For the past 10 years, I have been absolutely immersed in researching homes built from 1945 through 1963 — the classic, post-World-War-II baby boom years. And over the past decade — and the past two-to-three years in particular — there is no question that I’ve seen a major transformation in how mainstream media, real estate agents and — yes, prospective home buyers — view these homes. The original, high quality features… the architecture… and the wisdom of restoring, rather than gutting — yup, folks are starting to ‘get it’. To be sure, there is still serious work to do to showcase how smart appreciating and preserving these homes can be, but, we are well on our way, I am convinced. So, that gets me to thinking: What is “the next big thing”. The answer, of course: 1970s houses. And buckle your seatbelts, peoples, because I predict that the love train for 1970s architecture and interior design will be even bigger than for 1950s and 1960s homes. Why? (1) Sheer numbers. And, yes, (2) the sheer amazing style, too.
1. The Numbers: Long story short: There were more houses built in the 1970s — overall and as a percentage of population — than during any other decade in American history.
I am afraid this might bore a lot of readers, so I’ll keep this brief-ish. I have been doing research on housing growth, and this government report from 1994, is pretty informative. In one of the paragraphs above, it says:
The housing stock grew by more than 20 percent in the 1940′s, 1950′s and 1970′s. Growth rates less than 20 percent occurred in the 1960′s and 1980′s.
The largest increase, 19.7 million housing units, occurred in the 1970′s, despite three economic recessions within the calendar years from 1970 to 1980s. The net gain in that decade represented an average increase of about 2 million housing units per year. Demand for housing was high in the 1970s as the leading edge of the baby boom population entered household forming years, wellin the 24-to-34 years age groups.
It. Always. Happens. About 20 years after a housing style, with its attendant interior design style — booms — we Hate it. This goes on for a while. About 50 years after, a shift starts to occur. There is a new generation — the grandkids, typically — who have fond recollections of their grandparents’ homes, and embrace they style. They also can afford these “stylistically discounted” — “dated” — houses. In addition, the larger population — including designers — has the perspective to look back and appreciate the best of a style, and let go of the rest. The 70s housing re-boom is on a trajectory to start in earnest in about eight years… and leading edge design savants are already heading there.
The housing boom of the 1970s was even greater — numerically and as a percentage of population — than in the now-infamous bubble of 2000-2010. Note: I am creating my own Excel spread sheet (shown above)(I already see how I need to fix where the 1990s tally up, but I am fed up looking at this and need to take a break). There are reports and reports, with a variety of government agencies (BLS pre-1945, and Census 1945-on), and technical slicing and dicing, to puzzle through. My numbers may not match other numbers. Unless I find someone who has done just the kind of timeline-report I am looking for, I have a bit of a journey ahead of me. Nonetheless, I believe my spreadsheet so far is directionally correct. You get the point.
(2) 1970s style rocks. Of course, 1970s style is infamous, too. The more I research and write about retro design — the more I love it. I want it. I am collecting it. And I will be writing more and more about it leading toward the big boom to come.
Greatest hits: The 50 most popular stories about renovating a 40s, 50s, 60s or 70s house 
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I am totally with you on 70s style. It *does* rock.
I always get this reaction when I tell people I have an avocado kitchen: “Oh, GAWD, avocado is SO UGLY.”
My question to them is always: “WHY is avocado ugly?”
When you ask someone to quantify why they find something ugly, they tend to panic a little bit. What makes a color *inherently* ugly? It’s impossible to put into words. “Well, because my grandma had that.” Well, obviously, *she* didn’t think it was ugly, right?
Truth is, you’re *conditioned* to believe certain things are ugly. It’s purely a by-product of what you’ve learned and picked up along the way. And as you said above, it goes in phases. The further away you get from a design trend, the more the conditioning and associations you’ve developed ABOUT that design trend get replaced with other associations, and your distaste disappears. And, as you said, new people come along WITHOUT that conditioning to appreciate what you don’t.
Certainly the color choices of the 70s — orange, avocado, harvest gold, brown — aren’t in and of themselves ugly. And believe me, first hand, they brighten up a room! And some of the other 70s design choices — big, bold geometric shapes, busy patterns, interesting textures like cork and dark wood — can also be applied in a highly attractive manner!
I can’t wait to see you write more about this, and I can’t wait to see people with 70s houses start building conversation pits and installing mirrored wallpaper!
yup
(sorry if you got like 10 of that post submitted to you — my network connection was being glitchy!!!!)
What a FANTASTIC explanation of “ugly” color schemes! I love orange, avocado, harvest gold and brown!
I grew up in the 1970s-80s so my nostalgia is the 1970s houses. To me nothing makes me more comfortable than a room with wood paneling because that was what our den had when I was a kid.
I never heard the expression “conversation pit” but I have definitely seen them so thanks for giving me a google search term for it!
I have often considered what I would add on to my house if wanted to expand it. Perhaps nothing would be better than a room with a conversation pit!
Guy, use my search bar – I have featured a few, although they do not all come up.
I remember when I was young my mom’s kitchen was avocado green with copper handles on the dark brown cabinetry. She had really cute spring green curtains with orange and yellow accents. I still think it looked adorable. Liked it then, still like it today! I believe too many times people decorate to appease the masses but they should do what they love as far as decor and color. After all, you have to live with it everyday, not them. And if the 70′s color trends make you smile, then I say Go For it!
I’m a child of the 70′s, but I’ll be honest, I’m not wistful of the time period. There are some elements of the very early 70′s that I find interesting and I do love watching gritty detective movies especially those shot in New York City as that it where I first entered the world of the 70′s. But I’m not so sure I love the idea of an era correct 70′s house. I detest brass, and antique brass, shiny oak, and cheap paneling. Are you predicting a comeback of those gaudy couches with the pioneer and Conestoga wagon scenes on them? When I think back to my parents homes of the early 70′s I remember brown. Lots and lots of brown. My mom still decorates in brown.
Do you predict the split foyer will be come the sought after butterfly roof of tomorrow? I sure hope not. Actually now that I think of it, I hope so. Let that be the trend, and lets see people move out en masse of their beautiful 50′s and 60′s homes. It’ll leave more inventory for me to hoard.
