Some vintage 1940s interior design decor trends veered into the overdone, like the ‘glam’ Hollywood-inspired look here – filled with satin, ruffles & bows.
Look back at adorable vintage nursery decor and furniture from the ’50s, plus get expert advice from interior decorators about old-school baby bedrooms.
See what it looked like on board the Titanic – inside the fancy lounges, dining rooms, first-class cabins and other luxurious delights – before the ship sunk to the ocean floor on her maiden voyage in 1912.
Cubicles and open-plan offices were in response to changes in business: ‘In the past decade, great strides have been made in the computer sciences, the technology of copying and in word processing. Thus, the office is no longer viewed and revered as a static fixture.’
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.
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.
Color is everywhere around you. But nowhere is it more exciting or more important than in your home! Here’s how you can be soothingly subtle or bold and bright, how to get vibrant accents and how to be monochromatic. Ideas to make your whole house sing with color!
Anyone obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake probably dreamed of winning a bedroom makeover like this one from 1982. The prize package included more than 75 pieces of sugary sweet delight – toys, of course, but also wallpaper, roller skates and more.
Check out these 12 retro basement remodels, including a ranch room with a Western atmosphere, created with cowhide furniture, a totem pole, and a colorful pattern for the floor copied from a Navajo blanket.
These desks from a 1959 vintage office furniture catalog fit the interior decorating needs for businesses of the era: modernist styles, contemporary materials, muted colors, and no-nonsense design.
If you need a book, ook for the most important item in the library; the card catalog. It’s that beautiful walnut cabinet with the many drawers. it contains cards on every book that the library system owns.
Why stop with the walls when decorating your home when you can add color and flair up high? Here are some retro examples and home decor tips on how to wallpaper your ceiling!
Here’s an idea designed to make one room serve two purposes . . . a cozy, practical family room, plus well-planned facilities for extra guests or family additions.
Children’s activity center Hours of family-planned fun with this compact “home saver” A separate little world for the youngsters of your house . . .
After you get a place of your own, you get to decorate your apartment! You will have such a joyous adventure turning it into the kind of place you like.
This catalog of household goods was published to help people ‘spend’ the gift stamps they had earned at the grocery store — much like the better-known Green Stamps.
Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the American Dream could be had — affordably, fully-furnished, and in style — if you wanted to buy a mobile home!
The four-poster bed with a canopy, known as a tester bed, is back in a big way. At the 1972 furniture market in Chicago, the canopy bed look was bigger than life.
The luxurious original Waldorf-Astoria was among America’s first big hotels. When it was built during the Victorian era, and for years thereafter, it was considered the finest hotel in the world — and it soon became the most famous, too.
Are you short on space for storing stereo and records, seating friends? Too-square room, too-full closet? Change your dorm or bedroom into a happy habitat by following these collective tips (ideal for busy students, into-everything activists)!
New York City’s old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel — torn down in 1929 — was a luxurious Victorian building that served overnight guests as much as Manhattan’s social elite. Here, take a look inside the hotel rooms and suites, and see what accommodations would have looked like back in 1903!
What did the future look like from the ’60s? In this ad series for Motorola, commercial artist Charles Schridde depicted modernist homes of the future – and perfectly captured the era’s sleek style and space-age optimism.
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.
The most important things that make home decorating successful are beauty of color, color in relation to light, color in gradation and masses, appropriateness, and harmony between wall coverings and furnishings.
For a ’60s-style Christmas, give something out of this world! On the launching pad and ready to go in Santa’s space capsule are a collection of vintage creative holiday gifts for the home.
Boy’s Alaskan bedroom hideaway Built-in utility… plus a new world of adventure The young men of your house will appreciate this beautiful and practical “Alaskan
Kitchen center island A step-saving kitchen island with roll-away cart This kitchen island food preparation and serving center is designed to save you steps, and
Fold-away dining corner A family-centered dining nook tucks away into warm wood paneling Here is an idea that will provide additional living space in your
Pontiac Comfort-Mates offer more… style… comfort… savings La-Z-Boy is still making them like they used to How many times have you heard that expression
Over, under and all around, a sunny mood pervades this lemon-and-lime kitchen in suburban Cincinnati. But this kitchen has more than good looks.
A bouncy new baby is wonderful fun – but quite a burden, too! This practical safety crib will make Baby even more fun, because Trimble’s Kiddie-Koop makes baby care easier for you… safer for Baby
Our practical dream house: Practical in the sense of low maintenance. Dreamy in the way it realizes the family’s hopes. What a house costs to
Design-A-Wall units: Modular shelves, bookcases, cabinets and room dividers. What a wonderful world of beauty and utility is yours with new Design-A-Wall units! Handsome, without
Be a wallpaper “whizzard” Fresh pattern on the wall — even more than fresh paint — works bigger decorating wonders than almost anything else you
Make a ‘Finger-tip’ buffet server Display, serve, store, “roll away” with this serving center of fine wood This built-in buffet will save you steps, help
Make a fold-up home workshop Plan, work, store, protect with this “fold away” workshop For Dad only . . . a complete, self-contained home workshop
Hot buttered Cheerios: How to make this super-easy, surprisingly savory snack from the ’80s – plus some tasty variations 
Wonder horse! See vintage ride-on spring horse toys from the 1960s 
Vietnam War map: Corps to corps (1968) 
Woodstock through the eyes of the attendees (1969) 
The Great Depression: Newspaper headlines from the stock market crash (1929) 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.
Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic. Material on this site is provided for education, criticism, commentary, cultural reporting, entertainment, historical reference, and news reporting/analysis.
Don’t miss out on the latest and greatest vintage stuff!
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter here.
