Avocado Green and Harvest Gold were important colors (especially in appliances), and were frequently mixed with toned-down versions of sixties orange. Primary colors, often seen in the more futuristic pieces of the period (such as molded plastic furniture), added a playful element to the overall palette of the decade.
FIRST ROW:
1. This poster by Sebastian Nordlund is a great example of the earth-toned graphics that were popular in the 1970s. From Society 6.
2. An iconic 70s television series if there ever was one, The Brady Bunch ran from 1969 to 1974, and has been in syndication ever since the series ended. Photo from IMDb.
3. A 1973 ad for Zomp shoes in Italian magazine Ars Sutoria highlights the bright and playful side of the seventies. Via Paddock.
4. Pierre Paulin said, "A chair should be more than simply functional. It should be friendly, fun and colorful." Designed in 1973, his F-598 chair is all that and more; epitomizing the body-hugging upholstered furniture representative of the time. From Hive Modern.
5. Interiors in the seventies were often cheerful and curvaceous, as evidenced by this dining room featuring Eero Saarinen's signature Tulip chairs and matching table. From a 1970's Better Homes & Garden book on decorating, via ultrafinepoint.
SECOND ROW:
6. A Panosonic ad featuring colorful, futuristic transistor radios speaks to the whimsical side of 70s design. Via Idler's Corner.
7. This kitchen image from Expo Lounge highlights the wood and earth tone palette so prevalent in the seventies.
8. An assortment of colors available from Kohler's kitchen and bath collection during the 1970s (including Avocado Green and Harvest Gold, of course).
9. One can't reminisce about the seventies without mentioning disco! This soundtrack album cover from the wildly popular movie Saturday Night Fever uses black and primary colors as the perfect backdrop for John Travolta's swingin' white suit. Via Fran and Dave's Musical Adventure.
10. This catalog image of women's fashion circa 1974 pays homage to the sweater vest, in all of its groovy glory. From Retrospace.
(Images: as linked above.)
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
The color palettes are really great as well as the shapes of the furniture, shoes, and radios. Those vertical blinds in the dining room photo though - here's hoping those are gone for good. And the CRAZY shingled roofline covering the soffits in the kitchen - how did that happen? Yikes.
Love this post, and the colors of the 70's. My favorite color combo at the moment is avocado green and sunflower mixed together.
I've always hated the colors of the 70's. Blech! Of course the 80's weren't that great either with all it's neon.
White was a huge component of 70's colors, usually paired with sunflower yellow, orange and some sort of lime green. I was a kid in the 70's and I remember it everywhere along with backdrops of dark brown, harvest gold, avocado green and dusty turquoise. Seems like the 70's were pretty much the 60's taken to an extreme, when it finally reached it's peak and everyone started with the "Disco sucks" it suddenly crashed and the conservative modernism and 'corporate is cool' , big hair, big shouldered 80's began. Although some components of each decorating era are really gret, I can't make a 70's theme without it feeling stifling, although it's one I've tried.
Our kitchen growing up was themed in brown and dark oranges, and we ate off these Corelle dishes with green flowers on the edges:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/51836646/cute-stackable-vintage-corelle-spring?ref=sr_gallery_11&ga_includes[]=tags&ga_search_query=corelle+dinnerware&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery
I remember all of my friends having similar dishes in their homes, though some were blue or brown.
I have a copy of a 1973 Reader's Digest Do-it-Yourself Manual on Etsy. Full of cool retro pictures that really take me back to my childhood. Check it out if you are interested.
"1973 Reader's Digest Complete Do-it-Yourself Manual - Hardback - Great Photos and Advice."
Aieee! Not sure if this is a flashback or a nightmare, lol. Never do I want to return to a world framed in harvest gold & avocado green. And don't get me started on the dark wood paneling.
Wow, that kitchen is insane:)
I love seeing things like the tulip chairs in the context of a different era too.
