What dated home design choices do you still love?

Sunken living rooms

Gold-veined mirror squares in moderation.

Laura Ashley 1980s 'French Country' design.

Late century art deco revival.

Like Vicki Vale’s apartment in Batman!

R4, I second Art Deco.

I prefer the kitchen as a self-contained room; aka, no "Open Concept."

^^^^ YES

Mid-century modern

glass bricks

Me too, R6.

Wood panelling, conversation pits

I love Modernist (pre-Mid-Century Modern) furniture, but it doesn't work with my house. I also like Mission furniture as well. But I have mostly Transitional furniture since it fits my house. I love hard floors – Brazilian cherry floors except oversized travertine tiles in the kitchen, bathrooms, and foyer. I cringe at wall-to-wall carpet, especially in bathrooms. I also want a proper soaking tub, not just a luxurious shower – I don't care how many shower heads and jets.

(Mom had a grand, 1880's home with mostly Queen Anne furniture (uncomfortable as hell), but they downsized to a ranch-style home and needed new furniture, since Queen Anne definitely didn't go. They bought a bunch of Ethan Allen stuff and it looks good, but she clearly misses her old items.)

Accent wall, i.e., one wall out of four either wallpapered or painted a different color from the other 3 walls.

[quote] Come on all of your HDTVers, fess up.

Did you mean HGTVers?

Wood-paneled refrigerators. Colored bathroom sinks/toilets/bathtubs.

Granite countertops.

Wall mounted ashtrays in the toilets.

R17, I hope you've misread the assignment.

I have always wanted a conversation pit around a fireplace. This place would be my dream home.

I prefer just about any "dated" designs to what's on trend at the moment. Gray and bland and stark... no, thanks.

Exposed brick. Formica counters. Rooms that serve different purposes, with walls to separate them. Arts & Crafts style.

Tiffany blue and brown accent pillows

Sponge painted walls

Decorative bottles of roasted vegetables suspended in olive oil

A "tuscan" color palette

Wallpaper borders of whimsical geese in bonnets

Crochet dolls that sit atop a roll of toilet paper

Inflatable dorm furniture

Mid century Colonial revival

Anything from pier one

Peacock chairs

Persian carpets.

I second exposed brick walls.

[quote] Mid century Colonial revival

What is this? Colonial revival homes built in the 1950-60’s? So colonial revival, but with shallower roof pitches and the windows up under the eaves?

I love glass block in the shower. A way to bring light into the bathroom.

Maybe this? This is a lot better than what I was originally picturing. I like this, it’s a functional suburban home. Better than a McMansion.

Wicker furniture, Oriental rugs.

Total absence of any unified decor aesthetic in a vacation cabin. The cabin structure can have an aesthetic, however. But even then something nondescript and solid is best.

This is what I was originally picturing. I like homes like this because they have closets and larger rooms than a lot of the suburban colonial revivals built from 1920 to WWII. And sometimes two car garages. But I wouldn’t have thought to label something like this “mid-century” because they seem so connected to earlier colonial revivals.

There are some 1970’s split level ranches out there with two story pillars. Those are probably my least favorite style. But some McMansions come close.

My kitchen still has the 2 piece mirrored backsplash from 1976 when I bought the apartment in a brand new building.. I had the entire apartment renovated in 1996 from top to bottom. It was almost a complete gut job and that backsplash was the only thing I kept. I still love it because it makes a long 22' galley kitchen feel much more open.

I like wall to wall carpeting in bedrooms. Especially second floor bedrooms. Not a pattern, but a neutral light colored wool sisal style or flat weave. Not always, but sometimes.

Also, wallpaper, but I think that’s made a comeback general.

I think carpet can “clean up” an older home with a little too much character. Older windows, trim that’s been painted 50 times, not always that well. I’m less likely to appreciate it in a newer home. And the layout has to be such that it doesn’t get filthy. So not in a first floor bedroom that has a door to a patio or something like that.

Second the love for colored bathroom suites. I dream of owning one.

Also: breeze blocks, spiral staircases, wall pocket vases, indoor waterfalls, shag pile carpets

Clearly defined rooms

Art Deco

The style of home at R31

Formal dining rooms

Garages that are separate from the home. I hate new style homes where the garage is a prominent feature at the front of the home.

The wood finishes in Arts&Crafts homes

French doors

Picture rails

Wraparound porch/veranda

those Swedish style freestanding fireplaces.

Picture rails have never dated among a certain crowd.

Tile in the bathroom.

Amending my post at r38

Fireplaces in general.

Yeah, i get why environmentally, Still.

A normal sized master bedroom. These suites they make now are just ridiculous. If you can fit a couch in your bedroom, then it's too big.

I love the 1950s double height fireplaces covered in boulders/rocks or stacked slate

Some things are perceived as dated, when it’s really just a reaction to them being mid-applied.

