The basic simplicity of this refined living room decor, seen here as it was in the 1950s, brought out the elegance of choice European antiques – furniture with graceful lines.
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When this Northern California home was renovated and redecorated back in the mid-1960s, the owners added a charming circular stone fire pit right in the middle of the room.
A contemporary overscaled paisley pattern splashed with lotus blossoms was a vital part of this 1960s home’s colorfully eclectic dining room decor.
In this 1960s brown living room, the sweeping impact of the carpet made a neutral monochromatic color scheme come alive – and set the decorating mood of the entire room.
A central feature of this impressive mid-century modern living room was the huge, two-story fireplace that reached right up into the very peak of the vaulted ceiling.
In this room from the mid-1950s, a striking harlequin pattern wallpaper, as dramatic as gift wrapping, lined one side of a small dining room.
Stylized blossoms centered in twined hearts – in fabric form – swept over walls, bedspreads, curtains, and window shades in this pretty 1960s dormer bedroom.
Natural materials like wicker and rattan have an almost magical ability to create a tropical feel year-round, indoors and out. That was certainly the case with this lounge setup, seen here back in the mid-1950s.
When decorating this spectacularly pink living room back in 1969, the interior designers said that one of the most effective and most versatile was to apply color in the form of a pattern.
Near the very contemporary and quite airy white fireplace, there were charming bursts of bright color from the pair of yellow modern chairs and the royal blue stool.
Wallpaper with an open mesh wicker weave pattern of yellow on white covered the walls, and established the basis of the warm country-style bathroom decor.
The freshness of growing plants and striped shades on this peppermint-striped sun porch created a relaxing view from a simple but formal dining room.
In this mirror wall kitchen from the 1960s, the reflective doors at the end of the room opened to reveal major storage – a full-height pantry or a great place to keep glassware.
This dining room had contemporary decor with old Persian style, as it was decorated in a vintage Arabesque design in reds, browns, oranges and yellows, spiked with blue.
Mirrors, soft textures and pale colors – plus some unique decorative elements – brought a look of classic sophistication to this elegant 1940s living room.
This wood-paneled 1940s house was held up as a fine example of the maturing character of American Modern architecture. It used no line or material that was not necessary.
The Dodge Brothers built a powerhouse car company that shaped American auto history — here’s how they rose to success and why their cars stood out.
This vintage living room decor was set in front of one of this home’s most impressive architectural features: the wide, ceiling-height masonry fireplace wall.
100 years ago, famous actress and soprano Lina Cavalieri said she thought women would rather have beautiful necks than almost any other feature, and offered her tips on how to improve the curve and beauty of the neckline.
In this dramatic vintage 1930s dining room , the eyecatching starburst stripes of the silver and black linoleum flooring led outward, while the hint of a garden outside the window led still outward to more open space.
Full of candy colors, this cheerful open-air bubblegum pink sunroom from the 70s was set up to make it easy to have a little party any time.
This retro 70s party-friendly family room could easily host guests and after-dinner coffee — it was a family room (or living room) with definite pizzazz.
A simple decorative feature – a dining room’s mirrored wall – didn’t just add luster and elegance, but also helped fool the eye to make it look like a smaller space was really a lot larger.
Spirits soared as high as the tall ceiling when entering this spring-bright midcentury modern living room — the tall glass gables made it bright and airy all year round.
The new comedy series is a story of a mountain family who suddenly finds itself with $25 million after oil is found on its property, and then moves to Beverly Hills, California. See the opening credits, hear the theme song, and get the lyrics here!
Chewy, moist pudding brownies. If you loved them as a kid, try this recipe. It’ll bring back the good old days. Here are two recipes from the 60s for you to try!
For decades after their introduction in 1963, Easy-Bake Ovens showed up on wish lists for Santa and for birthdays, and millions of them were sold. Take a look back!
In this old plantation home, renovated in the early 1950s, old carpet and old wallpaper were faithfully reproduced to help restore the glory of the original hallway, with its graceful double staircase.
The fab furnishings in this super pink 70s bedroom were split between the traditional and trendy – classic pine furniture, plus a lucite and chrome bed you just don’t see every day.
First of all, there was the focal point of this stylish contemporary 1960s living room: the stone fireplace wall with floor-to-ceiling plants growing on either side of the hearth.
This space once looked small and cluttered, but the space was cleared out and completely renovated back in the mid-1950s – and this summery blue & white 50s living room was the end result.
A frame of sunshine colors softened the view of the sliding glass doors in this poolside party room without impeding either the view or traffic to the terrace.