So happy warm modern is coming back. Head to toe 70's is over the top, but the atomic mid century modern is hard to live with. Too stylized. I think warm modern works better. Nubby fabrics. Avocados and gold.
I've been thinking it's time to go this way. Cork lamps with chrome. Franciscan ware earthenware like the pebble pattern. Or Casual Ceram Made In Japan. Thinking about getting some before it gets too expensive and collectible. And yes, even Corelle. Those plates are great and still cheap second hand. I don't think they will be in two years.
Forgo rust colors, but have reds, teals, mustard yellows on wood.
Out of curiosity, what will we collect after the 80's? Beginning in the 90's, everything was made in china, a bit contemporary, mcmansion stuff that bores me. I can look back on every decade, 20's art deco, 40's mission/arts and crafts, franciscan ware desert rose, jadeite, 50's atomic mcm, metal starting to show in the glassware, 60's warmer with some atomic, more pottery and handmade, 70's warm, rustic, japanese modern, 80's chrome and leather. Then it falls off a cliff. Are we just going to go back to the beginning again?
Just reading all the comments...yes these photos are all over the top-popish. Look at a book called "Handcraftered Modern" . The new 70's modern will be more like Frank Lloyd Wright in his later years (the desert stuff) or todays post about Jaymes Row House. 70's colors on recycled handcrafted elements. Less clutter than what is in these photos.
this photo...all 70's colors, but toned down. This is what I'm talking about.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/jaymes-row-house-rehabhouse-call-179544#comments
Don't like it.
Didn't like it the first go round, either.
Yup, the ugly 'harvest gold' '70s; mixed with Mediteranian,/John Denver 'country' look. The '60s were turbulent; 'cept for pre '64. The '70s were muddy waters.
Forgot to mention I have a modest...collection of those soft cover magazine type DIY books that pretty much debuted in the early 70's. The publisher was often Sunset magazine or the like and the vast majority of mine have something to do with houseplants, the golden era of indoor plants after the victorians started it. They are also a good source of what was "right" about 70's deco and there was a lot that was right about it, I have to say. Also like to add that the apex of 70's deco was their not giving a second thought to the use of big bold works of modern art in public spaces, something you just don't see today. Sunrise Mall (yes built in 1970 I believe) in Sacramento, had a huge Alexander Calder stabile in it's central atrium, and light sculptures over the entrances that cast orange and yellow shadows on the sidewalk as the sun moved, all torn down in favor of typical southern CA hacienda style stucco crud with no ornamentation sometime after. Another example was the Denny's -yes- nearby, it had a huge shag rug wall hanging of a minimalist sunset in all the classic colors described above except green or white, and Isamu Noguchi type ceiling lanterns, very chic for what even then was a no frills meal. I think part of went away with the 70's was the appreciation of the public's intelligence and ability to appreciate an artistic environment, in favor of building and decorating as cheaply as possible since the owner/designers are just trying to make a buck off the public. It's an insult at worst and a stagnation that brings everyone down over time at best.
Oh, our children and grandchildren will collect fake vintage industrial objects, like steel lockers brushed out of their paint until they all look all shiny, old Apple iPhones and Macs used as decorative props, whatever is made of plywood (seriously, it seems like every other hip clothing store is built out of bare plywood), those mini Ball jars that people use to gift you 2 spoonful of homemade jars, and look at all those kitchens with all-steel appliances and subway tiles backsplash, the twee graphic design posters with little birds mimicking Twitter, etc, etc.
Expect the home decor blogs of the future to have features on "remember IKEA's Expedit bookshelves?", and whatever will replace eBay to regurgitate all sorts of Etsy homemade items that will have become homemade by then. Books will make a comeback as adorably retro.
I'm most certainly wrong on all counts, but I'm sure there will be something, even if it's not immediately obvious to us.
@skdavids - we had those dishes too, in that same green, and I only realized how much sentiment they held once I moved away. My mom got rid of them sometime, so I had to track down a fresh set online a few years back, but I still love them and use them often.