1970s Style Finds Groove Today

Jamieson I still remember our Avocado kitchen with built-in nook! I was really envious (and still am) of the Townsend Agency office on Charlie's Angles...I want a wet bar too!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hey Bosley...I mean Jamieson. Thanks for reading and your input as always. I think I grew up in a Harvest Gold kitchen, which was a cousin to the avocado. Good times! Please send me an email if you have a second, I'd like to add you to a distribution list. Best. Charmean
cninteriors@yahoo.com

rhn1965 When it comes to the 70s, I'll keep the music for sure, but am going to have to pass on the decor. Deep shag carpet in any color is just wrong.

Erika Bierman Photography My parents had macrame hanging on the walls too in Hungary, I even learned to make them:).

olldbobbi I remember having dark chocolate brown shag carpeting in the early 70's; my dog found a 2 pound bag of unpopped popcorn and tore it to shreds in the living room. My vacuum cleaner "pinged" forever after that. I'll keep today's clean lines and styles, thanks anyway!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Bobbi P. That's a great story. I think that could be a whole conversation in itself, "things found in shag rugs". That's too funny, I agree we've come along way with design. Sure is fun to look back. Thank you for reading and your input. Charmean

Becky Harris The stripe on the wall always reminds me of Gabe Kaplan's apartment on Welcome Back Kotter - I remember his had words in it like "CLOSET" and it always stuck with me. You and your husband's trip up also reminds me of Rob Lowe's excellent description of Malibu in the '70s in his book "Stories I Only Tell My Friends." So much fun!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Becky. You are so right, what a memory. I do remember that apartment in Welcome Back Kotter. I used to watch Welcome Back Kotter and What's Happening back to back. Travolta is 70's royalty in my book. I had not heard of Rob Lowe's book, I'll have to check that out. Thanks for reading and your input.
Charmean

Barnhart Gallery Hi Charmean -- What a fun trip down memory lane, especially after just returning from Dark Shadows, where Barnabis Collins finds himself in 1972.

Back then I was one of four kids sharing a tiny bedroom at our summer place. My dad and grandfather built a hefty queen sized bunkbed in that room for the lot of us, painted orange of course. But what I loved most were the four slicker yellow walls, with a full rainbow starting at the floor on the left, nearly touching the ceiling at the back of the room, then continuing back down on the right wall, streaking (pun intended) across the bureau as it went. The enormous bed only made its way out of that room in the '90's with the help of a chain saw. I kind of miss it, now that my generation has kids -- the huge bunkbed, not the rainbow!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Barnhartgallery. Thanks for that great story. I was hoping to inspire some flashbacks. That rainbow was just ubiquitous in the 70's. I also had a shirt that had that rainbow right across the front from shoulder to shoulder, it looked great with my leg warmers. Yikes! Thank you for reading and your comments. Charmean

tigereyes As a kid I remember lots of color, globe lamps, funky wall colors, doorway beads, and funky furniture. That era was much more freeing than today. And let's not forget club basements. Red shag carpet, white leather furniture, a bar, and the famous "blue light in the basement music." Definitely digging this groove again.

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Oh my gosh! I decorated like that as a teenaged hippy in the late 60's. It's hard to imagine that adults who weren't on a budget (or drugs) would do this deliberately. With the exception of the silver bedroom. Is that really 70's, or retro Hollywood?

Martha Layton Smith Oh my gosh... for a second there, I thought that orange, brown and mustard striped wall was the one I created back in the 70s in a girlfriends room!
too funny! I had some pretty crazy wall murals back then even! you should have seen the one in my bathroom at our cottage !
It's fun to take a " look back" even in these newly created " pads". Thanks for the memories!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi tigereyes. A few years ago I came across some doorway beads in a little shop. I had to buy them because they reminded me of The Brady Bunch. Remember when Greg Brady got his "big boy" room in the attic? He had doorway beads and as a little girl I thought Greg Brady was a prince...I just laughed and laughed. I still have them and my kids think they're cool. So happy you enjoyed this flashback. Thanks for your comments. Charmean

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Laurel. I think there is some Hollywood glam in that bedroom, but the shag rug made it 70's for me. I think I was thinking Studio 54 and the lamps are definitely 70's. It's funny how certain designs have popped up again today, like the mirrored furniture. I think that was originally a 40's trend. Thank you for your comments, glad you enjoyed the article. Charmean

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Martha. Yes I know those were my colors too in my childhood room. Orange and pink, yikes! I'm so glad you enjoyed this rewind. Thanks for reading and your comments. Charmean

Anita Roll Murals I had yellow walls and two toned lime green shag carpet in my bedroom mid-seventies and loved it! I raked my carpet. Someone made money selling carpet rakes...

mcgrathinnola UGH! Some things are not worth repeating....particularly 70's decor!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Anita. Carpet rakes! Now that is a new one to me. I actually like lime green and yellow together. Sounds like a bright and cheery room. Thank you for reading and your comments. I hope you enjoyed this 70's rewind. Best. Charmean

Andrea Colman This was a great flashback! I had the yellow and green bamboo lattice wallpaper and lime green shag carpet in my bedroom but the two items most coveted by my friends were my wicker hanging chair and my matching footprint rugs! Everyone had the same left foot but I had a right foot too. Oh I just remembered that I had a pillow pit as well!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Andrea. Oh you just made me crack up. I forgot about those footprint rugs and the wicker hanging chair...wow that sounds like a swanky pad. So glad you enjoyed the flashback. Thank you for reading and your comments. Charmean

koolbeanzzzz Hi there .... What a great idea book! So many memories of the being a kid growing up in the 70's. I was so surprised to see my photo featured (Meditative Kitty Corner, Bisoux). So, that prompted me to show the image of her Bisoux's sister, Bijoux. Especially, since I found the retro 1970's headboard on Craigslist for $25.00 ... Thanks for sharing!