Rustic barn doors in a 1960’s ranch are pretty awful, but doors on an unconcealed track could serve a function and look fine. For instance, if there is no room for a swinging door and it’s a plumbing wall that can’t accommodate a pocket door. Or someone just hated pocket doors.

Picture rails that are really just crown molding placed an inch lower are not that identifiable as picture rails. I don’t see how they could be objectionable, unless it’s a dust issue. Picture rails that aren’t integrated into the trim of the house, but serve the purpose of allowing the arrangement of a thoughtful art collection probably aren’t going to look dated.

Granite countertops are a weird one. I see them as dated, but functionally they are pretty good and, in general, there is a greater risk of an “imposter” material becoming dated - silestone and other synthetics, “wood” tile and laminate, fiberglass doors with fake wood texture, ceramic or porcelain tiles that are supposed to look like stone., double pane windows with snap on fake muntins or fake muntins between the panes. Those are the things to look out for. But granite countertops because so ubiquitous that they do seem a little dated. It make have to do with people shoving them on top of horrible cabinets and pretending it was a thoughtful kitchen renovation. So arguably granite is in the misapplied category. It can still look great in a modern or modern-leaning transitional kitchen. But salts and pepper granite counters with matching granite tile flooring is not great.

"mid-applied"?

what the fuck does this mean?

Misapplied. Which was a stupid mistake that can’t be played off an an autocorrect issue because the hyphen was unnecessary, but still pretty easy to figure out from the context.

ok, thanks for the correction r46

Another vote for French Country but simple - not too ornate.

i was truly wondering and don't mean to be a DL monitor

hm. that wasn't supposed to post here

Plaid, gingham and stripes

Barcelona Chairs.

Nothing’s wrong with liking wall to wall carpet, esp in a bedroom. Geez. Ppl feeling guilty over that.

I also like bathtubs that are not free standing, ie i like the tubs that are built into an alcove:

Beaded curtains.

Here's what i mean by mid century colonial:

the general public suffers from a Mad Men- Induced amnesia about decor from the 50s-70s, wherein everyone was living in modern spaces filled with Scandinavian furniture

In reality there was a much more popular tendency, especially in the suburbs, to decorate in styles that referenced a hallucination of pre-1900s american life. spindle-backed wooden chairs, federalist eagle wall plaques, dust ruffles on the bottom of sofas and chairs and that furniture classic for displaying fine china "the hutch". Some people would go so far as to have decorative spinning wheels in thier living rooms.

SO bad.

Butcher block countertops and tiled countertops.

I like braided rugs

R55 very true! I have a pretty sizable collection of 1950s home magazines and interior decorating books, and 3/4 of them are filled with rooms like the above. You only see the modern style in the higher end magazines, or later in the 50s after the style trickled down from high-end to more consumer-friendly versions. (Think the "cerulean blue" speech from "The Devil Wears Prada".) The average American 50s home looked nothing like Palm Springs MCM queens think it did.

The "Leave It To Beaver" house is a good example of what you're talking about.

Avocado and Harvest Golf appliances. They will still be running when a new appliance dies within 5 years.

Harvest Gold of course.

This is quite like the sunrooms of my aunts in the 60s in Connecticut. Heated, fireplace, Venetian blinds, upright piano, big console TV, wrought iron and brass standing ashtray.

If I ever had a suitable home I would have recreated one to enjoy but alas.

i went to visit a friend yesterday and his bathroom was from the 50s. yellow tiles and white walls. I wonder if he could paint it another color. what would go with sunny yellow tiles in the bathroom?

R62. Some if these perhaps?

R62 I love a vivid green combined with sunny yellow and white.

R55 Upson Downs!

In East Falls in the early 1970's, Mom had the Avocado stove& huge fridge with the backsplash wallpaper in an avocado green design. My older brother Charles (Chuck) still has the fridge& stove. It's in his basement man-cave& works perfectly. He was in the Navy when mom did the redesign of the small kitchen& rowhome.

Harvest Gold& Avocado Green were big in East Falls in the 70's

I'd like to have a bedroom vestibule. I first noticed that on Downton Abbey.

Knotty pine-paneled rec rooms.

Stained glass.

What is a "home?"

Eau de Nil everything

I like the rooms at R55 and R61. I think the that stuff only goes really wrong when I doesn’t suit the house. You can go more country as you get further out in suburbs (like CT) and you can use traditional brown furniture and chintz in anything prewar.

The photo at R55 doesn’t really strike me as being specifically of its era, though. I think you saw a lot of that in the 1980’s and 1990’s. And even today, but maybe with some transitional touches. I think it looks great.

