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.
AmyEbbertHill says
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!
Tony P says
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.
Wynonna says
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……..
BlueJay says
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
Kathleen says
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.
Jana (Berniecat) says
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. 🙁
Stacey says
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.
Lee In Florida says
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!
Beth says
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.
Jon Hunt says
Woot woot to retro renovating in Minneapolis, Beth!!
Beth says
I’m giving it a solid go, John! The kitchen is challenging me at the moment, but we’ll get it done right. 🙂
Maryanna says
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. 🙂
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
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.