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AMERICAN HOMES

Settling Down

Following the exuberance of the affluent and innovative 1960s, interior design in the 1970s settled down. The poor economic situation provoked moderation in home design. Rather than bizarre experimentation, people were interested in historic preservation. As a result old homes were renovated, and urban neighborhoods were reclaimed. Some homeowners combined preservation with economic moderateness by remodeling existing homes and converting stables, carriage houses, clock towers, and barns into dwellings. Eclecticism in interior design grew throughout the decade.

Opening Up Space

Open space became very popular in the 1970s. With its roots in the egalitarianism of the 1960s counterculture, interior design sought to create community by dispensing with walls as rigid space dividers. Contemporary designers of homes, offices, and schools opened up rooms to full sunlight and outside views while still accommodating the needs of the occupant. These wide-open spaces were called "interior environments." Space was no longer divided into rooms but into activity centers for eating, study, or work. Areas were separated by plants or furniture groupings.

Offices

The concept of open-space planning dominated office design in the 1970s. It provided a flexibility in the work environment, conducive to instant change and renovation. These open offices required new kinds of furniture that could be moved and combined easily. For example, fixed walls were replaced with movable screens, and free-standing storage units were mobile and could be attached to table desks or other work surfaces or put on wheels. Living plants became prominent features of modern offices and restaurants. According to a leading horticulturist, the reason for the plants' popularity was "a new understanding of the fact that people are unhappy without plants and flowers around them."

Schools

The tearing down of interior walls in schools reflected a new attitude toward school programs. Work stations and large open rooms replaced the small class-room divided by subject or grade. Carrels equipped with technical learning aids encouraged students to work at their own paces in a communal setting. Wide-open school areas also reflected a new interest in approaching learning from many different vantage points. Schools across the country embraced the new flexible attitude toward learning and the new interior learning environment.

Homes

The open-space plan, created by removing the solid barriers that enclosed each room, became increasingly popular in home design in the 1970s. Furniture arrangements emphasized flexibility and mobility. As with businesses and schools, open-room home design organized space into active and quiet areas, shared or private areas within one big environment. In June 1973 House and Garden writer Emilie O'Mara wrote that 1970s interiors reflected the public's urge to change: "We're constantly changing and if we deny that fact we are just deluding ourselves." People developed new tastes, new interests, and new relationships. Lifestyle and home design reflected these changes.

Furniture

Furniture for open-spaced living environments was modular and versatile. Pieces could be fit together in different shapes to fit the mood of the moment. Ottomans could become chairs with attached back bolsters and arms, and sofa pieces could be arranged in a conversation cluster or an island of seating arrangements. The popular bunk bed was redesigned to include shelving and desks that also could be redesigned into new combinations.

Designers at Home

In the 1970s fashion designers entered the lucrative market of domestic furnishings. Following a trend started by designer and perfume manufacturer Coco Chanel, U.S. and European fashion designers branched out into designing sheets, pillowcases, watches, luggage, needlepoint patterns, wallpaper, and shopping bags. Bill Blass, three-time Coty winner, turned his color and fabric expertise to bed and bath. Blass sheets and pillowcases could be coupled with quilts and towels in matching colors. Rudi Gernreich was inspired by his own 1972 fashions to make pillows and throws in geometric patterns for his home. An international company bought them on sight. Vera, the U.S. designer most widely known for her signature scarves, launched her own set of matching sheets, pillows, quilts, and shower curtains in 1970. Vera's bright bold colors against a solid white or black backdrop made her one of the period's most popular home furnishings designers.