Retro Color: 10 Red and Pink Rooms from the 1960s

Do you know that feeling when your mind says “no way” and your heart says “yes, yes, yes!”…? That’s how these red and pink rooms from the 1960s make us feel — they’re a little bit crazy and a little bit amazing.

Not-even-remotely-reliable sources have told us that painting a room red increases your appetite, energy and amorous desires. While we can't tell you whether or not this is true, looking through these images does make our hearts beat a little faster.

What do you think, would you use these bright 1960s decorating ideas in your home?

(Images: 1-4,6-10 from the book Interior Decoration A to Z published in 1965, 5 from The Practical Encyclopedia of Decorating and Home Improvement, Vol 1 published in 1970)

Comments (14)

Love it! Reminds me of my mom's old Better Homes & Gardens Decorating Book from the 70s.

posted by chriskayTO on October 2nd 2009 at 11:06am
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I loooooove the cowskin rug in the first pic.

posted by clampers on October 2nd 2009 at 11:09am
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These rooms are FUN!

Far better than the "not too bright, we don't want to offend the neighbors" rooms we see so often nowadays...

posted by bepsf on October 2nd 2009 at 11:11am
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And if the red doesn't work, the uber-phallic obelisks in photo 7 should help!

posted by jennyat on October 2nd 2009 at 11:13am
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I actually love the color combo of red and pink (think really cute jonathan adler pillow) but not so sure about some of these rooms...

Erin
SYL: Slipcover Your Life
http://www.slipcoveryourlife.com

posted by Erin Stanton on October 2nd 2009 at 11:24am
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Kudos to jennyat for noticing that! Hilarious! My favorite is photo #5 - wood on the floor, carpet on the furniture, who can not love the 60's?

posted by J Dandy on October 2nd 2009 at 11:34am
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#10 must be Ronald McDonald's reading room.

posted by bitdot on October 2nd 2009 at 11:54am
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um, yeah, what are those things? Candlesticks? I understand going for a decorative look, but that pushes my "useless things all over the wall where something better could have gone" button.

posted by kuroneko on October 2nd 2009 at 11:55am
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#3 looks like it could have been shot yesterday. The others look pretty dated -- and not in a good way.

posted by mirandabee on October 2nd 2009 at 12:04pm
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that little wooden table in #8 is great. and are those bird cages on the dresser?

posted by ghunt on October 2nd 2009 at 1:15pm
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#1, #4, #5, #7, and #10 are amazing!!

posted by CallDoctorBison on October 2nd 2009 at 1:18pm
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Something in me wants the Huey Newton/70s class photo wicker chair to make a comeback. Thankfully I take medication to inhibit that sort of thought pattern.

posted by trikitixa on October 2nd 2009 at 1:23pm
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Love red and pink but I honestly can say I don't see a redeeming element in any of these rooms. I'm a party pooper but I think they're ghastly.

posted by hilaw on October 2nd 2009 at 1:39pm
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I adore those red chairs in #3. Numbers 4 and 6 have some appeal, too.

posted by editrix26 on October 2nd 2009 at 5:28pm
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