How to Transform Your Home to 70s Interior Design

Ah, the 70s! What a time for interior design, right? It was all about bold, lively vibes, which, believe it or not, are making a major comeback. But here’s the cool part – this time, it’s perfect for sprucing up small spaces. Imagine giving your cozy apartment or tiny house a splash of that 70s fun, mixed with a bit of today’s sleek style.

Now, before we get too carried away, let’s clear up something regarding decor styles for small homes. Vintage and retro – they’re not the same thing. Vintage covers those classy styles from the 1920s to the 1960s, while retro is all about the bright and bold looks from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Why does this matter, especially in smaller homes? Because getting that lively, yet not too crowded, 70s feel can really make a small space pop and ooze with personality. Let’s take a look at how we can make this happen!

This period also saw colors become more diverse and brighter than they had been before which added some spice into otherwise dull days! Orange was big during that time; take a look at A Clockwork Carpet for inspiration on how you can incorporate orange hues into your decorating plan.

Add some funk to your home decor with 70s interior design styles. Bring back the days of bell-bottoms, afro wigs and disco balls where everyone was relaxed and having fun.

It can be tricky finding the perfect 70s theme while still maintaining the modern comfort level of today but we have some great tips on how it will work out for you. Mixing the old with the new is so evergreen anyway. Let’s get into the groove with the retro decor element!

Entryway

The entryway is the first area guests see when they walk into your apartment. Make sure to style this space well so it reflects that retro home theme you may have going on inside of your place.

So how do you start to furnish an entryway? Change a basic ceiling lighting fixture to a ceiling statement lighting that simply stands out and can be the centrepiece of an entire area.

Next, find a perfect spot to plop down on a bench to untie your shoes. Tossing a sheepskin rug over a rattan bench will give it that 70s look. To make it look more 70s, envision placing a gossip-bench in a soft, sunlit entryway. Gossip bench was basically a chair or small bench with a table attached on one side, where people used to put their telephones long before cell phones were a thing.

Standing type coat hangers were commonly used back then. However wall-mounted coat hanger are generally considered more practical than the standing one because they don’t take up any floor space. Either way, having this in the entryway will make your guests feel as if you’ve actually designed the space with their arrival in mind. 

A wooden credenza placed in the entry is perfect for you to display your collections. You can also decorate it with photo frames that really brings out that classic feel. Also get a pattern rug that aligns with the length of the credenza to complete a foyer look.

The retro design wall mirror is a great way to add some personality and flair into your home. A mirror by the front door is not just for checking your outfit on your way out the door. It can also help make the space feel bigger and brighter, which is especially helpful if your entrance is far from natural light.

The last step is to add a medium-sized house plant at a corner and bring in extra storage to put at the other corner, like a storage leather basket from West Elm or a charming wicker basket which you can easily find at Goodwill. This is to complete the look of the room without taking up too much space.

Living Area

The living room is the heart of any house and choosing furniture that fits well with a retro design style will help to make your space feel like it’s in sync. Trends show a shift towards using more natural materials such as wood paneling instead of stark white walls with light fixtures for an interesting depth effect throughout living spaces.

The 70s were a decade in which many people embraced unique styles and trends. One such trend was shag carpet and the funky bright pattern carpet, representative of this era’s vibrant culture. To have this is actually perfect to make a retro-themed interior look groovy.

In 1973, the Togo lounge chair designed by Michel Ducaroy was released and is recognized as an enduring example of curvy furniture design from that time. It was totally new, something that had never been seen before, it broke the ‘code’ of design. Since then, it has become an icon, representing a time of radical change in the way we understand our living environment and the use of our furniture, the way we welcome friends and family in an informal way, the way we sit, read and relax. This iconic design is so timeless and unique that it’s still popular today.

If you want that 1970s feel and want to make your home look polished and more subtle but you cant afford Togo sofa, you can also opt with one of these reupholstered corduroy fabric chair or velvet sofa. A cognac color leather armchair is a perfect addition, suitably pull together some mismatched furniture for a rustic brownstone style!

The 70s was a decade of bold, busy and bright patterns for upholstered furniture. the early hippy years.  Lots of geometry in orange, tan and yellow. The trend in the 70’s tended towards big, loud prints with geometric shapes on wallpaper whereas florals were predominant when it came to fabric used for upholstery.

The 70s was a decade of bold, busy and bright patterns for upholstered furniture. This time period is most commonly known as the early hippy years because it encompassed the rise in popularity of tie-dye clothing and psychedelic music.