Construction materials that were “cheap” in the sense of “not well made” do not come back. However, knotty pine was “inexpensive” — yes, “cheap” — (relatively) in the 50s — and as long as the quality was there, I find it quite attractive and desirable. I also love split level houses — quite practical. Like I said: Time enables us to develop perspective. Some stuff will be deemed awesome and worth preserving. Some, not. And, some people will find some things more awesome than other people will.
I laughed at your post! I was born in 66 — my “kid-hood” was in the 70s.
Everything we had was brown — or beige — with touches of burnt orange.
I tell my husband that I must have some sort of trauma buried in my subconscious — something bad must have happened during the 70s.
Everything about that era gives me the heebie-jeebies.
One of my 70′s memories: kitchen wallpaper with bright orange, yellow and green MUSHROOMS!
I couldn’t agree more with Jon’s post. Very well stated. In fact, as we already know, it’s about how companies market these 1970s colors. When a friend told me how she detested avocado, I asked her, “But do you like the color olive?” Truth is, avocado is still alive and well by today’s standards. It’s just called olive:)
Yes, and it used to be called Sage. In fact, look at palettes today and the color is all over the place. Companies just seem to be tripping over themselves to not call it Avocado.
So if in about 8 years the 70′s is going to take off, does this mean we’ll see lower prices on 19-40′s 50′s and 60′s things? I realize its a hard question to answer, but I do recal a not so long ago time when stuff from the 40′s 50′s was just “Junk” and was in abundace and cheap… But then great shows like Mad Men and countless others styled after the early 60′s along with designers and Hipsters brought the good old things of yesterday back into the spot light. Your Thoughts Pam?
Yes, prices will come down. Just like they did for Arts & Crafts after that re-boomed in the 90s. Prices skyrocketed for Stickley & the like. I am pretty sure they have come back down to more “reasonable” levels. In addition — and you see this happening today — contemporary manufacturers start making reproductions, so prices come down for the antiques.
I feel that when an era is becoming popular with collectors and decorators, everything from that era sells for a higher price, regardless of quality. If it has ‘the look’ it sells. As the collector matures so does their taste. They look for the quality, they appreciate the difference in an item produced 2 years earlier than another. Common things languish while the rare continue to skyrocket in price after others have moved on to the next big thing. Some people are happy with a piece “almost exactly the same thing” that is available for a fraction of the cost. That’s a good choice for people that want to use the furniture hard and not be afraid of letting people set a glass down. But serious collectors are connoisseurs. They’ll always fight over the rare and important items.
Speaking of Arts and Crafts, recently there was an auction with 3 Gus Stickley Bow arm morris chairs sold within a 4 hr time frame. One sold for $17,360. The second for $5,890 and the third for $5,270. The difference in price was all due to subtle design changes made during the time the chairs were manufactured. The best will always bring a strong price.
I’ll hop aboard that train! I grew up in a 70′s house and loved it. The tackier, the better!
I predict 1990 to be the cut off date for the interest in resurgence of styles, for the simple reason that there was no real style to my mind. (Though I am prepared to eat those words) I recall at that time subscribing to Victoria and being interested in things either floral or antique. Maybe the ‘country crafts’ look will come around again?
Is there something from the 1990′s or 2000′s-other than granite countertops and stainless steel- that is going to be memorable enough to revisit? Will I want to replace my now-vintage things with things colored in burgundy or forest green?
If you consider the clean-modern style of now, it so mimics what we saw in the 1960′s that its hard to see it as a unique style.
I used to shun the 1950′s ranch, but now love it, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be interested in a mcmansion tract home.
One thing I’ve started collecting from the 1970′s are decorative items are made of molded plastic. I have a ‘wood’ shelf, a ‘wood’ mirror, a set of three oval pictures of a mill. Possible would have been tacky in the 1990′s, now I think they’re a lot of fun.
Laura, we did a big thread on design trends of the 1990s. Pretty fun! http://retrorenovation.com/2011/02/02/what-were-the-biggest-design-trends-of-the-1990s/
If you have innate style and taste, you can definitely make the mirrored wallpaper and brown, avocado and orange colors work. My main issue with the 70s homes is the quality of craftsmanship. There are many problems that if not already addressed will be expensive fixes for future owners such as shoddy electrical and slab construction with all the ductwork inside. I know this isn’t just a 70s issue, but in my opinion is a big one for the period. The quality of tilework, cabinets, etc. is pretty lame on average houses, too. Of course, those can be the kind of updates a new homeowner makes that bring the house into the 21st century.
Robyn, I agree about the construction issues. Regardless of style or general look, I would always prefer a 50s or early 60s home to a 70s home because of that very problem. As Pam has shown, there were so many homes built during that decade, and unfortunately, a significant percentage of them were poorly constructed and will cost their future owners more in repairs. Yet there were many well-constructed homes, so it’s up to buyers: get a good home inspector and put them through their paces!
I inherited my folks ranch built in 1969. It originally came with avocado appliances, and a green hanging lamp hung in the living room window. The family room had a mufti-stripped family room rug, dark paneling, and ceiling beams.The kitchen storage is minimal and cabinets are very dark, and there is little natural or artificial light. The room sizes are too small for our traditional Queen Anne style furniture. I want to redecorate with sleeker furnishings. But still need higher legs for arthritic knees. When we move in at retirement, I imagine selling everything for furnishings to fit the house. We had to remove the dark paneling in the basement to deal with water issues, but now it is painted gold. Our son says it is ‘too 70s’– but we love it.
The Brady Bunch house still makes me weak in the knees! I grew up in 1970s backsplits and sidesplits, and while I don’t see buying one in the near future, I sure do enjoy visiting them.
I must admit that I am not a fan of ’70s style, BUT…if its resurgence helps bring about the decline of the Cult of Granite Countertops, that would be groovy indeed!
I have noticed that my 1970s avocado green and harvest gold items I have in my Etsy shop get lots of attention and lots of love (such as treasury inclusion and “hearts”), and not that many people have them for sale yet. I feel like it’s still a bit early, but, like you said, another handful of years and they’ll be the hottest thing going. And when that happens, I’ll be ready.