~koolbeanzzzz

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi koolbeanzzzz. So glad you enjoyed the 70's rewind. The headboard you found is great, good for you and good eye. Thanks for reading and your comments. Charmean

Rosalie Katzman_Wieldt all i can say is WOW!!!

nlgmb49 The music is still good once in awhile, there's nothing like harvest gold and avocado green. Not to scare you guys but I'm almost 57 and still have a
lot of clothing, purses and shoes from the 70"s. Hey maybe I'll go to SF and scare everybody. I really don't like the "new version".

vegasvic777 Verner Panton lives.

Rosalie Katzman_Wieldt i would love to have the nerve to have that ornate chair that's covered with every color in the rainbow!

msozzie I read it on houzz.... "the 70's have some explaining to do"...

Susie Q Design Studio I think we remember the avocado and harvest gold appliances but forget about the Coppertone brown color. I secretly still like the color. My parents had a portable dishwasher that they moved at least 4 times before eventually having it built in to their "80's country blue and geese" kitchen. I remember sitting on top of it and helping my mom roll cookies in sugar in the mid 70's. It finally made it's way to my husband's and my first home. We remodeled our kitchen, on a very small budget, in that home and the Coppertone looked great with the black, white and beige color scheme and oak cabinets. It was still running when we sold the home it 1996. Although my taste is much more refined then it was back then, I still kind of like the idea of the brown appliances in kitchens with natural stained cabinets. They blend in, rather then contrast like stainless steel. I would be interested to know what others think about that.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi susieqdesignstudio. I have really enjoyed reading these posts because there are so many things that I had forgotten about, Coppertone Brown being one of them. I had an aunt when I was a kid that had those appliances in her kitchen. She was a fabulous cook, I remember distinctly the smell of cinnamon at Christmas time in her kitchen. It makes sense that Coppertone brown would look good with black and tan. Just think of a Canadian Goose, those colors are all there in perfect harmony. It's really an interesting topic...what does shape our preferences.? I think it's so interesting how things can look great to us and then 30 years goes by and we think it looks dated. Why? I think it might have to do with the memory with associate with that period in time. You never know we might be seeing Coppertone Brown at an appliance store near you...stay tuned. Thank you for reading and for your comments. I hope you enjoyed the 70's rewind. Charmean

itsjustme2 Growing up we had the avacado kitchen and shag carpet as well. Blue & green shag in the livingroom, and orange & yellow in my bedroom. The funny thing about it is we put the carpet over the hardwood floor! Thanks for the memories. :)

theatomichouse We grew up in the 80's & 90's so the 70's styles are fresh & new to us. Gotta love the design shapes but not the colors. Pairing some of the better 70's styles with modern color schemes creates some really fun spaces. These funky, eclectic styles are a fun & welcome relief after the whole minimalist, yuppie movement this past decade has suffered through.

Everyone around here must be pretty ancient to actually remember these styles the first time around! Wow!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Atomichouse. I'm not sure about ancient, but well seasoned...yes. Thanks for your input, I'm glad you enjoyed my ideas. Just fast forward 30 years, everyone will be remembering the minimalist aesthetic with rose colored glasses. Thanks again for your comments.
Charmean Neithart

olldbobbi Let us not forget the "love beads". We cannot have shag carpet and harvest gold appliances without them.

tigereyes Hi, Charmean. My parents had those Brady Bunch beads in the entrance to the kitchen. They also liked yellow and orange, so we had awful yellow appliances and an orange and white kitchen set. And my room... Well, I had lots of posters from sci-fi to the black light glow spirals. I think the carpets were green and rust in different rooms. It's hard to forget things that.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi Tigereyes. You mentioned pillows...so remember Shawn Cassidy? When I was around 8 yrs. old my mom bought me a Shawn Cassidy T-shirt. I wore it for as long as I could and then when I grew out of it I stuffed with cotton balls and made a pillow for my bed. I actually think he may have sparked my decorating career. I loved that pillow. ha!

olldbobbi Charmean - I had a Shawn Cassidy jigsaw puzzle that I put together and hung on my wall! LOL

krkt B Ladies, I had a life size poster of the BEE GEES on my wall, it was fantastic, the red crystal beads on the door, and macrame hanging end table at my bed, not only held the table but had a plant and was lighted too. I miss those simple days, wish i would have kept that poster.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. H krkt B. the Bee Gees are on my iPod. They still sound fresh to me. Your room sounds great. I still love the macramé planters. A friend of mine bought me one from Etsy one year for my birthday. I just laughed and laughed. Thanks for reading. Charmean