During this era, lots of geometric shapes were used on wallpaper while florals dominated when it came to fabric designs applied on upholstery pieces like couches or chairs–patterned after what had been popularly seen at Woodstock Music Festival that took place near Bethel Woods NY (1969).

Spice it up with 70s aesthetic throw pillows that you can easily find nowadays to brighten or add glamour for modern style. Discover patterns and designs from independent artists across the world for the very best in custom and handmade pieces.

70s coffee table is an amazing piece of art which bring a lot of character into your living room while also complimenting other elements in it such as sofas, lamps and retro wall art. Shopping for an antique table is a great way to get cheap refurbished furniture that’s just as trendy today. Many people are unaware of this fact, which makes it easy to find bargains at second-hand stores or garage sales if you know what you’re looking for!

Televisions were big and sat on the floor of the living room. They took up a lot of space without a very big screen. Today there are large flat screen televisions that you can mount on the wall or sit on a stand.

In the 70s, ceramic lamps, vases, candle holders and trinkets were in every home. If you’ve got extra cash after shopping around, invest in rare find, unique pieces home decors. They’ll add an element of sophistication when they’re placed in the living room.

House plants reached their peak of popularity in the seventies. So don’t forget to add some green when designing your house!

Fireplace

The fireplace is the focal point of any home. The dim lighting system brings out the natural ambiance from this classic arrangement which contributes to creating an environment for everyone in your family or guests visiting during fall and winter.

The first thing is to install a wrought iron fireplace screen onto that rustic floor tiles. This would be perfect protection against any of these tiny fire hazards. Remember to place other furnitures at least 3 feet from the fireplace wall to allow enough space for safety and convenient access to the fireplace.

A loveseat or a sofa with good fabric and throw pillows will give you that warm 70’s feel while adding some modern flair to it! Crocheted blankets are a great way to add comfort and warmth to your furniture.

They work best on sofas and armchairs. This sofa cosy will make your favorite reading spot feel more like home with its crochet design and perfect size to cover your legs while you stay curled up on the couch!

To complete that old days seating area when people used to read print magazines, place a magazine stand at the corner of the room. Perfect example of a timeless piece is this chrome-plated tall rack that was designed in 1973 by Verner Panton for Fritz Hansen. Despite all the earth colors and hippie accents, the 70s were also about shine, at least where chrome was concerned.

Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important parts of your home. It’s where you prepare food, store supplies, and gather with friends and family. Your retro design will definitely leave a lasting impression on your guests, if you’re looking to transform your kitchen into a chic 70s design, that is.

Retro design is popular in many parts of today’s home decorating, and it makes sense that this trend would also influence the world of appliance manufacturing as well. Investing in a curved edges design kitchen appliances like an oven, fridge, stove, toaster and kettle is a great way to add an authentic 70s feel to your kitchen. In terms of color palette, retro appliances are usually in pink, mint or avocado green color.

For something more modern yet still warm we recommend install wood planks for your walls. These can give off some 70s nostalgia while also being totally chic as well since they’re such a popular trend right now! There are endless options when it comes to decorating a space that holds so much meaning in our lives; by adding family heirlooms on the open-shelves like an antique plate or two.

The short, sheer curtains that cover only the bottom half of a window over a kitchen sink, frequently matched to a valance across the window’s top, are called café curtains. The cafe curtains is a popular item for those who enjoy retro design. They offer up some privacy, while still allowing natural light to pour in.

Retro-style flooring is totally on trend right now. If you are feeling inspired and you’re ready to take it on a trip down memory lane, changing the look of the floor’s tiles into real seventies design with the linoleum and vinyl of bold patterns will definitely take you on a trip to another time and place indeed.

Whether your favorite decade is the 70s or 80s, these bold patterns and bright colors are sure to bring out some serious nostalgia!

Lastly, in order to achieve a classic look, don’t forget about putting in some of those great old style lights over your kitchen counter.

Dining Room

If you’re a fan of retro style or when the ’70s were your heyday, you probably notice furnitures are often characterized by wooden angled legs tables, chairs and arc-shaped cabinets. Despite all the earth colors and hippie accents, the 70s were also about shine, chrome accents you can find on kitchen chair legs. The bold design draws the eye to it, making furnitures even more noticeable in a room full of people.

In the past, large families were common and were a neighborly time. It was important that everyone had their place to sit and eat at because no one should be eating alone. Dining rooms with dining tables were meant for communal eating, not solitary snacking in front of the TV or at your desk like what most people do nowadays.