I am quite capable of explaining why I dislike the gold/orange 1970s-era color story, at least for kitchens. Because try as I might, none of that stuff ever looks CLEAN. Growing up, we had a kitchen with gold appliances, and the wallpaper in that kitchen had an almond-colored background, with gold, orange, and brown floral print. You could scrub that paper all you wanted to, but it still always appeared to have a thin layer of icky grease on it. No thank you!
However, all that said, I do adore avocado green! Avocado is actually a bit brighter and cleaner than either olive or sage, which both have dusty undertones to them. I like to team up the avocado with a pale teal and, of course, brown.
I grew up in a 1970′s development in suburban Minneapolis, and there were some funky, funky houses in my hood. Everyone had the popcorn ceilings, but those with more flair could add sparkles or even hay. Haaaaaaaay.
Our house was a split-level, and it had a open, airy feel. We even had the stairs that “floated”, no risers so you could see through to the family room. I swear, those houses were cool.
Woot woot to retro renovating in Minneapolis, Beth!!
I’m giving it a solid go, John! The kitchen is challenging me at the moment, but we’ll get it done right.
Ugh, I lived through the 70′s once, and y’all can have it. I wasn’t around for the 60′s swank, so it’s new and exciting to me, whereas it seems everyone in the 70′s wanted to live in a hobbit hole. I’m with Thomas upthread… more swanky goodness for us!
I love this post! We live in a house built in 1976; it’s very well made, much better than the ’52 ranch I used to own, believe it or not. I too lived through the ’70s, and I have to admit that I don’t love all of those styles from back then. Some things make me wince. But some things from those years are great; living in this house has convinced me even more of the fun in ’70s style.
Thanks Pam for this post and throwing some love to the ’70s. And no, the wonkish numbers don’t bore me a bit – they are very revealing. And the “20 years out and back” theory is so very, very true.
My second childhood home was built in 1964. My mother updated it a bit about 1974. Although I really do like the burnt oranges, avocado greens and harvest gold colors,but in our house, they really didn’t mix with the turquoise stove, sink and refrigerator.
At least we didn’t have shag carpet like some of my friends did at their houses. My little house was built in 1969, but has many ’70′s features such as the original avocado green Coldspot refrigerator and the harvest gold laminate counter tops. I kept them and incorporated those into my kitchen retro redesign to take it back to the 1950′s. I like the ’70′s style overall, except shag carpeting. 
We love the 70s! My wife and I have taken our living room back with Burnt orange and avocado. My parents had the 70s colors when I was a kid, but traded them in for 80s beige during our first move to New Mexico. I’ve had a fondness for the 70s and often joke that I was born in the wrong era. If I could, I would do wall-to-wall shag in our living room, but I don’t believe it’s available anymore.
Pam, you should look into a reality show called the 70s House. It ran on MTV for 1 season and the contestants were forced to live in a house straight out of the 70s. They were woken up in the wee hours of the morning and had to do the Hustle. It was awesome. Most of the contestants were horrified that they could only use corded phones and that their music selection was limited to vintage vinyl and 8 track. They also really didn’t appreciate the clothing from the era either. It was definitely a fun show!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV%27s_The_70s_House
The thing I hate most about my 70′s house is the modern equivalent of Shag carpet–they call it Freizee (Frizz-a.) You can find it at most carpet places.
I recently inherited my Great Aunt’s house which was completed in 1978, and sadly, NEVER updated….The open floor cottage concept is awful, as well as every room is clad in the most gawd awful dark olive-ish color paneling, the white paneling on the ceiling with the fake wood beams, the harvest gold kitchen with the bicentenial themed paneling and barely enough room to turn around in……LOL Yes….I am a child of the 70′s and yes, I pretty much dislike the era…..It seems that was the time when people feared any color other than Brown, Gold, and Burnt Orange……..
My parents bought their first home in 1973 for $20,000. I laugh because real estate values are in fact plummeting again and the house is probably worth that again.
I always think of “Saturday Night Fever’ when I think of the 70′s. Disco, Platform Shoes and Bell Bottom Trousers. And don’t forget Better Living Thru Chemistry, Some of that generation are lucky to have survived – Steven Tyler, anyone? Fun Tmes!
Call me a killjoy, but the day that the kind of yellow striped vinyl Sanitas wallpaper, yellow mottled design countertops, dark plastic laminate cabinet veneers, and gold-and-yellow geometric floors that have plagued my kitchen for lo these fifteen years we’ve lived here (and at least 10 years before that), and the dark paneling with rust-colored carpet and vinyl-padded bar that used to be my basement family room, become coveted retro design elements, is the day I will lose all hope.
So funny – I was just surfing over at the Sunset Magazine website and they have a pictorial all about incorporating that 70′s style into your decor.
The headline reads –
8 ways to embrace ’70s style at home The Disco Decade is having a surprising revival, but never fear––no mirrored balls here
Personally my mother’s house in the 70′s was a study in a sort of Moorish revival. Lots of cut work velvet on the couches and brown and harvest gold everywhere with orange and avocado as the accents. Can’t say I can really get behind any of the colors other than orange. She did have lots of Mexican clay tchotchkes. I loved the Mexican pieces not so much the harvest gold!
I love 1970′s decor.
Good interior design frome 70′s is usually quite “era-less”. Forward and backward looking at the same time.
Forget Gradma’s house….or even the Brady’s. Go to your local library and thumb through a 1975 issue of Architechural Digest ot the original Metropolitan Home. These images are as clean and fresh as when new.
Sadly, much of it is already long gone. Most public buildings have been stripped of any reference to the decade.
Actually, if you Google Image Architechural Digest 1973 you can see what I mean about “timeless, past and future”. all rolled together.
This was the heyday of the DECORATOR….aka designer.
