The looks! The music! The clothes! To say the Sixties were an exciting time in American style history is an understatement. Though it can be said for every decade of our past, it’s somehow truer of the Sixties: America was changing. New ideas were flourishing. Rebellious thoughts and wild trends were making their way to the mainstream. Culture was rich and varied and many issues in sexism and racism were coming to the forefront to be debated and addressed. The Cold War was going on; tensions were high and a stream of anxiety flowed through everyone’s seemingly cool exterior. Conflicts like the Vietnam War made for tensions between differing political sides.
It was also a truly exciting time for technology and science. The Space Race sparked the imagination of millions as they all watched as man walked on the moon. Tons of progress was made in electronics, with new technology appearing nearly every year. There were huge leaps in manufacturing processes and you started seeing furniture made out of molded plastic and turned into pretty far out organic shapes.
This was also a jet-setting era of luxury, flamboyance and excess. Perhaps in contrast to previous decades, where the economy necessitated that we be a little bit more understated with our home lives, you saw interiors in the Sixties that were not only on the cutting edge of style, but ones that were highly personalized. People spent a lot of money on their homes because it was very much a statement of not just your wealth and success, but who you were. Perhaps most of all, there was a sense of fun. People loved to entertain, and fun colors, fun patterns, experimentation with new technologies, new ideas, and new furniture layouts reigned supreme. The Sixties were swingin’ and so were the interiors.
Things we love about 1960s design that we love seeing again:
- • Bold color palettes, with lots of neons.
• Brightly colored, textured rugs and rugs made in India and Morocco.
• Pink plus red
• Jaw-dropping patterns like Tie-dye, psychedelic, paisley and floral fabrics and ethnic prints
• Graphic pops, like lots of black and white contrasts
• Sleek designs from folks you care about
• Scandinavian-inspired vintage wood pieces or handmade, modern-inspired today pieces
• Wallpaper
• Wood-paneled walls done right
• Interesting accessories
• Flat pack furniture, “S”-shaped or pod-shaped furniture or furniture made of molded plastic
• Open-shelving room dividers
• Pop Art!
• Geometric shapes
• Lucite and colored plastics used for furniture and home accessories.
• A clean, open look
Décor elements from the Sixties we could do without:
- • Shag carpeting
• Wood-paneled walls done wrong
• Shag carpeting
• TV trays
• TV being the center focal point of the living room
• Design elements like Siamese cats, mushrooms, roosters, daisies
• Shag carpeting
• Lava lamps
• Beaded curtains
(Just a few of the) folks who had a big impact on the look of 1960s interiors:
- • David Hicks
• Verner Panton
• Achille Castiglioni
• Tapio Wirkkala
• Marimekko
• Arne Jacobsen
• Pierre Paulin
• Alessi
• Charles and ray Eames
• Herman miller
• Warren platner
• Eero Saarinen
• Hans Wegner
• Milo Baughman
Inspiration from Apartment Therapy posts:
The Drapers' New Living Room Decor
ReadyMade's Andrew Wagner Analyzes Mad Men's Decor
Sex and the Sixties: Verner Panton's Pop Fantasia
Modern Design Auction Preview: The Sixties
Bodum Brings Back Sixties-Style Cone BBQ… and More
Tenbosch House: 60s Scandinavian Style in Brussels
Art & Design: 1960’s Japanese Illustration
Set decor Inspiration: Mad Men
Because this is arguably one of the most beloved eras of interior and furniture design, many folks tend to define its style in many different ways. The ideas and people mentioned in this post are but one tiny little part of the look and style of the Sixties. We'd love to know what defines that decade for you. What colors, patterns and textures remind you of that era? What interior designers and furniture designers do you look to from inspiration? What artists do you covet for your walls? How do you interpret this decade's great look for your own home? Please let us know!
