Garish Rooms of the 70s

A look at the bold and tacky decorating tastes of the 70s is certainly nothing new on any retro blog; I think Retrospace has the best collection around (check out That 70s Home.) However, I scanned the following images from a couple of old Family Circle magazines that I picked up at a vintage flea market last year and it would be a shame if I never shared them with my readers. Where the 50s and 60s gave us flattering earth tones and the right amount of color on walls, furniture and even kitchen appliances, the 70s took hues and patterns to the extreme. There was no such thing as too much color as these examples demonstrate...

I actually like the room on top...which I'm guessing served as the home office/music room (and note the requisite fern plant that was seen everywhere in the 70s)...there's something about the green and orange that doesn't bother me at all. But the yellow, red, and orange color scheme of the dining room is a little too saturated for me (I do like the chairs...but was it necessary to make the doors yellow as well?)

This room was part of a "Two Rooms in One" series in one of the magazines...the glass/acrylic table and shelving is reminiscent of the furniture that came with my Barbie town house when I was young...the fur throw on the fold-out futon adds a nice Austin Powers-esque touch. But that wallpaper and matching curtain (!) is enough to burn out anyone's pupils.

Lime green, orange, yellow, pink...I lost count after four colors. Perhaps a child's bedroom was the only room in the home where such a color palette worked best. I honestly don't know what the difference is between the "day and night" shots in this example other than the bed on the floor...but I do like the groovy Siamese cat. 

Granted, this last example is an advertisement, but it shows that not even the bathroom was safe from the extreme color/pattern fad. The arrows really put it over the top. I believe the floor is also wall-to-wall carpeted...a really common but gross 70s trend when you consider the kind of thing that can miss the toilet if one isn't careful with their aim...sorry, had to mention it!   


Still, if I had to choose between a bland beige interior and a 70s style, I know I'd go with the latter.