Avocado and olive are three different but related colors; sage is totally unrelated and can’t be remotely confused with the other three. Greens can be more yellow, more blue, or neutral; they can be light, medium or dark, and they can be pure or impure–impure greens have some red in them. Olive can indicate a fairly dark, neutral to slightly yellow, impure green. Army green– very popular in every decade because it is fairly balanced between blue and yellow and has quite a bit of red in it, like the color of most leaves in good health. It is one of the most common shades in nature– of course there is a large range in nature, but the deeper army green olive is well within that. As a deeper color it is grounding; it plays well with other colors and stays in the background. Sage is a muted blue-green and also popular through the decades, sometimes more blue, sometimes more neutral. Most of the blue-greens are popular in every decade, Sage, Kelly green, hunter green— they have all had moments when they are particularly popular, but they never go away. They might inspire boredom, but never hatred. Sage is common in drought-tolerant and alpine plant. There is a range of shades from the late 60′s through the mid 1970′s that are very particular to that decade that are called olive and avocado. They are mid-tones with a fair amount of red in them and a lot of yellow. Some of the undertones are objectionable in that they are the same undertones in sickly people and in sickly plants. Harvest gold, brown, cream and olive all have yellow-orange in them; they beg to be cooled down with some blue. They are not appropriate for rooms with southern exposures. Because of that yellow undertone, the 70s colors can look dingy and cigarette stained. When 70s colors are found in other decades, they are balanced with cooler tones or bookended with red and purple, or they are used very sparingly for spice. Although individually the 70′s colors are very warm, as a group have a lot of unresolved tension. Unconsciously we expect to either see purple and red, or alternatively blue. It isn’t just fashion; colors may come and go, but how they work together or don’t work together are hardwired into our brains. Elements of the 70′s may come back, but a lot of the 70′s style is atypical color and design theory.
Pam,
I respectfully and politely disagree. I think you have the direction correct -there is always a little nostalgia boomlet a few decades later- but I think you are overestimating the size of the trend.
First, I’m not going to criticize anyone’s taste. If someone wants a very Brady house, that’s their call.
I graduated from HS in ’75 and I worked summers for a company that made panelized homes. Nothing wrong with the panel system, but I got a good look at the elevations both on the prints and as they popped up all over town. There is little that is definitive about ’70s architecture. People built salt boxes, colonials, colonial salt boxes, and nondescript 1040 ranches (one thousand forty sq ft). Yes, here and there one can find a ’70s home built as a split level with massive 2.5 car garage doors, but by and large, only the real estate documents clue most people about the build year of their ’70s pad. (Likewise many ’50s/60s homes were not built to the MCM aesthetic, they were just thrown up, or built in older styles)
There are definitive ’70s interior design elements, and I needn’t go into them here, so this is probably where most of the action will be.
Another trend of the ’70s was the absolutely massive interest in the 1950s. This was the decade of “American Graffiti”, “Happy Days”, “Laverne and Shirley”, ’50s themed car shows (they are still doing that to a large extent) “Oldies” radio stations, and on, and on. IOWs a lot of people living in the ’70s were very dissatisfied with the times and this, I think, went well beyond “normal” nostalgic remembrance. It amounted to a rejection of the times, though admittedly that won’t have the same effect on people who were very young at the time (My parents, having lived through the Great Depression, cannot begin to fathom my love of all things 1930s)
I agree with you that the grandkids of the ’70s will have fond remembrance of some of “style” of the times, but I wouldn’t bet too heavily on pleasant memories being strong enough to make someone actually install orange shag carpeting. An avocado ‘fridge, is a definite possibility.
There are many places where ’70s homes were never built. They were largely a suburban phenomenon, and though many will choose to buy a home in an “old” ’70s subdivision, it goes counter to the other modern trend of re-urbanization.
My neighborhood was built in the late ‘teens and through to 1929. Here and there, a vacant lot was filled in with a post war ranch, but there have been virtually no houses built in a several block radius since the late ’40s. Mostly, none since the Great Crash. My neighborhood continues to be a place people choose because of proximity to work and play, but ’70s decor would be wildly out of place in most of these houses. While you correctly identify a building boom in the ’70s, it still remains a fact that most housing stock either pre-dates or post-dates the ’70s.
It also seems that my generation was the last to come out of college w/o a severe debt load. I doubt the up and coming generation, who have fond memories of Grandma’s harvest gold kitchen, are going to have the spare cash to decorate in period correct fashion. They’ll being paying for college until they start collecting SS.
Finally, I’m not sure how long nostalgic or “period” decorating will last, as a craze. In past decades homes were mostly built and/or decorated to be “with it”, modern, up to date. My mother wasn’t trying to capture a ’40s aesthetic in our post war ranch, she wanted the 60s and later ’70s look. There is something profoundly different (and a bit un-American? ) about wanting to live in the past. Perhaps I’m wrong about this, but even then, there are many eras to choose from.
Sorry to be such a downer. Again, I don’t knock anyone for wanting to live in that ’70s house, but I suspect the trend will be small compared to interest in the 50s/60s.
There was also a rekindled interest in Art Deco in both the 50s and the 70s. The 50s reinterpretation features more chrome and brighter colors, whereas the 70s went for earthier tones, if I’m not mistaken. All of these eras ultimately draw influence from those that came before!
I think you have a point about the dangers of becoming so derivative there is nothing new or innovative or timely. It can point to a lack of optimism and a bit of defeatism– hence “grey” as the “new” neutral. Yuck!
That being said,
1) all eras have derivative elements– from the 100 year colonial revival starting in the 1870′s to the interest in medieval in the Craftsman era, the old west revivals in the 1940s and 1950s–
2) Necessity is the mother of invention. Just prior to the Great Depression, 3 out of 4 Americans rented their home from someone else. Most of these homes did not have indoor plumbing or electricity. While the wealthiest could afford homes built with standards we might envy even today, most single family houses were substandard and not available when demand skyrocketed after WWII. In 1950, families didn’t have a huge stock of 50 year old homes to choose from, much less 50 year homes of high quality. Homes had to be new and modern and radically different than what came before; they were the first with electricity, central heating, indoor plumbing and hundreds of other things we take for granted but are huge leaps in basic health and safety.
