The 1970s were a tumultuous time. We were breaking free from the stuffy traditions of the past and blazing our own trail, embracing boldness and excess in all aspects of life. That included our home decor.
Home decor was all about 70s maximalism – think big, bold, and over-the-top, with daring patterns that were anything but conventional. This revolutionary style broke all the rules and set the stage for today’s maximalist trend.
So, are you ready to walk on the wild side and explore 25 of the best examples of 1970s maximalism? Buckle up because some designs are still pretty daring!
- Let’s Take that Wallpaper Up to the Ceiling!
- A Little Bit Floral, A Little Bit Mod
- Redrum
- Definitely Not Haunted
- This is BANANAS
- Your Maiden Aunt’s Bedroom
- Mix and Match Taken a Bit Too Far
- All the Trends in One Room
- Nature Inspired, But Also, Not
- Playboy Mansion in the Suburbs
- Why, Yes, that is a Vinyl Bedspread
- It was … a Different Time
- The Ultimate Bachelor Pad
- Swinging Victoria
- Fainting Room
- This Literally Hurts My Eyes
- Could Have Done More
- This is True Commitment
- No Notes
- Sunny Days
- This Kitchen Feels Like Home
- This Room is Fire
- When Compromise Goes Too Far
- Sometimes Too Much is Just Right
- Thanks for Stopping By, Have a Seat on the Bed
1.
Let’s Take that Wallpaper Up to the Ceiling!
The 70s were a time of excess in all things, including using patterns. This geometric print might be ok in small doses, but here it’s being used on the pillow shame, the chair cushions, the wall, and to the top of the pitched roof of the ceiling.
We’ll see lots of the “one pattern, many uses” look in this post, but this one gives off a little “cabin in the woods” energy. Love the built-in desk, though!
2.
A Little Bit Floral, A Little Bit Mod
This bedroom still needs to figure out the vibe it’s going for. The bold geometric print and bright solid pink just don’t fit with the dainty florals of the curtains and pillow shams.
The dark red rug is another – interesting – choice. And I’m not sold on the “no bedspread” look. There’s a reason that trend didn’t catch on.
3.
Redrum
Now, here’s a bedroom that’s figured out its vibe! And that vibe is murder. If you’ve ever longed to sleep in a room awash in blood, here’s your inspiration piece.
Another excellent example of the 70s attitude of “love this pattern, so I’m going to use it everywhere,” this bedroom features a flocked velvet pattern on the headboard, bedspread, walls, chair, and curtains. We can’t see the ceiling in this photo, but I will bet it’s red.
4.
Definitely Not Haunted
Don’t you want to spend the night in this cozy bedroom? The black and white paisley print is lovely, and someone sure adores it, right? They loved it enough to spend hours stapling it to the walls and covering the bed and the bedside chair.
I find it restful, not creepy at all. And it would be soothing to sleep under the watchful eye of this lovely portrait of a woman who is definitely not a ghost.
5.
This is BANANAS
This room is so close to being a room that could be used today. I love the bulletin board on the easel and the gallery wall. Still, using the same pattern on most of the furnishings broken up only by the bold yellow and the oddly formal furniture makes the room feel too sterile and flat for today’s tastes.
The caption in my decorating book said this was a room for a teenager. I don’t recall knowing many teenagers in the 70s with business phones, complete with message lights, in their bedrooms. Lucky kid!
6.
Your Maiden Aunt’s Bedroom
We all had a relative with this exact bedroom in the 70s, didn’t we? She knew how to sew, got a deal on some fabric, and went to town using it. For. Every. Single. Thing. The curtains. The blinds. The chairs. The cushions. The bedspread.
Your Aunt grew up during the Depression, and she knew how to make a dollar stretch. I bet she made great pie too.
7.
Mix and Match Taken a Bit Too Far
If there was one defining element of 70s design trends, it was enthusiasm. When we embraced a trend, we went all the way. The opposite of the “one pattern, everywhere” design trend would be the “no pattern the same, anywhere” trend, and this dining room is a textbook example of the aesthetic.