One way to make the dining area useful is by adding a cabinet. Retro glass display cabinets with the sliding glass doors are pretty cool which you can still find online or at second-hand stores or garage sales. The cabinets can be used for plates and other dishes, so they are easily accessible when guests come over or there’s an impromptu party!

If you are looking for a retro design wall clock that is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, then the sun burst wall clock would be an excellent choice— even if we have the time displayed on just about every device nowadays!

A dining table rug is a must-have to complete your dining area. Retro rugs have been all over Pinterest recently. You are able to find some amazing rugs photos for inspiration. Retro rugs are made to be loud, but in a good way.

With soft geometric shapes, will look great on your floor without making it too busy or distracting from other design elements of the room. The special commitment to earthy tones gives you an added touch of style because these colours are trending right now!

A hanging light fixture over a dining room table looks great and provides brilliant lighting for eating, studying or working on homework. Pendant light is an excellent option for your dining room rather than a chandelier because chandeliers can be extravagant. Either way, a hanging lamp above a dining table is an aesthetically appealing and creates an atmosphere of sophistication.

Bedroom

There are many things to talk about when it comes to retro bedroom design. Some people like clean, simple designs with more toned down color palettes while others opt for bold colors and ornate patterns with very colorful schemes. It really depends on personal preference and age factor. To outfit your bedroom with your liking, etsy is one of the go-to destinations for beautiful rare finds from small businesses.

The 70s was an interesting time, and bedrooms were evidence of it. Look closely and you may spot a source of inspiration on the bedside table. Retro lamp shades makes any room cozy with their warm ambience and old-school charms. Sometimes a lava lamp could be seen as reflecting the psychedelic nature of that generation’s culture.

Seventies teen bedrooms are mostly decorated with psychedelic wallpaper, groovy plastic lampshades and plush decors which makes the room takes every major trend from the decade and executes it with panache.

You may want to try quirky wallpaper designs such as kitschy pattern prints where other furniture comes close enough so they don’t clog up the space too much while also blending well with sculptures placed around them.

The shag carpet was a very popular choice during the 70s and it still is today except that it doesn’t cover the whole bedroom! Laying on a shag rug while playing video games with friends, getting caught up watching TV shows together late into the night just because it was so comfortable to lay there and relax, even if we couldn’t sleep yet.

Shag carpets are really great for this purpose – they make an inviting space that’s perfect for lounging around.

Rattan furnitures may have been big in the ’70s but was forgotten about soon after better designs came along. Rattan furniture has been making a comeback in the interior design world again, and it’s clear why.

Lighter than hardwood but sturdier than plastic or metal, rattan is perfect for today’s sustainable material that you will be seeing more of in the years to come. Rattan headboards are the perfect example interior design choice you’ll love to have in your bedroom.

A wave-wall mirror, called Ultrafragola mirror is back! Designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1970 as part of the Mobili Grigi series of bedroom and living room objects. Ultrafragola is produced in white opaline and features a pink neon LED light makes this a great retro look. You can spruce up the room with this mirror to give your room a brand-new look.

Have you seen this 1968 Mid-Century Modern Dilly Dally vanity yet? This retro furniture is also making a comeback! The vanity was created by Italian designer Luigi Massoni for Poltrona Frau in the 1970s is such a space-saving design as it is a barrel-shaped carcass with built-in chair is rollable and has a mirror inside.

An antique dresser can be repurposed into a functional, stylish piece of furniture with some paint job and nothing more than some new knobs which can give it a unique design touch.

Retro is a fad that has made its way onto modern day items, such as the retro-inspired knobs you can find at your local home improvement store or even on Amazon!

Bathroom 

The psychedelic colors and imagery of flowers, peace signs, and plants were everywhere in the 1970s. The popularity made it easy to bring these images into their everyday life by incorporating patterned tiles into bathrooms.

The 70s were well known for their avocado green, orange, brown, turquoise and yellow tiles. The available colors and shapes made it easy for tile designers to create the most ‘far out’ designs of the decade.

The 1970s interior design style had one rule: there is no limit to what you can create. If you can imagine it, you can bring it to life with tile design, and very few homeowners thought of breaking that rule. It indeed was a groovy time to be in the tile industry! 

Many homeowners are turning to old school but with a modern twist for their homes. For instance, a shiplap wall in the bathroom will do wonders with old school appeal. It gives off a retro look, but it is also clean and calm without feeling contrived or fake. We’re sure that it’ll match perfectly with the existing decor in any bathroom.

In the 1970s, avocado green bathroom suites were hip and trendy. While most of those original fixtures are lost to time and changing bathroom trends, if you’ve got a perfectly preserved classic sink, tub, or toilet even sconces and a penchant for authentic retro design, then go ahead and flaunt your incredible hardware!