It seems to be an American thing to dress up their middling houses with more formal and tradition designs and more of a European thing to decorate spectacular older homes with modern furniture. The European way works a lot better, but it’s not a fair competition because starting out with a 1970’s ranch and a centuries old palazzo doesn’t make for a fair fight.

[quote]What dated home design choices do you still love?

A dungeon.

Eau de Nil…

[quote]What dated home design choices do you still love?

A Discipline and Play Room.

I never knew it was called "mid-century colonial." It was always colonial; my mom had a smaller rowhome.

My godfather’s home had a conversation pit. Naturally all of us kids dropped every pillow and quilt we could scrounge up into it, and summarily build a fort.

The design trend was not called "Mid-Century Colonial" (then or now, really), it was called "Early American".

Vast tracts of tree-covered land at the center of which is to be found a small, functional home into which extended family and a few guests are often invited to discuss.

The discussions range widely and all present express relief that there are no “planned developments” on the horizon which could eliminate the trees so beloved by the flying squirrels.

I know this is a mainly 70s thing, but I liked when all the rooms in the house had different carpets. Growing up we had purple carpet in my parents room, red in the den, baby blue in the living room, and yellow in the dining room.

I also like macrame plant holders.

Shag.

Stacks and stacks of books and tons of throws and pillows.

[quote] Shag

Yes, please.

Sunken bathtubs

Huge heavy carved dark wood furniture, the more sculpted and baroque the better. Small bedrooms with big fireplaces. Flagstone patios. Brass beds. Music rooms.

Telephone nook à la the Bouquet residence.

i would like a red room, is that dated? what era?

Grandma’s floral wallpapers.

Red is a great color for a dining room but no one has those anymore.

Maid's room off the kitchen .

Dark green for the library, red for the salon, yellow for the kitchen, blue for the bedroom.. oh yes.

Tasteful tones, of course — not that it ends up looking like a clown’s colour palette

Tell me all about your salon, Dutchie. Help me paint a picture in my head.

Oriental rugs.

Adore the stank of encrusted bodily fluids.

Bentwood and rattan bistro sets, ferns, Tiffany lamps.

I still love carpeting in the bedroom. It feels soft on bare feet and helps to keep noise levels down.

There’s still houses that have domestic bedrooms. There’s a whole part of our city that has those still (the wealthy areas, of course) Now they are just storage rooms.

I will always and forever love the “formals” a separate living room and dining room. I loathe the open-floor concept. Honestly, if us kids grew up playing in our rooms or in the den without constant adult supervision or any major accidents, the kids nowadays could do the same.

R94 I adore ferns as well, but I've never been able to keep one happy indoors for long. They just require far too much heat, sun exposure, and humidity to thrive in temperature controlled homes, particularly if you life in northern climates. I think the longest I was able to keep one going was a couple of months, but once winter came and the forced air heat dried the place out, I had to have a humidifier running underneath it for hours a day on top of nightly water spritzing and daily watering. They're just too high maintenance.

What exactly is a "den"? It wasn't a common term in suburban New England and seems to have only really been a thing until he 70s and 89s. Is it a living room? A furnished basement? It always seemed like the cooler families had dens. Regular families had living rooms

Dens are alternatively called "family rooms" and "rumpus rooms". If the house has a formal living room, it can have an additional bonus, more casual "hang out room" (usually off the kitchen) for TV-watching, game playing, homework-doing, etc. It's meant to be more suited for kids and mess-making than the formal living room. Families that have finished basements will sometimes relegate that space as another multi-purpose "family room".

I think a den is always in addition to a living room. You could have a living room w/o a den, but not vice versa

A den was usually smaller than the living room and more casual. It was more likely to have a doorway with a door, rather than a larger opening w/o a door, like a living room or dining room. Sometimes it could be in a more remote part of house. Like up a half story and over the garage. It usually got used as a TV room, but could be used as an office. There could be overlap with a library and a den. So there were two versions of a “real” den (as opposed to a basement rumpus room or a sunroom or a guest room), a more adult den that might have a desk and if it was super classy a set of The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant (unread) and a wet bar and a family den with board games and a TV and if it was super cool a bean bag chair.

Now family rooms have replaced dens. Family rooms are usually larger and more open than the old dens, but they are used for the same - more casual TV watching.

Well, going back to the “formals” concept, we had the living room at the front of the house, the dining room near the kitchen, etc.

The den was the family room, in fact, usually where the television was.

We would never have thought to put the tv in the living room!

We just so happened to live in a house where the one-car garage had been converted to the family room. So we had an extra large room where everybody would hang out and watch tv. It was far enough away that people who visited could not see it (or how messy it was).

That was the inner sanctum, where we could kick back.

