Sitting room designs and styles have changed drastically–check out living room transformations from the 50s See how living rooms changed through the ages.
It’s quite common for people to incorporate a retro look in their home, so for our Throwback Thursday we’re going to look at the different styles of living rooms over the past 60 years to see how they’ve changed and give you some ideas on how to decorate your sitting room.
1950s Living Room Style
Middle class families were on the rise, families were starting to live in the suburbs, and there seemed to be a lot more time to relax at home. A change in floor plan structures was seen in this time, as homes began to have the well-known “open floor plan,” which is still popular today.
With more open space to decorate, sitting rooms were used to express positive energy with vibrant, lively colors influenced by improved technology, science and even space exploration.
Pastel colors such as pink, mint green and turquoise were popular. It was also common to see stripes, polka dots, fruits, flowers and abstract designs throughout the room. Flooring was often linoleum tiles that alternated colors to create trendy patterns.
1960s Living Room Style
The youth culture was focused on change. Traditions were broken and new trends were created. There was an earthy feel inside homes and the openness of the sitting room continued from the 1950s, but there was a large increase in modernism.
Art deco living rooms incorporated pop art and retro wallpaper and colors like green, gold, orange and yellow. “Space age” pod-shaped chairs and flat pack furniture were common along with temporary, disposable furniture made out of materials such as glass, metal and wood.Brightly colored rugs or “shag rugs” and carpeting began to replace linoleum because they were considered easier to take care of.
1970s Living Room Style
Remember wood paneling? The color brown was without a doubt THE color of the decade, but other commonly used colors were yellow and orange, while both black and white were used as accents.Vinyl and plastic furniture became popular, and to keep a relaxed feeling in the sitting room, you could usually find a couple of beanbag chairs. For flooring, bright rugs and the use of either vibrant linoleum or carpeting were considered fashionable.
1980s Living Room Style
This next era did a complete 180° compared to the past three decades. All of the vibrant, energetic colors became dull, soft pastels. Floral designs on the wallpaper and furniture became the new style.During this time, overstuffed couches and patterned recliners, which can both still be found, were among the popular pieces of furniture. These were the days when plaid was cool and dusty pastel carpet matched dusty furniture panels. You could even find office ferns next to the TV.
1990s Living Room Style
Typically known for “getting back to the basics,” the 90s used the simple colors of white and beige to slow everything down.The furniture in the living room was white or beige, unless it was an inflatable chair (with a lava lamp nearby of course). Plain wall to wall carpet continued to be common as well as soft pastels and floral designs.
2000s Living Room Style
Unlike the other decades, the 2000s loosened up and discovered that the entire house does not have to have the same exact style. In the sitting room, you would typically find oversized furniture and huge entertainment centers with the same basic colors as the 90s.
And of course, there was yet another change of flooring styles, as people changed from carpet to hardwood, which I would consider a good thing compared to plain carpet throughout the house.
Present Living Room Trends
Color is back! Well, some at least.I don’t think you can find a single style/color that has taken over sitting rooms right now. Color schemes range anywhere from cool to warm, bold to light and that’s not to mention the doses of accent colors. Fireplaces (working or non-working) tend to be a focal point of sitting rooms as we tend to arrange furniture around them.
Big, snug sofas are back and more comfortable than ever just waiting for you to binge watch your favorite show on Netflix. With so many different styles of sitting rooms going on, you can find just about any flooring such as vinyl, hardwoods, format tiles and even cut and loop carpets.
Although in about ten years, we might all look back on today’s “style” in our sitting rooms and talk about how ugly it was, right now it seems like we’ve actually started picking out the best of the best from each decade.
If you were looking for something unique to add to your sitting room, I hope that you found some great ideas. Whether you like one era’s style better than another, when you own your home, you get to make your living room perfectly fit your personality and lifestyle, which is a great perk of having a home in any decade.
Kenneth (Kalley) Young's Content 