Images: 1 David Hicks' Archive via Elle Decor; 2, top half of 12, 13,14,15: David Hicks' archives; 3: Retro Planet.com; 5,11 House Beautiful; 4, bottom half of 12: AMC; 6: Hive Modern via Elle Decor; 7: Eames Lounge Chair DWR.com; 8: Herman Miller Eames® Storage Unit - 2x2 at DWR.com; 10: Verner Panton Panton Chair from DWR.com, 16: Eero Saarinen from DWR.com; 17: Eames® Molded Plywood Dining Chair from DWR.com; 9: Achille Castiglioni Arco Lamp and Achille Castiglioni Splügen Brau Pendant Lights from 1stdibs; 18: Brass 24 Arm "Sputnik" Chandelier from 1stdibs; 19: Large 'Pollo' Porcelain Vase by Tapio Wirkkala, Free Form Glass Vases by Tapio Wirkkala and Leaf Tray by Tapio Wirkkala from 1stdibs
Ellen's Thirties Style Small Space
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
10 Picnic-Ready Salads to Eat Outside
Make-Ahead Lunch Recipe: Chopped Kale, Farro & Chickpea Salad
I love the 60´s style but these pictures aren't as interesting at the AT post with the 70´s style so maybe I like the 70´s style better than the 60´s. I do love pop art and lucite.
You know what's strange? I love pretty much all the furniture pieces shown and I hate every one of the rooms shown. I would run screaming from every one of them.
There's a disconnect somewhere.
We are beginning a renovation on a 1964 Fred Bassetti house in Washington. As we work through it, I keep asking myself about what 'staying true' to the style means. I find that I definitely trend more to the modern edge of 60s decor versus the more hippie psychedelia. I like the clean lines and the form follows function philosophy. Some of those rooms are fun, but not necessarily ones I'd want. Love pretty much all the furniture too!
Haha! Oops, I love all the stuff in your "done wrong" category... mushrooms! Siamese Cats! Aw, c'mon!
I still have our custom fitting bright plastic tv dinner trays made for holding those little hot foil food units.
Shag carpet is back, baby!
Mushrooms are pretty fun I have to admit.
I´ve got my lava lamp plugged in now.
@Dulcibella - I agree with what you comment on the disconnect between the furniture, and the overall room decoration. Maybe it was more of an excess in decoration at times, as opposed to howwe tend to balance things now. For example, we might want to put some of these bulky, shiny, irregular shaped items with a white/neutral toned background, instead of adding and adding textures and colors. Vice versa, heavy visual carpets, tapestries, and wallpapers would provide the perfect ambience for sleek and simple-lined furniture.
What would the main difference be between 60´s and 70´s era decoration?
I love the hippie, flower-power thing ... Sorry, but to me the Mad Men era was just a holdover of the '50s. The true 60s had nothing to do with good design or status ... It was about peace, love and music, baby! Oh, yeah, and vans with shag carpet and beaded curtains!!!
Funny, how all the usual hipsters from AT have not really commented on this post. Could it be that you were not born yet and for once you are not going to hate on a period you know absolutely nothing about? Cool then. From age 6 to 18, I lived in a early 60's tract ranch house. My parents were from the depression and the other than being proud of being able to buy a home they were most happy was probably when they installed wall to wall carpet and AC in the mid 60's. Lots of pride there. We also had a smallish sectional sofa in the living room that I wish I had now. Also, a sunburst clock that was amazing, and from an earlier period some barkcloth curtains that I wish I had also. This was a tract home in a blue collar subdivision outside of Houston Texas. Still wish I had some of those little 60's accesories. Lost some Franciscan pottery that was only used for special occasions in the dininy room.
Seeing pictures like this always makes me wonder how I would feel if those same photographs were taken with modern cameras and techniques.
Like, I look at some of those rooms and the colors and go "oh god", but I also recognize that the film itself injects its own interpretation. It reminds me of how people flipped out after the cleaning of the sistine chapel because their entire image of the ceiling was made invalid. Having not lived through them I always feel like I am missing something looking at these images, that they are false.
Fond memories of my nana's pied-à-terre, which was totally decorated like pic #13. This was a fun post to read.
Strange that shag carpeting made the "could do without" list. Sure, wall-to-wall shag is better left in the past, but shag area rugs have been back in style for the last several years.
Just had to say that the first picture reminds me of the Black Lodge from Twin Peaks.
Take away the rotary phone (and the ashtray-ha) and put an Apple laptop on that orange desk and you'd really have something today! And all us bloggers would be saying what a genius you were for reinventing that cane chair!
West Elm and Pottery Barn have those chunky shag area rugs that are pretty yummy. Never say never...
I was a teen in the sixties and the Mad Men type decor offended my hippy sensibilities at the time.
shag carpet is IN, a.t.
get over it
http://vimeo.com/26721145 should be used as a nice precursor.