Furniture Styles of the 1970s
Enumerating the furniture styles of the 1970s is not a tidy task. Some household icons born in the 1960s such as the shag rug and lava lamps were stowaways well into the 1970s, but the Watergate decade definitely developed its own signature styles. Variations in materials and color, as well as the degree of ornamentation and utility, gave the 1970s an unforgettable and, at times, contradictory, furniture design legacy. Does this Spark an idea?
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Sleek and Industrial
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Chrome, vinyl and glass take charge. European designers in the 1960s and 1970s popularized fuss-free furniture with compelling lines, such as the simple Tulip table by Eero Saarinen and the apostrophic Brillio chair by Joe Colombo. Homes began showcasing furniture made from durable materials such as lucite, melanine and chrome, sometimes accented with glass and metallica. Formica replaced tile in kitchens, Pleather came on the scene and beauties like IKEA's Skopa chair were born, making it chic to sit in a giant plastic bucket.
Convenience First
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It's a cube, it's a shelf, it's a table. Remember the most recognized furniture brand name in the 1970s? La-Z-Boy. La-Z-Boy had been around for almost a half a century but the public finally realized that they wanted a chair that turned into a mechanical hammock for the living room. Homes in the 1970s sported stackable washer/dryers to create a semblance of efficiency, and other space-savers like bunk-beds and bean-bag chairs to promote compactness and versatility. Storage-capable furniture was hip, and stackable cubes became the rage. Something that also functioned as something else meant value in a depressed economy.
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Dark and Earthy
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Avocado green: color of the decade Many who lived through the 1970s experiences flashbacks of avocado green and harvest gold appliances, dishes and lampshades. And when wood was used in a 1970s home, it was dark. Phasing out the blonde woods of the 1960s and predating the height of the pine fad of the 1980s, the 1970s favored the dark hues of walnut and teak. Pastels were nonexistent, and black, white and metallics acted as supplemental colors to the more prevalent browns, oranges, golds and greens.
Au Naturel
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Wicker wonders With the advent and glorification of industrial material in the 1970s home, one may forget the softer side of 1970s furniture and accessories. Papasan chairs, fashioned from rattan, along with bamboo and cork pieces, made an appearance alongside their plasticine counterparts. People wore now-vintage ponchos and decided to accent their couches and walls with similar Guatemalan throws. Marimekko, the famous Finnish fabric company, complemented the earth tone craze with its bold and beautiful printed textiles.
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