3) The generation of Americans forming new families today might be considered the “Baby Busters.” Baby Boomers grew up in neighborhoods overflowing with children. Baby Busters grew up with neighborhoods overflowing with retirees and seniors. There just aren’t as many of us, and for the last 30 years, in many areas more new homes have been built than new families formed. It doesn’t make much sense to build new and innovate when there is such an extensive, high quality stock of existing homes.
4) It no longer makes sense to constantly “update” with mainly superficial stylistic changes just to be “with it.” Americans had gotten into the habit of “updating” or moving out of homes every 7 to 15 years. Renovating and changing for functional improvements is great and needed to make the older stock livable. But making cosmetics a huge industry that we are now dependent on is a bit of a mistake. The generation that came out of WWII didn’t focus so much on their own homes that they neglected their community institutions. They were so much more active than we are today! Active in their schools, churches, fraternal organizations, bowling leagues, you name it and they were more involved. Quantitatively more involved. We have schools and communities that need functional updates and improvement and the old habit of simply moving to a newer home, in a newer town, with newer schools and leaving to older to literally rot doesn’t work anymore.
5) Derivative styles at their worst can indeed be a form of hiding from the present, or a form of laziness. But they can also free creative energy better used elsewhere, make the best use of resources. Nostalgic styles are more about welcoming your guests and neighbors and making them smile than about impressing or competing with them.
6) That being said, the 70′s was a fairly traumatic time for many families and for the nation. While other decades had extreme changes and divisions, there were always moderates to help soften the edges and integrate the best (and sometime worst) of the extremes. We always came to some sort of collective agreement and grew stronger. Until the 1970′s. In the 1970′s we saw, at the family level, record splits in the form of divorces. Before the 1970s, most denominations, although functionally split since the civil war, contained a mixture of moderates and conservatives, and moderates and liberals. In the 70′s those permanently divorced. Today you can mainly go to conservative churches or liberal churches and the moderates get turned off and mostly stay home. There were splits over Watergate, over the War and our role in the world, about abortion, about so many things that haven’t healed with time. The 70s was the start of the Culture Wars. They get papered over sometimes– but those divisions remain. The split level house is so indicative of all the splits of the era. 70′s fashions may make a comeback, but it won’t be without detractors. Every era has problems, but for the 1930′s through even the mid 1960′s, most of those problems are at least somewhat resolved.
You have made some excellent points, Genevieve — thank you!
There are definitely 70s style trends other than brown/orange/gold/avocado, Early American, and disco. I can’t say I’d replicate my parents’ home, filled as it was with Harvest Gold everything (my mother had a serious thing for yellow). However, I think back fondly on how much I admired some of those wonderfully funky interiors filled with a mix of Art Nouveau posters, Arts & Crafts furniture, modernist bits, and lots of plants. The sort of thing I later came to associate with the aging hippie college professors I adored.
I don’t care for very sleek, cold modern homes, but love the sort of “modern” expressed in houses that look like a combination of Frank Lloyd Wright, a timber frame barn, a treehouse, and a Hobbit hole. Heck, yeah, I DID want to live in a Hobbit Hole–and I have the complete Sunshine Family house to prove it, including a scale-model spinning wheel I added for good measure when I was 8. (Yes, I finally got a real one in my 30s, thank you.)
On the downside, those kids buying 70s tract homes are going to have to shell out a lot of cash to replace dangerous aluminum wiring and failing early plastic plumbing. Forget knob-and-tube, it’s the aluminum stuff that scares me.
Although the 70′s is not my cup of tea I do have respect for it. My father lives in a time capsule 70′s Spanish style place full of burnt orange and brown. To me it was the last era of individuality of style before we went into the conservitive 80′s and onwards with their bland nuetral colours.
It is in my view this is when Australia finally caught up with the rest of the world in mainstream trends (never sure if that was a good thing). I do like some of the light fittings and wallpaper from that era for being way out there rather then functional.
As I’ve mentioned here before, I am a big fan of the 70′s, I didn’t know how much, though, until Sunday when at a flea market I was trying on this super cool reddish orange leather coat from that period of time. The guy selling it says to me, “the 70′s are coming back” I smiled, then he added, “but you never left, did you?” I thought that was so funny. I’ve modified it, modernized it for myself, but I guess I’m still part of it.
I found this awesome bedspread of orange, avocado, gold and white that fortunately, the 15 year old I gifted it to was as happy as a clam receiving it as I was that I found it. Her sister was jealous. I just love that there are two teenagers in my life that not only love and want vintage things, but appreciate the 70′s, too!
My mom and dad love ’70s decor. My beef with it is, actually, at least in their iteration, is rather similar to Pam’s with Restoration Hardware.
It has no colour. My mom’s idea of a colour scheme is: Jute, sand, tan, chocolate. Maybe rust if she feels like going craaaazy. Wood is not allowed to be painted. Pottery is unpainted earthenware or terracotta. My dad loves gray. My dad loves industrial brick and steel.
For a pop of colour she’ll use avocado/sage. Sage is a colour I use as a neutral, she uses it as the loudest in the room. It makes me insane.
Humorless shaker and Early American furniture. Because its real, man. My mom uses “veneer” and “facade” as epithets.
I rebelled. I love colour. I love the Suburban Modern pallette. I love cheerfully painted houses (my parents say “they fight with the landscape. What about brown?”) and I love the ’50s, which enrages my ’70s mom.
tee hee. We most always rebel against our mom and dads’ palette. I think it’s part of the creating-your-own-identity thing. my mom and dad’s house, built in ’71, also was super heavy on the brownssssssssss. i’ll have to blog about it sometime.
My mom LOVED the avocado, orange and gold color palette. I couldn’t stand it and now I’m drawn to it like bees to honey. It is funny how that happens.
Jordanna,
As a teen in the ’70′s, I couldn’t stand the browns/tans/subdued greens of the decade. I, too gravitate toward the brighter colors that were popular during the ’50s and early ’60′s. I remember my mother (who is a true “individualist”) combined the dark browns of the decade with the bright oranges, yellows and oranges to create an exciting mix of decades and eclectic style. ( I still think, however, the turquoise appliances didn’t quite coordinate). Our house never reflected an entire “decade”, but was always an eccentric, exciting, eclectic mixture of several decades of color and style. I guess that is where I get my eclectic sense of style from. My mother tended to embrace brighter colors and I do too.