I'm an late 70s/80s kid. The den was the room you would watch TV in, eat in, and you could have friends over to hang out. The living was used maybe 3 times a year. Christmas (because that's where the picture window was to put the Christmas tree in), one fancy party (no kids allowed), and another holiday, maybe Easter. If you dared go into the living room any other time of the year, there would be hell to pay.

I still like brown wood furniture instead of it all being painted or bleached.

Let's talk...

bathroom

Nothing can beat this divine bedroom set!

[quote] What exactly is a "den"? It wasn't a common term in suburban New England and seems to have only really been a thing until he 70s and 89s. Is it a living room? A furnished basement? It always seemed like the cooler families had dens. Regular families had living rooms

Disagree with what's been posted, above, about dens.

Dens are not for kids. They're for adults, specifically, male adults, like Mike Brady. It might have a desk. It should have either a TV and/or bookshelves. Lazy Boy or other recliner chair. Liquor, e.g., one of those huge globes that you could flip up at the equator and store liquor inside.

You can smoke cigars in a den.

A den is dark and not airy and full of light.

Agree that it's *in addition* to a living room.

R105 That is...utterly bizarre.

I miss full-length curtains or drapes. The kind with two layers: an inner (closer to the window), sheer layer for daytime. Then an outer, more decorative, more opaque curtain that blocked out all light, if that's what you wanted.

R105 That’s fucking creepy.

My 70s mom never allowed TV in the living room - that was what the den was for - but the living room wasn’t off limits. We would practice piano, listen to records on the stereo and I’d do most of my reading homework on the couch.

The Flintstones’ and the Rubbles’ Bedrock properties have a design that still speaks safety and durability to me.

Long ago and far away in my youth in a den there would usually be a TV/VCR and the family desktop computer, an out of date encyclopedia set, back issues of general interest magazines, paperback novels, atlases, old yearbooks, school projects, playing cards, board games, flashlights, a small file cabinet and desk, a braided rug, a loveseat sofa-bed and a recliner. The den belonged to the whole family but like the garage and the attic it was much more the father’s domain.

Let's not forget the fabulous midcentury Tiki design!

Once upon a time, the hard wood flooring determined where you placed furniture and rugs. I love placing different eras wherever possible, but sometimes they don’t work .

I hate d wall to wall carpet, but it made for greater in old homes.

I miss restaurants that had carpeting and full length drapes to absorb all the noise.

Separate dining rooms. I’m a younger Millennial that still likes to host dinner parties. My friends get a kick out of it because it’s no longer common and loads of fun.

In those situations, I don’t want my guests seeing or eating in my kitchen. Dinning rooms also help people avoid distraction from TVs or even their phones since we get to focus on each other.

R28 I wouldn’t call that better than a McMansion. By functionally you mean middle class people make it work but it’s hardly an ideal design, just a cheap one.

We’ve all been in versions of that home. It’s small, the shape leads to small rooms. It has no character inside or out. It’s a home that makes someone have a midlife crisis because it’s so darn dull.

I’ll take the McMansion because at least I’ll have the space to make it my own and upgrade it. The home you posted is just too limited.

R95 the open and connect living room and kitchen is actually for the adults. It’s there play area. It works really really well when you aren’t doing formal entertainment to gather around a kitchen island, while the TV plays in the living room a few steps away. Everyone has separate space to mingle while the entire party is still connected and centered on the TV.

My ideal home would have an open concept kitchen and living room, with the rest of the rooms (formal dining and formal living room) sectioned off.

This is a den, admittedly tidier than most.

Stainless steel appliances and dark wood kitchen cabinets.

Butler's pantries and portes cochere (is that the right plural?).

Transoms!

I’d call it a study or a library., not a den, R119.

I’ve always wanted an atrociously 1970s guest room, just to see what visitors would say. Or not say.

R124 I have my very own atrociously 1970's guest room (by design) and it is the light of my life.

Oh, how I would adore to see a pic : (

I feel sorry for the guests who end up trying to relax or sleep in those ‘70s nightmare rooms.

[quote]r127 I feel sorry for the guests who end up trying to relax or sleep in those ‘70s nightmare rooms.

They don’t stay long!

[quote]The wood finishes in Arts&Crafts homes

I like wood finishes, period. I can't tell you how many people have told me I should paint my solid wood kitchen cabinets.

I don’t like wood finishes because I don’t like the color brown.

Redwood is okay. Or ebony.

Most of you should go read the euthanasia thread, and spare us your ancient engorgement over Granny's Precious Moments, die twice if you liked wall to wall carpet.

r131 clearly didn't eat their oatmeal for breakfast today or ran out of coffee before they were properly caffeinated.

They could use a good Prancercise, too.

Central vacuum system. Do they still do those?

That blanket& pillows is sooooo hideous. it's actually pretty. Child#3 would HATE IT, which is why I have to have one for the spare guest room. Marina would have a fit about the blanket.