open to the not-sunken dining room the rest of the way. The side wall on the DR side is unbroken. The front wall has an 8ft bay window centered in it, which make it offset from the actual fireplace. The other end wall is open to the non-sunken foyer the first 5ft, then unbroken wall to the fireplace. Since traffic from the front door cuts diagonally through the narrowest part of the living room to reach the dining room and the back of the house, furniture placement is awkward at best. It's also complicated because we currently have no family room, so the TV's in there. Specifically, it's in the fireplace.
But I'm not whining. Much.
Gillian says
“Coolonial”. Can I steal that word? You come up with such clever phrasing Pam. Still loving the site.
pam kueber says
Sure, Gillian! 🙂