It’s been 40 years now so would surprise me if a good percentage of 70′s homes haven’t already had major work done. That said, some people either don’t notice their home getting rather out of style, or keep meaning to get around to it, until it can’t be ignored any more.
Wow, love reading all this stuff! Just to add a few more tidbits of info. 1957 had the highest per capita birthrate (me!) and those babies graduated from high school in 1975 (me again!). The 70s was also the beginning of needing two income families to support a household. No longer were people able to have a stay-at-home mom.
I got married in 1977. My first house (rented) had gold shag carpeting, brown/orange/gold striped paneling in the kitchen and gold appliances. I hung white w/brown LARGE cane patterned wallpaper. I had registered for brown towels for the bathroom and Franciscan dishes (yellow/orange/green). I still have my franciscan goblets/wines/dessert glasses in green and yellow and orange. Fun times and fond memories!
A great movie to see some 70s style is The Ice Storm. Some very cool (no pun intended!) interiors and fashions.
You just reminded me of the shag carpet that was in a room in a duplex that my friend had to move into with her mom due to divorce in 1977. It was the orange with red strands intermingled. Very cool.
The biggest “embracer” of good, sleek interior design in the 1970′s- available to the general public- was your neighborhood Bank. They were right on target at every branch…..Beautiful professional designs.
Totally agree with you on the bank thing…I also feel like public libraries did this well too.
I had better stock up on all the ’70s decor that I love so much if prices are going to skyrocket soon!
I just bought a 1968 rambler and the original elements, you can tell, definitely lean towards the ’70s. There is Moroccan-style tile on the bathroom floors, beams in the living room, quality wood paneling, and also some cheaper dark, faux wood paneling. The kitchen was gutted and redone two years ago (with granite and stainless steel, which I actually like) but I am working hard at salvaging the bathrooms (especially that tile) and playing up the ’70s style with decor from thrift stores and garage sales. People are giving this stuff away right now.
I love the ’70s colors. I have rust, orange, and avocado in my living room. Orange and yellow mushroom theme in the kitchen (it actually compliments the granite nicely), “sculpted” towels in the bathrooms…lamps…those big fork and spoon wall hangings…the list goes on. I slowly am acquiring lots of ’70s decor items and was even looking for a modernized shag area rug! Yes! It’s true! I am the one who wants a shag rug.
Also forgot to add—while we don’t have a by-the-book “conversation pit,” we do have a sunken living room…so fabulous! Seriously! How can you say a sunken living room is not fabulous. This is, of course, where we have our liquor cabinet, and where I want to place the shag rug.
Pam,
One thought about your stats: try to see if you can separate multiple housing starts for singles. The stats from pre-60s are mostly single family buildings, with the 70s in particular we see a lot of tallish concrete apartment towers constructed in smaller cities in America that previously had never seen things over 5 stories. This usually boasts the number of ‘households or housing ‘unit’s’ in the stats but doesn’t translate into more ‘buildings’. Notwithstanding that comment, there were certainly vast tracts of suburbia created all over the place during the era.
I have these for some years but not for others. For the 60s: 9.2 million single-family; for the 70s: 11.4; for the 80s: 9.8. Again: Still more in the 70s. I am pretty sure I’ve seen the 50s – and still not more than the 70s. I’ll get these all together at some point…
Man, I hope the 70′s style comes back. I would love to be able to find some cool shag carpet for the basement of my split level.
I gotta say that probably no one loves 70′s decor more than my wife and I. I am 40 and yes a grandchild of the era. I don’t have words to describe my grandfathers house from when I was growing up. It was built in 1969 and was everything that everbody nowadays seems to hate about the 70′s. I loved it and remember it fondly. Back then it was just another house. Nothing unusual about it. Made “That 70′s Show” house look tame.
My wife and I bought a 1973 time capsul house a year and a half ago. The original owners daughter (owner was deceased but was very “groovy” by all neighbors accounts) was going to gut it, remodel it and sell it. I found it before it went on the market (sheer luck) so it was untouched. My condition for buying the house was that the daughter wasn’t allowed to touch a thing on the house. All I asked, in a nice way, was to “just get out and don’t touch a thing”. The yard is huge, the pool is in good shape, it was built well and is in a nice 70′s neighborhood (I know – duh!).
We have since gone through the house and kept what we consider the “good stuff”. The built in bar, avocado tile, wrought iron, dark paneling, avocado countertops, etc.. My kitchen is all avocado appliances, including washer and dryer, we have the big spoon and fork, 70′s wall colors and so on. If anybody is interested we used carpet from Lowes and I forget the brand name (maybe mohawk or shaw) but it’s called “awsome” (or awesome). Anyways, we chose green (green like on the tv show Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie) and it’s the shaggiest, most 70′s-ish carpet we could find. It fits our sunken living room decor perfectly.
We are about to add a bedroom, bathroom and a den to the house making it a 4 bedroom, 2600 sq. ft. house. The den will be wall to wall wood paneling. We will use the same carpet and vinyl flooring we have elsewhere in the house so we will be all matchy-matchy.
I could go on and on but I won’t bore everybody anymore than I already have.
The point is; there are more people like me out there than you might think. So this could gain traction. We’ll see. I hope not because I like that 70′s stuff is still inexpensive, for the most part.
I truly think that avocado, golden harvest, orange and brown are the prettiest and warmest colors for a home. I love avocado greenish color for a car too. I love 50′s/ 60′s decor too, but not as much.
I keep meaning to send pics to Pam but I always feel like I need to wait until I get the next thing done before I do that. Will it ever end? One of these days I swear that I will share my avocado love with this site. If nothing else it will serve as a funny “oh my gosh I can’t beleive someone would do that to a house” laugh.
btw, my favorite all time house is the house from the tv show Bewitched. I know it’s not 70′s but it’s rad.
I would love to see pics, personally! Sounds amazing.
Also, I tried looking up the Awesome carpet you mentioned but had no luck…do you have a link or anything? No worries if you don’t.