For many people, the 1970s was a time of getting back to nature, spurred on by a new environmentalist movement. The decorating trend was to bring the outdoors inside, and shades of green did just that.

Linoleum and vinyl flooring took this trend one step further by offering bold, botanical patterns to replicate nature. While today, we may think the patterned flooring gives the bathroom a rather busy look, it was all the rage in the ’70s. Some patterns featured geometric shapes while others took their inspiration from nature. 

There was no other kitchen and bathroom flooring in the 70s nearly as ubiquitous as patterned linoleum, beloved by working moms for its durability and easy cleanup.

If youre not going for the pattern flooring then put bright colors bathroom rug in your bathroom. This will give you a smile before you even step foot in the shower and make your morning more interesting.

you can relive this era by turning your bathroom into a disco club, hippie concert or party pad with our custom size shower curtains

Nothing brightens up a boring bathroom like plants. Not only do they add beautiful pops of color, but they also freshen stale air and lift wilted spirits. So that you know, plants that thrive in a typical bathroom environment dig humidity and warmth.

Listening Room

You can learn so much about someone by their musical taste, so why not let that shine through in a home. A record display is another way of telling your story to family and friends, adding a very personal element to any room.

If you are one of many people who truly enjoy listening to music, then you might enjoy having a dedicated listening room that is only used for pure joy of listening to a good record and appreciating music in your home.

The old-fashioned sound of vinyl will bring back memories from days gone by as you enjoy your favorite tunes, while tuning out any outside noise that would otherwise disrupt your musical bliss with its distracting chirps and beeps! Absorbing an entire LP is an opportunity for escape. Make it a personal retreat for relaxing after a long day.

A 70s themed home is not complete without the iconic LP record player. Pair it with speakers on a stand to display your speakers proudly and show off your love for music. Don’t hide your sound equipment.

Find a beautiful cabinet with open shelves for records below and place the player on top. use album covers as rotating art, and make sure the collection is accessible to guests to keep the good vibes on tap. Try adding things like lava lamps, vintage posters and other funky accessories.

Vinyl records add a cool factor to a room. Part of the joy in having them is how they’re displayed. A shelf full of records alone is a study in texture, whether organized randomly or arranged by color. One idea is to use a box-like shelf that has the width of a record and sufficient depth to store many albums at a time. You can flip through them like you would in a record shop.

A built-in sound system centred by a vinyl turntable and lounge furniture for you to sink into. The optimal record experience includes a cozy chair, a good sound system and room to rearrange the collection for a curated experience. Crazy to think you can be in a small room and yet with the lights out and the music playing it sounds like Carnegie Hall.

Retro wall décor is a perfect way to make your home feel more 70s themed. If 70s walls weren’t lined with wood paneling, they were patterned paper splashed with big and bold geometric shapes in bright, contrasting colors.

Personal Space

Get creative and create your own personal space with a style that suits you best!

The 70s vibe is all about that groovy, retro, mid-century, hippie look. create your own personal space with the kind of vibe that suits you. Try crafting a collage of retro wall décor to bring the 70s theme vividly into your home!

You can decorate your table with glass; this is a very cheap and fun way to bring the retro style. You can also fill shelves with dusty books and magazine for an authentic nook feel. Use globes and lava lamps in corners as decoration and add posters on every available space you find- it’s like stepping back in time when you make these small changes to your living room decor! rattan swing

and small LED light fixtures perfect for reading by. With the huge range of affordable wall art on the market now, you can find a large scale piece that looks fabulous without breaking the bank. They pair great together against more modern ceiling lights while still keeping everything cohesive enough to resemble its classic roots.

Whether you call them ball chairs or pod chairs or egg chairs or globe chairs, these seats were comforting and cozy.

If 70s walls weren’t lined with wood paneling, they were sporting paper splashed with big and bold geometric shapes in bright, contrasting colors.

Macramé and ferns Macramé, created by tying cords into knots, was all the rage in 70s homes, used for everything from potted-plant holders to decorative wall hangings.

70s Furnitures on A Budget

If you’re looking for an affordable way to get started doing so quickly then look no further than antique dealers around town because they have everything we need right there waiting for us.

You’ll be surprised as things come together just like that! Instead of spending lots of money on your 70’s home decor, look for antique dealers and thrift stores to find pieces that can be repurposed.

So, there you have it! We have shown you how to recreate this unique style that defined its decade. Good luck transforming your apartment with 70s interior design! You’ll be groovin’ in no time.