1980s Household Interiors

The 1980s was a time of evolution of household styles. Who can forget the 1970s, with its shag carpet and psychedelic swirls and patterns that graced the interiors of most young people’s houses during this period? The 1980s saw a transition from the mish-mash of colours and slanted, flat roofs to a more modern, streamlined style. While styles for people during the 80s centred on big hair, big jackets, big shoulder pads and big pop stars, the housing designs of this period was just as unique.

The popularity of colouring has changed since the beginning of the twentieth century. The Victorian Age dominated for a time, giving way to a more refined, mint green colouring that many houses carried during the 1940s and 1950s. The 1980s, however, had a notably different palette of colours, most popular of these being peach and a light, salmon pink. Hunter green, mauve, teal, blue and greys were also popular – almost as an ode to the current popularity of black, teal, and blue leather that was dominating the fashion world thanks to Michael Jackson and Madonna. Brass-framed octagon mirrors and large, wall-covering mirrors within large bathrooms were also popular. A common trend for the wealthier was building rooms out of glass blocks. The average household instead built windows and parts of doors out of wavy glass blocks, creating a blurred image of what was going on in the other side, thus inducing a sense of unique privacy.

Just as Princess Diana unabashedly and forever influenced the world of fashion and style in England and the world, Great Britain was influenced in its interior decorating by other nations of the world. Particularly Hollywood. A huge trend throughout the 1980s was the dressing room-style bathrooms with rows of light bulbs that resembled a Hollywood strip. Etched glass was also enormously popular. People would place their etched mirrors or accessories in glass cabinets to show them off.

The furniture of this era was less about single, bold colours and more about splashy designs. Pastel swirls and brushes of light coloured paints were popular, as were lacy curtains with large ruffles in the popular salmon pink colour of the eighties. Just as lace was popular in clothing, it was also popular in houses, too. Curtains were lace. Bedspreads were lace. Pillowcases and bed-shams were made of lace. Carpets maintained, for the most part, a white tone. Couches were usually blessed with busy, swirling pastels that, by today’s standards, might be considered ridiculous. Pillows were generally brown, grey and teal, as were the walls, as previously mentioned.

The 1980s were a time of departure, paving the way for modern decorating that would eventually come to define the 21st century.