No I don’t have a link. I tried looking it up on-line as well and also had no luck. I was just in the Lowes by my house last week and they still offer it. I’ll find the brand name and get back with you.
The carpet is made by Mohawk. It is called Awesome and the model # is: LW160-12-510. I bought it at Lowes. It’s not as shaggy as the carpet from the 70′s but it looks good in a 70′s home. It’s a frieze pile type.
Thanks very much!
Pam, it occured to me today (after I commented yesterday) that one reason that 70s-style houses doesn’t sell well in this area is the extreme height of many of the ceilings. Those houses are really tough to cool (a must here in the South) and to keep warm (and it does get cold down here). I can see how the style shift back to 70s stuff would help sales, but what would help heating and cooling with those high ceilings and 2-story open floor plans? Just wondering… it would be good to see a comeback.
Seems to me that every house built in the 90s and 00′s, including in the south, had two-story foyers — ?
I recently was lucky enough to come across and purchase my dream home, a custom built ranch home from 1966. The couple that built it, lived in it for the rest of their lives and left it to their daughter when they passed away. She did not live in the house but, held onto it for a couple of years prior to my purchase.
This home was lovingly cared for but, not necessarily updated other than clear evidence of some 70s and 80s appliances. I have been hard at work, bringing it up to current standards, pulling old carpeting up from bathrooms, etc. and am tempted to do something with the custom, built on site, kitchen cabinets, basically just refinishing them and changing the pulls.
In the process, I am sensing an attraction on my part to some 70s pieces, furnishings and colors. My aesthetic has usually leaned toward Danish modern so, I don’t understand this new attraction. I wonder, should I bring some of this into the decor? I want to maintain the 60s vibe but, wonder if I should just go with what I like. I don’t want to get too eclectic.
How can I post photos of my home? I’d love to share some of it’s unique features.
Love this post! We bought a home built in 1973 about three years ago and have been remodeling it since. We lovingly dubbed it our Brady Bunch House. We have updated a lot of the features (hideous kitchen, popcorn ceilings) and kept a lot of the 70′s era features that we made us fall in love with the house (sunken living room, sunken master bath shower, 70′s wet bar, floating staircase).
Looking forward to the continued 70′s revival!!
http://Www.bradybunchremodel.com
I must say, despite my early grumptastic post about how I don’t consider six shades of brown a palette – I do like some aspects of ’70s decor and some styles of house from that period, though I often favour them with a more anachronistic ’50s colour scheme.
The massive stone chimneys and the shallowly angled windows rising right up to the same-angled roofs (I’ll see if I can get a picture from my old neighbourhood) can be pretty cool.
For extreme authenticity, in front of the window, hang a macrame plant pot holder with a spider plant.
Don’t forget the ficus tree or the Jane Avril poster!
A ficus is nearly timeless. A schefflera screams 70′s, along with Hawaiian Ti plants and dracaenas. (in chrome or matte white cylinder planters)
Now I’m having flashbacks: How about the “Spider Plants” hanging from macrame slings?
Hi, all:
I have not bothered to read other responses because I just have to say, “Nothing – I mean nothing of any style or orderly substance ever emanated from the 70′s. This includes consumer styles or NASA technology.
The 70′s represent a lost period of malaise and pretension of historic proportion. An entire elder class transitioned out of the workplace (the Depression/WWII generation) as a new, directionless generation attempted to act “all grown-up”.
Any thoughts?
I guess I’m one of those directionless people. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my life.
I WILL say that I’ve been independent (not supported by my parents) since I was 19 as were a lot of people from that generation. It was easier back then I guess. Today’s youth seem to be dependent on their parents for longer periods of time.
Peter…where you there in an adult capacity?
Everyone that survived the 1970s deservs a prize.
Imagine going to any grocery store in America and finding NO coffee….a week later, NO meat….2 weeks later NO orange juice, then NO sugar….it went on and on forever-Not to mention whole towns with NO gasoline….not a drop- unless your license plate ended with an odd number….on a Thursday….Gas lines went over a mile.
I’d like them to try stuff like that today.
I will also say that the films in the 1970′s where the last time that protagonist began at one point (in life) in the movie and transitioned to a newperspective. As REAL people hopefully do….
Because of the 1970′s it is OK in this society to solely think in terms of yourself and how you feel….After decades of common cause, the adults of the 70′s where actively able to step back and question their life…without public shame. It was accptable to be childless, single and to some degree gay.
Someone else pointed out that women entered the workplace during the 1970′s because they had to….Not quite accurate. The extra money helped, but they entered the workforce by choice…creating an entity for themselves. (and credit history).
Sure, there were drawbacks…and we learn from it all…. but I am very happy to have lived through an era that PULLED society into the world we live in today.
Well, certainly it can be said that the 70′s should be appreciated for showing us how NOT to behave. I kinda think that, in my experience, a rather entitled generation was playing at forming a new society so it took awhile. Luckily there were still a few adults around to provide sober guidance. I look to Henry Fonda representing the older established generation and the Peter/Jane progeny experimenting with dazzlingly poor cinematic projects until they had honed their craft.
I was somewhat checked-out from that experience due to a little commitment with the Strategic Air Command. My 70′s takeaway? Chicks dig planes.
Other than the personal life of Gary Glitter:
Any decade that gave us GlamRock and ABC’s “Satuurday Night Special” is a good ten years!
Peace.
Don’t forget Rhoda Morgenstern and Bob and Emily Hartley!…and The Sex Pistols..what a decade.
And, the Back-to-the-Land bit, too. Brown rice, anyone?
Loved those days, I have to admit – or at least, those I can remember.
Young women may have entered the workforce by choice (a choice highly influenced by the Women’s movement which encouraged them to be “real” people by having a career- and there is nothing wrong with that) but older women who had been quite happy to be homemakers entered the workforce out of economic necessity. When I was in grade school, in the early ’60s, very few moms in my neighborhood worked outside the home. By the time I graduated HS, very few didn’t.