A two-sided stone fireplace sat between this renovated home’s solarium and game room. It featured a modern style molded plaster hood, and an elevated round marble hearth.
This cozy retro carpeted conversation pit with comfortable built-in sofas drew party guests irresistibly toward the hearth of this dramatic living room from the 60s.
In the transformation of this 1940s-style living room, the color idea came first, and you can see for yourself how the simple recipe of pink and blue-green succeeded.
To make this roof-high fieldstone fireplace look as if it had always been there, during the home’s renovation in the 60s, it was constructed of the same material as the tall old walls.
Where this retro op-art fireplace ended at the top of the wall, a designer added more plaster to match the rest of the chimney breast, curving it up onto the ceiling.
As space and simplicity were the goals of this 1930s upscale modern living room, located in an apartment on Park Avenue in New York City, the designer created a color scheme mostly in slate blue.
With just a travertine-topped table, four chairs, a four-door cabinet, and two daybeds, the designer of this vintage 1960s beachside living room achieved a look of remarkable opulence.
A dramatic peaked ceiling and window wall were the most striking features of the living room in a vintage A-frame house. Find out more here!
Here’s an idea from the 1950s: To gain year-round use from a porch, or to convert an old sunporch, why not make it into a conservatory living room or family room?
Massive beams gave solidity to this contemporary living room, bringing it into line – literally and figuratively – with the fireplace wall and the generous hearth.
From the sixties: You will be delighted at the wide variety of things to do and see all year ’round in Outdoor Mississippi. Hundreds of lakes and rivers, five huge reservoir playgrounds, fourteen state parks and, of course, the glamorous and famous Gulf Coast.
Drapes, sheers and aluminum window blinds were the window treatment trends of the 60s and 70s, but some people got way more creative. Get some inspiration from this unique mid-century window decor.
There was no question that these 1950s gloves for women were stylish – but they were also a required accessory for any proper lady. See pictures of dozens of styles, plus get vintage fashion tips & glove etiquette.
Hot buttered tomato juice is a surprising ‘wow.’ Butter blends the subtlety of oregano and the zip of Worcestershire with the goodness of tomato juice.
In 1975, Chrysler released the Cordoba – and sales were helped along by TV ads featuring the great Ricardo Montalban and his famous mention of the car’s soft Corinthian leather.
This large master bedroom from the 1960s was decorated with several spirited colors, and had as its centerpiece a beautiful hot pink chaise lounge.
Brown was considered a popular midcentury modern color, so Bloomingdale’s put together this contemporary 1960s living room decor that made the most of the rich tone.
A hot orange color was used full force in this 1960s living room, where color spotlighted the fireplace and set off the accessories above the mantel.
This mid century modern dinette set was from around the time when mod design became widely available with a range of colors and shapes, and was much more affordable than before.
In this calming and serene green retreat from the 60s, the furniture was traditional rather than modern — overstuffed armchairs, graceful antique tables of dark wood, a crystal chandelier.
Vintage Williamsburg Restoration furnishings were used to decorate this modern semicircular dining room in a two-story-high space.
One important ingredient for this simple retro mod living room: the high walls and ceilings were all painted white wood, giving the tall room a spacious feel.
From the vermillion living room to the elegant foyer, this 1960s New York home had played-to-the-hilt, marvelously uninhibited color.
This living room was mostly decked out in earth tones, but went beyond the usual with two cozy cubic cantilevered chairs that somehow made a seat made of squares seem comfortable.
In this 1970s home, a colorful peacock wallpaper pattern was the springboard for a fanciful hallway design.
A personal room that invited family or friends, this cozy sunroom from the 70s was a dazzle of color – but the colors never intimidated, never overpowered.
In this lavender bedroom, a pale purple cotton was applied to walls over cotton batting, surrounding the room in a cocoon of visual warmth.
The M1 helmet was a WW2 helmet used by the United States military in the 1940s, and the M1C helmet was designed especially for paratroopers. Take a look up-close, inside and out!
By using a colorful antique rug below a dado rail, the homeowners added so much decorative flair to this space – texture, pattern, color – and it definitely became a conversation piece.
Here’s a gorgeous home from 1959 that featured a conversation pit by a fireplace – one example of a luxurious vintage midcentury modern home admired all these decades later.
Tilted rainbow jello layers form a striped color spectrum that delights the eye as well as the palate. Prepare several fruit flavors of jello for this fun dessert!