Why reuse just one pattern when you can make yourself dizzy with five different patterns?
I actually don’t hate this dining room. It has a sweet feel to it. In fact, I’d add a patterned tablecloth. Let’s take this as far as we can, people!
8.
All the Trends in One Room
This room has a lot going on, but it’s not just patterns this time. This time, we’re throwing in all the 70s design trends.
Flocked velvet wall covering in a bright color? Check. Bold print couch? Gotcha. Shag carpeting? Gotta have that. Room divider? Really should have a vaguely Asian style, but you tried. Glass and brass accent piece? Wouldn’t be a 70s room without one. Giant plant? Of course!
However, I am shocked by the picture over the sofa, which doesn’t match the rest of the room. This room is crying out for a giant, colorful abstract art piece. I guess they didn’t want to cover up that lovely wall covering.
9.
Nature Inspired, But Also, Not
Nature was a big inspiration for this room, but it was interpreted in the most 70s home decor way possible. Here, being inspired by nature meant something other than using earth tones or soothing vistas. It meant incorporating bright green prints, shag carpeting that felt like grass, rattan furniture, and, of course, elephants.
I think this is a guest bedroom, so I guess that’s a day bed? Let me know in the comments if you know anything about this piece!
10.
Playboy Mansion in the Suburbs
One of the most fun elements of 70s maximalism is that even the most proper homes frequently seemed to have some trashy Playboy mansion design features.
Take this bedroom, for example – it’s the perfect example of this uniquely 70s aesthetic. From the pink-flocked velvet wall coverings to the shaggy pink carpeting and white fur bedspread, this room screams strip mall bordello, and yet, it could have been your friend’s mom’s bedroom.
You have to admit that there’s something undeniably fun and adventurous about embracing this home decor style.
11.
Why, Yes, that is a Vinyl Bedspread
Here’s another secretly sexy bedroom. This couple went out and talked about their daily lives, looking like regular folks.
Meanwhile, they came home every night to a bedroom decorated in vinyl. What other secrets did they have?
12.
It was … a Different Time
I found this picture in the April 1972 Better Homes & Gardens. This is a bedroom a Florida mother designed for her six-year-old daughter.
I’m trying to think of words to describe the room, so I’ll use the words of perhaps the very first Florida woman: “It’s an old custom–pink for girls and blue for boys–and in our family, it still works.”
OK, honestly, I still have no words. Props for the pink phone with multiple lines though.
13.
The Ultimate Bachelor Pad
The polar opposite of our shocking pink little girl’s room must be this living room for a swinging 70s bachelor pad. It’s filled with manly patterns in manly colors using manly textures.
I can picture our swinging bachelor sitting in his dressing gown with his brandy snifter on the couch. Stay back, ladies!
14.
Swinging Victoria
I wouldn’t want this look in my dining room, but I respect this 70s take on classic Victorian Decor. You’ve got your dainty elements and floral patterns of classic Victoriana.
However, the color scheme is pure 70s earth tones with rust and gold predominating. You knew what the year was as soon as you entered the room.
15.
Fainting Room
This little nook is another 70s take on Victorian decor. It offers a cozy niche for napping and, perhaps, catching up with your favorite Edgar Allan Poe short story.
This is a classic example of 70s maximalism in action. The giant floral print would be effective in small doses, but when used here, it makes the viewer feel claustrophobic.
Looking at this, I feel like a character in the classic Poe short story “The Cask of Amontillado.”
16.
This Literally Hurts My Eyes
Did you know that some people suffer from a condition known as “oscillopsia” where small tight patterns (like a very close checkerboard pattern used all over a room) appear to shimmer and vibrate? The condition can even bring on migraines.
If you suspect you might have this condition, try looking at this picture, and you’ll know. Can you imagine having this in your home? It does make me feel slightly nauseous.
17.