The 70′s get a bum rap, mostly by politicians who are trying to sell you on how wonderful the 1980′s were. (The 80′s were only wonderful if you love pastels. But that’s another story)
With that said, I used to shudder whenever I saw any of those pictures of the late ’60′s-early ’70′s homes. But in recent years they’ve begun to grow on me as well – especially the oversized accent pieces, and the faux Spanish stuff. And I’ve never swayed in my absolute devotion to the restaurants and cocktail lounges of that era, with their dark, cozy environs.
Interestingly enough, I was looking at a (I think) Pottery Barn catalog last fall, and noticed that one of their gorgeous Thanksgiving themed photo layouts had three 70′s era Rival crockpots in Cherry Red, Avocado, and Harvest Gold. So I think the trendsetters are starting to notice that decade again also.
Yeah, Could someone please tell me what was with that overdone Mediterranean / Spanish thing? Nothing like walking up to a low-sprawling rancher and seeing the wrought Spanish fixtures.
I think hotels – and Holiday Inns in particular – were responsible for a lot of that whole “Mediterranean / Spanish thing”. Holiday Inns were big into that look, and people regarded them as classy.
And whether this was a result of that or not, Sears really pushed that look.
We live in a house built in 1971 and I can tell you it’s AMAZING! However, our house is a modern 70s house so it’s not full of shag carpeting (sadly). But we do have terrific parquet floors and redwood ceilings. My decor has turned from the 50s-60s into more of the modern 70s. I love the colors and the kitsch. Looking forward to seeing what you post in the future. I love your blog!
I just purchased a home in late august that was remodeled in the early 1970′s.
I have a very Brady kitchen! Orange formica countertops with a matching backsplash. The appliances are from the 1980′s, but I have to believe that back in the day there was once avocado appliances.
It must have looked fantastic with the dark wood cabinets which have this great spanish-looking hardware!
I get a lot of, “So, when are you gutting this kitchen?”
My answer, “Never!”
Can’t wait to read more, Pam!
You could always have your appliances sprayed Avocado! I have a friend who has an elderly aunt who lives in Honolulu, and ten years ago, when she replaced her original turquoise appliances, she bought new white ones and had them sprayed turquoise in a car shop. They’ve held up great!
We love our 70′s pad!
It’s funny, but back in the 60s we loved the groovy hot pinks, bright orange, flower power, Laugh-in decor. The 70s we didn’t think anything about all the avocado green, burnt orange, harvest gold, BROWN…back then I loved earth tones. Furniture was all dark heavy Spanish wood, peel & stick on gold-veined mirrors, shag carpet. Then in my 20s I was repelled by those decades…got rid of my macrame plant hangers, hooked rugs and completely embraced the new colors of the 80s…dusty rose and country blue…hung up heart shaped shelves, cutesy geese & hanging candle sticks! Ugh, what was I thinking? I think I finally got rid of all that stuff in storage at the last garage sale.
What I should’ve been doing was collecting what I really loved, the 40s-50s stuff before it became scarce & expensive. And, now I find I’m now buying more 60s stuff that I wasn’t into before! I found bunches of vintage colorful, flowery sheets at the thrift stores and made a patchwork quilt this summer that I absolutely love! There’s been more 1960s things creeping into my house that I love. I’m scared that I may be heading into the 70s again! I mean, I’m seeing owls are very big again at Target, Pier One and I am falling in love with owls again! I’m looking at green as in avocado green a lot. But, a big fat NO on shag carpet…we had that only 10 yrs ago when we rented my in-laws house…you drop an earring and you’ll never find it again!
I recently purchased a home built in 76 but the plan is from the late 60′s (I think) It’s a modern Streng home which I have tried to make both modern and retro. I have a 70′s Danish sofa set in the fam’ room along with a dinette set with orange naugahyde seats. I have been lucky to find other 70′s items with orange, browns and avocado colors. I found a two tiered hairpin leg side table that has the top section mounted on a lazy susan. It needs rehabbing but it fits right in. All of these items I found on Craigslist!
I have modern touches with a cool sectional in the living room, chrome and black low back counter stools in the kitch’ along with black appliances with some slight stainless accents. I could write a novel about my place and what I have done or want to do… bottom line I think the mix of modern and retro in the classics lines of a 70′s house is an absolute winner!!
Our house dates from the 1970s and was originally done entirely in the dark-wood, thick lathed wood columns, ornate cabinet-hardware style that I believe was called “Mediterranean” at the time. (It always struck me more as Tudor-castle-interior-on-acid.) The upstairs guest bathroom is the only room that has not been updated. I’d like to restore it–go whole hog with the original style, just for fun. It still has the original lighting: diamond-patterned lanterns hung by chains.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a late-1970s retro “Mediterranean” bathroom–design elements, color scheme, or suppliers?
I also live in a 70′s house that is “Mediterranean” style. I tend to think of it as being more “gothic castle” like. My house was a true time-capsule when we bought it. We kept everything as it was except for the necessary changes;, ie., new carpet, paint, etc.. We like all the dark wood and paneling. Anyways, we also have the bathroom lights that hang from chains draped across each other to opposite corners (I know that probably doesn’t make sense). We did one bathroom in avocado, kept it period correct and it looks good. The master bathroom, which is open to the master bedroom, we did in Hollywood regency and it looks very good with those lights. We painted the walls powder/ baby blue, left the black and gold faux granite counter top and used gold faucets and fixtures, and used sculped baby blue hand towels along with brown sculped hand towels. My avocado sculped hand towels also look good in that bathroom when the other ones are being washed. Our flooring for the bathroom is avocado-ish green shaggish carpet. Remember, our bathroom is open to our bedroom. The small toilet room is the original avocado green tile.
Anyways, the whole Hollywood regency thing worked very well with that style of hanging bathroom light. Seems very period correct looking too.
I LOVE IT! Send me photos, Ethan!!!!
O.k.. I have been putting off sending you photos and a write up because we are about to have an addition built onto our house. We are adding a den, bathroom and a bedroom. I have four kids. I need more space or I’m gonna go nuts. I was going to send you photos after that was done but I can send you some photos now. I’ll try and do that this week. Actually, I’ll have my dw (dear wife) do it this week.