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12/04/2008


my photo

1970's vintage ...

On many blogs I have been reading, vintage 1970's materials are being recycled in lots of different ways, especially using the material for crafting. Many of the patterns I recognise as either being the same, or very similar to either curtains, bedspreads, quilt covers, sheets and pillowcases, which I know my mum bought, usually from M&S whenever they had a sale, back in the 1970s.

The other week Lucy Bloom wrote about some very pretty vintage wallpaper she had bought, and it triggered my memory of this photo of me, my brother and my dad. Part of the comment I left on Lucy's blog read - I wish I still had a roll of the 1970s wallpaper my mum put up in our sitting room, huge bright orange flowers, looked lovely with our imitation leather three-piece suite! - and after leaving this, I went in search of the photo.

Can you remember having this floral decor and seating arrangement back in the 1970s?

22 comments:

Simone said...

Tee hee! I remember my mum having similar vinyl wallpaper to this in her kitchen. We also had a black vinyl settee in the living room with orange seat pads. I also remember tank tops and oxford bags!

Nicola said...

My mum and dad had the most horrendous orange wallpaper in their living room! Those 70s colour schemes were pretty awful.

Kris said...

Yes! Wallpaper was all the rage. Our family had a house built in 1974 and I remember spending many Saturdays in wallpaper shops while Mum and Dad flicked through sample books together. Mum had an orange and hot pink kitchen and our lounge room was orange and lime green!

prettyshabby said...

Isn't it weird how things come back around into fashion, even weirder my sister had that exact wallpaper in her bedroom!!(about 1976ish)I've spotted fabric the same as the 70s jungle curtains we had, on ebay and it brought back lots of memories! Our kitchen had hideous orange squared paper on the walls which would probably be really trendy and 'retro' now but having lived with it once I dont think I could again!!

Anonymous said...

I chose a monstrous red swirly carpet for my bedroom which I was strangely proud of! I can really see you Louise, in the wedding photo of your Mum several posts below, there is a real likeness between you.Sorry not to have commented for a while but I have been enjoying reading your posts. Jackie Mx

Carol said...

Wow Louise how funny....to see your image from the 70's. I have just posted an image of me from 1981 !
My N's mum had paper like that one in her lounge-diner. I have a photo of N. sitting oposite me with that wallpaper in the background - he had just cooked me a meal!
Cx

Anonymous said...

Lou, about 1995-6 I walked around the new golf course where one of the last holes passed our old bungalow. Despite it being empty and run down :( the Vymura wallpaper was still resplendent! I can remember helping to put it up. You have forgotten to mention how Gpa E mixed the yellow into the white paint to give us the yellow tint ceilings / radiators and stuck the hessian material to the back of the door, so Austin Powers ! That was a lovely aspect room with, at the time, nothing but fields for miles. Also worth a mention would be the 70's chic Sony Music Centre and mum's occasional vinyl purchase..

Elizabethd said...

I remember it well! I thought I was so chic having a huge flowery wall paper in...the bathroom, round about 1974!

Louise said...

Thanks for your great comment, the kid in the picture :) aka my brother! The Sony music centre and the occasional vinyl purchase are being saved for another post! x

mc said...

Big smiles here remembering the 1970's. I went in to hospital to have my youngest child and when I came home (by way of a surprise)my husband had wallpapered the sitting room with very similar design to the one in your photo.Oh dear still gives me a shudder when thinking about it!
c*

OhSoVintage said...

It seems a lot of us remember that wallpaper (but I can't remember where I've seen it, but that's my age!) At least it matches the sofa. When we bought our first house in 1978 we paid £25 (a lot of money then) to have an avocado bathroom suite instead of regular white. Oh, we were so trendy!!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Louise, you are a cutie!

Yes, looking back the 70's were a garishly flamboyant time weren't they?
I do see a resemblance in some of the fabric patterns and colors that are being revived these days.

Let's hope polyester doesn't become vogue again! :-)

Hugs, Pat

Niesz Vintage Home said...

Oh yes! We had a very similar wallpaper in one of the rooms. I think it even had some metallic or foil accents. LOL

Fun memories...I may go see if my mom still has my orange gouchos.

Kimberly :)

Kris said...

Hi Louise!
Yes I know I've already commented here, but I wanted to contact you about a comment you made on my blog and I can't seem to find an email address for you. This may be your plan, so that weirdos like me can't bug you! If not, can you email me and I will email you back!

Chelle said...

Boy do I ever! What is even funnier is that since we are trying to get a new house put together, I can see how much of an influence the 70s have on current interior design. 70s bedspreads, wallpaper, curtains, clothes, etc. Although the clothes here are starting to reflect the 80s more now.

Fun picture of you and your fam. Its always fun to look back at old photos and have a laugh at the folly of our youth.

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

I am afraid we were very much a 'Magnolia' family.. no wallpaper.. just paint! My uncle was a director of Crown paints so all paint was supplied in great quantities. However my best friend Stephanie had almost identical wallpaper to your 1970's Fab photo.
I did have some Mary Quant curtains and bedcover to match.. that's was the extent of my trendiness then!

Michelex

Lucy Bloom said...

Hi Louise, so glad you found that pic, I hadn't imagined it quite as bold as it is - thanks for the link too! Re your comment, believe it or not, Mr. Bloom never reads my blog, he's not of the computer generation, leaves all that to me. I don't think he'd even know where to find it, though I did show him the 'My Mr. Bloom' post - he read it and just grunted! Ah well.
Have a good week,
Lucy x

carolr said...

I think YOU and your brother look adorable. That said the 70s styles were ummm, hideous? Of course, back then it was new, so we all thought-great, we're with it now. :)

kari and kijsa said...

So much fun!! we do remember lots of wild wallpaper, synthetic fabrics, and marbled mirrors!!

blessings,
kari & kijsa

Ragged Roses said...

Oh 1970s M &S florals, I remember them well! We had green swirly whirlies in our spare bedroom and I remember choosing brown wallpaper for my bedroom! I also remember the very orange tiles in my mum's kitchen!
Kimx

cd&m said...

I had a purple floral paper in my bedroom, very fetching with the yellow carpet!

Pretty Practicals said...

Hi Louise, oh dear, so many of us suffered the 1970's floral thing didn't we... but hey, then came the teeny ditzy florals and we were saved our sanity! My parents didn't do the floral wallpaper thing as my dad thought that flowers belonged in the garden, not on walls (in hindsight, he had a point). No, my dad just(?!?) subjected us to strips of wooden floor panelling nailed to our hall walls, all the way up the stair case to the first floor. I didn't really understand why he did it... oh and the red flock on white vinyl wallpaper in the downstairs loo was an interesting decor choice too.
Chat soon, Liz