Could Have Done More
This time, I’m criticizing the effort for not going far enough. You’ve got the fabric on the walls, the bed, and the curtains. Then, you brought in the complementary material in the chair.
But then you stopped? Commit to the effort! I want to see those beds covered in pillows and the fabric from the chair! I want to see a shag carpet on the floor! We can work in a fur throw somehow. Step up the effort!
18.
This is True Commitment
Some of the most over-the-top examples of 70s maximalism I’ve seen are bedroom ideas. I suppose we feel most free to express who we truly are in our bedroom.
This bedroom has tons of personality. The giant patterned canopy matches the carpeting and wallpaper, and the white accent pieces lighten the heavy use of purple.
I’m assuming this is a teenager’s room because it features something I would have killed for as a teen: their own princess phone! So jealous.
19.
No Notes
I wouldn’t change a thing about this room. The wallpaper is – chef’s kiss – and the bed and rug are wisely kept neutral not to overwhelm the wallpaper.
You can’t quite see the chair in this picture, but it looks like a mid-century modern piece we would all kill to have in our homes today, just like the cube coffee table.
I even like the picture on the wall; it perfectly fits the room’s vibe. 10/10.
20.
Sunny Days
I love when you can look at a room and picture who it belongs to. I imagine the woman who uses this room is a short, stylish 70-year-old woman with a severe bob haircut and an incredibly chic wardrobe.
She loves the arts (hence the paintings and accessories). She uses this room as her office for the various charities she supports. She spends her days corresponding with multiple people at her writing desk.
Her bright and sunny personality makes her need a happy room like this to match her mood. I’m in love with her, and I love this room.
21.
This Kitchen Feels Like Home
Every detail in this breakfast nook has been designed to feel welcoming and homey. I’m not usually a fan of carpet in the kitchen, but it works here with the curtains and the bench cushions.
Can’t you picture sitting at the table after dinner and having a heart-to-heart with your mom with some coffee and a piece of pie?
22.
This Room is Fire
This room is the epitome of 70s pop art maximalist decor, with its bold use of color and graphic patterns. Every element in this room is designed to make a statement, from the striking orange shag carpet to the space-age style lamp.
But the real showstopper is the fiery wavy mural on the wall, a true pop art masterpiece. This maximalist wonderland is the ultimate choice if you’re looking for a room that captures the daring and expressive spirit of the 70s.
23.
When Compromise Goes Too Far
I found this picture in the April 1971 issue of Better Homes & Gardens. The caption described the room as a way to please both the masculine and feminine sensibilities of the man and wife this bedroom was designed for. The pattern of the bedspread and shades pleased the man and the woman, so that was the featured element.
The wall color and the leather chair were the masculine elements, and the shag carpeting and the fur throw were the feminine elements because they were soft, get it? The 70s were all about those gender roles.
24.
Sometimes Too Much is Just Right
In the 1970s, expressing yourself with eclectic maximalism was the way to go. The bigger and bolder, the better.
These days, we might want to balance the giant red and blue patterned sectional that dominates this room with neutral decor elements. But not in the 70s!
Instead, the homeowner added a striped red and blue wallpaper that complements the sectional. The atomic age lighting elements, red lacquered furniture, and shag rug add even more boldness to the space.
25.
Thanks for Stopping By, Have a Seat on the Bed
This picture came from House & Gardens Complete Guide to Interior Decoration, a book full of unique room designs, including this classic example of the 70s “Playboy mansion in the suburbs” style: a bed hanging from chains, covered in fur, in the living room. I don’t know why that didn’t catch on more widely.
Other than the fur-covered bed in the middle of the room, this is a pretty conventional room that–with a few updates–would be considered quite stylish today. I would personally kill for those built-in bookshelves and those large art pieces.
From shag carpets and space-age lamps to bold patterns and vibrant colors, the 70s was about making a statement and expressing oneself through interior design. While some of these maximalist designs may not be for everyone, they can inspire us to be more daring and playful in our own homes.
So, which of these designs would you incorporate into your own decor? Let us know in the comments!