Check out some original ‘Wizard of Oz’ cast photos from 1903, and see if you don’t think the characters seem creepy — maybe even a little bit ghoulish.
More than just a place to sleep, this mid-century contemporary bedroom from 1967 had a wide view, thanks to a wall of glass that ran from floor to ceiling.
This vibrantly colored dining room from the sixties was arranged into a diamond shape by an unusual screen made of linked aluminum strips.
A lively white and poppy red print called “Provincial” diminished the bad points of an awkward space when it was converted into this fab family room back in the early 1960s.
As one retailer selling this blue tie-dyed sofa said at the time, ‘The bolts of blue lighting in this unusual and dramatic resist-dyed fabric will knock you out.’
This cozy vintage living room decor from the late 1930s/early 1940s featured the kind of clean, crisp lines popular in early modern decor.
Two vintage bamboo screens worked together to create a feature wall for this 1960s dining room – and in the process, covered up a window with no view to speak of.
In this radiant 1960s yellow dining room, the largest areas of color fell in two unexpected places to create a flood of sunshine distilled by two different versions of the color, Goldfinch and Lemon Peel.
For this kitchen from the late sixties, the typical style was replaced with fresh green and white swappable cabinet decor, inspired by Florida’s lush landscape.
This Early American-themed powder room, seen here as it was back in 1966, showed how wallpaper could be used in truly creative ways that went far beyond the usual.
The upward sweep of this ocean view living room was shaped by red laminated wood beams that curved up to disappear into the vortex of the skylighted cupola.
Love a nostalgic look? Check out this creative home decor from the 1950s! This cute and clever kids’ bedroom with corner bunk beds was a cozy space for two.
This gorgeous living room full of exotic color could have come out of a Venetian palazzo, with tall shutters, bold shades and a creative style.
Seen here after it was remodeled in 1965, this pumpkin orange kitchen also had a vintage black and white checkerboard pattern of vinyl floor tiles.
See all the bonus storage space built into this vintage hallway design – adjacent to and underneath the home’s main staircase.
When choosing how to accent this small yellow, green & orange bedroom with a single bed, the designers kept it simple by using a bright color scheme, and look that had a bit of a Southwestern flavor.
This decor from the early 1970s overflowed with a bold electric blue in many different textures, materials, and surfaces, making it look more like a living room art installation than a family home.
When this restored Victorian living room was made new again in the 1950s, the owners didn’t want to superimpose contemporary design on it, instead choosing to return it to its former glory.
This minimalist midcentury modern living room, cheerful and welcoming in character, left plenty of room for hospitality.
A room like this midcentury dining room, where you could eat in casual connection with the outdoors, underlined the biggest advantages of the relaxed suburban 1950s lifestyle.
See how little hand-painted paper was needed to endow this beautiful silver and blue vintage living room with the drama and importance of a mural.
On one side of a vintage living room from 1965 was this charming little garden view dining area. Take a look!
In this living room from the 60s, striped wallpaper and stylish home decor created an entry hall out of a plain wall area. Here’s how!
A masterly mix of patterns gave warmth and a sense of intimacy to this hug vintage Texas living room/great room.
This beautiful vintage 1930s green and white entry hall arch is reflected by a mirror, which was placed in a second archway set into the wall opposite.
The vintage screen made of circles could work as a DIY project – this eye-catching retro room divider was simply made with craft hoops and oak strips.
Radiant as an April morning, this 1930s guest bedroom extended a warm welcome with shades of coral pink and shimmering silver fabric.
Have a peek inside one of the private dining rooms at the Cosmopolitan Club in New York City, as seen back in the 1930s.
The bright and bold bursts of color used in this 1930s celebrity home helped make this pink & white vintage living room really stand out.
These vintage glass screen dividers, brilliantly decorated with undersea motifs, offered a beautiful and creative way to visually expand this space without adding a lot of weight.
Sunshine brightened this cheerful 1930s morning room – a sort of casual sitting room or family room, positioned in the home to catch the morning sun.
This kitchen stands out with its custom peninsula-style mix-bake center, offering everything from space to store and stir, to a cool white marble inset that’s perfect for rolling out dough.
In this home, every space, including the 1970s contemporary living room, had sliding glass doors, decks or balconies that opened up to the outdoors.
This shipshape gray-clad tiny guest bedroom for two was cleverly made from just a little bit of space. See how it was done!
This 1960s living room made from a terrace space was filled with bold contrasting animal print patterns that filled nearly every surface, but combined to create a luxuriously exotic tent-like atmosphere.
