1950s
The space house: Small-home design & decor from the ’50s
Here is how the builders of this small home in the ’50s made the most of the space they had available! Take a look at the decor and floorplan here.
Here is how the builders of this small home in the ’50s made the most of the space they had available! Take a look at the decor and floorplan here.
These retro yellow kitchens – in all their buttery, warm and sunny splendor – are here for the midcentury home decor enthusiast to appreciate!
From stylish room dividers to savvy storage to simple tips for making the most of a small home interior, get some ideas from the fifties for space-saving small home decor.
Take a 1950s home tour of a ‘junior five’ near San Francisco – a small house that had an entry stairway that starts at garage level and leads up to five rooms – bedrooms, kitchen, garage and more.
Remember having fun in vintage playhouses & forts like these? Take a look back at some of these retro play structures through the decades, from the ’50s through the ’80s!
Here’s a look at singer and actor Bing Crosby’s house in Holmby Hills, California, as it appeared in 1950.
Starting in 1914, there was a lot of hype about Old Gilbert, Arizona, a little town near Phoenix: ‘the fastest growing and most prosperous community in the Southwest.” See how it’s grown!
Decades ago, vintage table lighters like these ‘played an important part in the art of entertaining. The gracious, easy way to get a light if you smoke.’
See some of the vintage baby gear from the 1950s that parents used when raising our parents and grandparents – including a lot that wouldn’t be considered safe today.
If you’re remodeling a 1950s home, advice from that decade says to, follow a simple, straightforward style. Your house will look better and cost less.
See some old-fashioned gas ranges millions of people had in their homes in the ’50s – right around when electric appliances were becoming popular.
Warm up with a look back at 25 different beautiful old-fashioned fireplaces that were once found in homes across the US.
Tide… for your cups and plates? Early versions of Tide detergent said right on the box that it would give you sparkling dishes in addition to clean clothes.
When post-WWII prefab housing was becoming passe, in the ’50s, a new version of the prefab home emerged – the kind of home with many of the mid-century modern design ideas that would become popular over the next decade.
These 60+ vintage patio furniture sets – charming tables, chairs, chaises and more – were as popular in the 1940s through the 1970s as they are now.
Remember these vintage above-ground pools – the kind that were big enough to actually swim in, but that you didn’t need to dig a big hole for?
Vintage accordion folding doors like these were popular – and affordable – home improvements that almost anyone could install. Take a look back!
Here’s how to stencil a tray – transforming an inexpensive metal accessory into a family heirloom, with paint and these included vintage stenciling patterns.
Take these vintage centerpiece ideas from the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s, and put your own spin on them for a modern-day retro-inspired holiday or party table!
Back in the late ’50s and early ’60s, the American Dream could be had – affordably and in style – if people wanted to buy mobile homes (trailers).
Vintage card tables and other folding furniture were a staple in every home decades ago.
Do you want to get organized? Have you longed for the uncluttered life? Actress Doris Day reveals her plan for becoming an ‘ex-Aimless’ and an ‘ex-Chaotic.’
Starting back in the ’50s, women were encouraged to start their own businesses, hosting Tupperware parties, and demonstrating how to use those popular plastic containers. Here’s a look back!
While not exclusively the domain of the fifties, the popularity of vintage pink bathrooms – including pink toilets, sinks and bathtubs and other home decor – reached its peak during the middle of the century.
This new, revolutionary wall-mounted refrigerator and freezer that hangs from the wall is a completely new and advanced concept of modern living. Truly, it is the most convenient and magnificent refrigerator-freezer ever produced!
Here’s a look at our collection of vintage ’50s table setting ideas – direct from magazines that came out between 1950 and 1959.
These little vintage kiddie swimming pools were the perfect size to help introduce babies and children to water fun in the safety of their own shallow wading pools!
This unusual home in the hills of Oakland, California is tree house – with a modernist design – belonging to Dave Brubeck, known as ‘Mr. Jazz’ to his fans.
I’ve just received the most beautiful gift ever… my shining new cedar Lane hope chest is as unexpected, as precious, as my first love letter – and as lucky, somehow, as a four-leaf clover.
These vintage bleach ads from the ’50s show how obsessed women were supposed to be about getting their laundry perfectly white.
Apparently stuck for a way to make toilet paper – particularly rolls of colored toilet tissue – more attractive to ’50s housewives, advertising executives turned to the world of glamour and fashion for an assist.
From all these beautiful Bigelow carpet styles, celebrities Lucy & Desi Arnaz chose their dream carpet to decorate their home.
Check out these fantastic vintage ’50s bathroom floors that range from the simple to the one-of-a-kind home decor!
What were popular ’50s floors like? They might have bold stripes, checkerboard squares, or many other classic and creative ideas. Take a look back!
Based on one of the many traditional needlework crafts, these vintage needlepoint designs might just inspire you to get creative in all-new ways!
More than just a way to dry off, these retro towels from the 1950s gave vintage bathrooms color and style! Take a look back at this functional fifties decor.
Check out some of these colorful vintage vinyl floor tiles that people in the ’50s used to create trendy square patterns!
When these vintage Zenith ‘Space Command’ TV remote controls first came out, they were revolutionary tech – and everyone wanted one.
See several vintage ways to decorate entrance halls with midcentury style finishes and colors to make them as practical underfoot as they are pleasing to the eye.
Take a look back at these vintage Hide-a-Bed sofa models – fold-out beds tucked into a couch to sleep guests – no spare bedroom needed.
Here’s a sweet and pretty way to celebrate spring – with this vintage-style Easter egg tree craft! Here’s how you can make your own.
See a Scholz Mark 58, a marvelous mid-century modern home built in 1958. From the blue bathroom to the wooden wall paneling, every inch of this reinterpreted California Ranch house screams retro… and we love it.
Look back at more than 40 different styles of vintage window coverings from the ’50s – draperies, blinds, shutters, curtains & more.
Have you ever wondered where products like Formula 409, 7-Up, WD-40 and Preparation H got those famous vintage brand names? Find out here.
Take a look back at some retro shelf edging papers & liners – used especially to decorate open shelving in vintage kitchens without a lot of cabinets.
See some vintage Tupperware – including pitchers and picnic baskets, lunchboxes and every kind of storage container – in a variety of retro hues.
This cute build-it-yourself vacation cabin from the ’50s was designed to be affordable and easy to build, and it could be expanded, too.
Take a fun look back at the stereotypical ’50s housewife, as she vacuums in heels, washes dishes wearing pearls, and makes everything practically perfect.
Want to see what some retro home decor looked like? We collected more than 140 1950s wallpaper samples, from classic to kitsch, and everything in between.
Actress Betty White has always loved animals – especially dogs. In this story from the ’50s, she gives her advice about choosing the best dog for you and your family.
Take a step back into the beauty of yesteryear, and see some pretty vintage & antique Christmas decorations that were both charming and affordable.
Step back and time and enjoy these charmingly vintage Christmas scenes celebrations from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Women: Do you have the ideal figure? Here’s what ‘they’ thought in 1950 
The real death of a cheerleader story (1985) 
What is a Charlotte russe? 8 delicious classic Charlotte dessert recipes 
How Cary Grant lives: The movie star at home (1940) 
130 vintage ’50s house plans used to build millions of mid-century homes we still live in today Want to remember to remember? Our weekly newsletter shows you the latest vintage, old-fashioned & historic stuff that we have published or refreshed during the past seven days. Sign up here.
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