The Interior Design/Home Decor Thread

hey, so im movin into a new place in two weeks, thought i'd see who shares my love of interior design here...

im gonna be respawning from 0. here is what my last apt looked like before i moved to nyc for a jaunt, but i wanna go for more of a '70s-inspired vibe this time around.

so i've got a roommate who happens to be my best friend since 6th grade (so some consideration and compromise to be paid) a 2 bd rm, jack n jill single bathroom, 100 year old historic home w good bones and hardwood flooring to work with.

(so being built in the 20s, as much as i'd love a true 70s-style sunken living room, it's flat.)

walls are grey, flooring is dark brown. place is single story, within a larger 4500 sq ft house, so ill have neighbors as well (there go my 2ch drea... oh wait, *checks notes* still don't like speakers, im good).

what are the some house essentials yall would suggest, and in what order?

oh and btw, when i say 70s--i mean velvet, plush, wood paneling (if i had to order a bamboo paneling, i will, i will do it), and lotsa oranges, mustard yellows, greens and browns.

 

some inspo pix

 

colorz

 

what's yalls favorite interior design styles? (and if you have any decor choices for my particular case, pls throw em my way.)

 

I have a rule at my place, the SO takes care of the decoration. I will also be moving soon but i will only take care of my gaming/audio room. The rest is up to her (not the bank card though).

I like to see only a few things around BUT, unfortunately, i have to much things and i haven't found the ideal organization for everything. I would like nice things but those, sometimes, cost a lot of money, that i don't have.

 

We own a single-story ranch farmhouse built in the 70's. We're slowly turning it into an English country manor with dark high end laminate floors (dogs) and fall tones. So far we've finished the library and will be working our way to other rooms.

One advice I'll offer is to stick to your plan and invest in the pieces. Disposing of furniture, rugs, or other items that don't quite work or isn't high quality often costs far more in time, effort, and money than buying the right item once.

For example, Ikea shelving worked great in the library where we could hide the back and sides, but we have a statement piece barrister's bookcase in the basement that really defines the space.

 

i think this is solid advice. I'd rather have a few pieces and a mostly empty home than a shitton of trendy chip"wood", laminate & particle board pieces around.

I think the biggest thing is going to be picking a couch that we like, that will last, we'll most likely go vintage, and an area rug. then the rest will sorta fall into place.

Do you have any suggestions for places to get good furniture?

and for my room, i've been eyeing this admittedly-mid-century Z chair w matching ottoman (not in link) for ab a year now... love the honey mustard color and design, i might eschew my 70s theme for it lol.

 

My wife's good at finding furniture deals. You might want to move fast, today, with the Labor Day discounts. Discounted furniture can also be had from Wayfair: there's a lot of budget stuff and cheap and cheerful furniture, but also remaindered items from more esteemed brands. We're buying a dining table from Castlery. My wife has had good luck buying used items via the offerup app and she says facebook market can be surprisingly decent. Other online marketplaces for used furniture include 1stdibs, chairish, thereelreel.

I'm hate-liking this thread as we closed on our first house 10 days ago and spent several days painting. We did 3 bedrooms, the kitchen and bathroom, and did the ceilings in 2 of these rooms (shockingly, the existing mustard-colored ceiling didn't quite do it for me). We've since spent the last 6 days moving and unpacking. I'm sore, stiff, and achey, grouchy, and I never want to move again. This is our fourth move in five years.

With that said, we've loved being able to do whatever the hell we like with the place. And we love having more space than we've ever had before, coming from apartment living in NYC and in the surrounding metro area. This is also the first time we've lived in houses in decades. So, having 2-3x the space has been glorious, and my wife and I have each taken a bedroom for ourselves. I'll post before and after pics of my listening room once it's complete, but I really enjoyed having carte blanche to go wild and make the space my own. I wanted a mellow room, nothing too bright, for my listening space (we get glorious light elsewhere in the house), and I landed on a paint called "Mariana Trench" at Lowes, which is pretty bold and fun.



(don't worry, I didn't leave the wall like this, resembling a Franz Kline abstract mural)

 

If you'll be acquiring well-known designs, think also about whether it's important to you for the pieces to be genuine -- either antiques or new licensed production -- or if replicas / knockoffs are ok.

And remember that in addition to the famous designers and their iconic pieces, there were plenty of relatively unknown designers doing excellent work -- and even now, there's lots of design that was inspired by or is otherwise complementary to Seventies design. So your house doesn't need to end up looking like a period movie set or this Architonic page -- you can anchor a room with a well-known piece of Seventies furniture or decor without having to fill the room with that stuff.

Also keep in mind that as in all other eras, there was A LOT of derivative poorly-made crap being produced in the Seventies. So be picky. Wait for the right thing.

Ebay for vintage furniture. Estate sales & auctions if you live in a big enough city (although it was probably a lot easier 10 or 20 years ago to find one-owner 1970s furniture in those places). Maybe get to know some local antique dealers, especially if they usually deal in things other than Seventies furniture -- tossing them a 10% finder's fee might encourage them to let you know when they see stuff you might want.

For new furniture... It kinda depends on your definition of "good". Many of the original manufacturers are still in business and still making their old designs. Those are the highest-quality products, but prices for those new items will generally be higher than for vintage pieces on Ebay. For less money, Chinese knockoffs of everything are available at Wayfair and Amazon (try searching Amazon for "z armchair" to see chairs like the one you linked to). Quality of the knockoffs can range from sub-Ikea to just fine, and unfortunately it's hard to tell from the photos on the web pages.

For inspiration you can always scroll through 1stdibs, but prices there are high. If you read, a great source of ideas would be books and magazines from the Seventies about furniture and decorating. Ebay can be a good source for those books if you can't find them at your local library.

 

@caute We have the benefit of being near enough to Wisconsin and Illinois so we tend to pick up furniture at estate sales or antique stores.

 

Nice thread idea. Don't think it's quite what you're posting about, but I often drool over listening rooms on Audiogon and Steve Hoffman forums. I especially enjoy living areas that are focused around the hi-fi (and not a TV). Even better when there's a mid-century vibe and/or a wall of neatly shelved records.

There's also something pleasing about a kind of shaggy, eclectic vibe, which is likely closer to how most people actually live anyway. Mid-century is beautiful, but I also wonder if I like it b/c the layouts are often unrealistically uncluttered.

Having sat on a few period pieces (Corbu armchair and maybe a Barcelona??), they're also not always so comfortable. I'm sure other pieces are nice sits though.

I've had decent luck at Room and Board's outlet store, though you're at the mercy of whatever they get in. Their stuff seemed well made to me.

Whether one can actually incorporate a hi-fi into a good looking room or not is sort of an open question to me. But I've seen some nice rooms. Separate, windowless listening rooms don't really appeal to me.

 

Just moved into a new place and I'm really excited to start making it feel like home. It's pretty bare bones at the moment, so I'm looking forward to gradually adding some personality and coziness to the space.

So far, I got a new 2 seater couch. I figured it's a good starting point since it's something I'll be using every day, and it sets the tone for the rest of the living room. If the OP still needs mid-century furniture, I got mine from What A Room. You can look at their custom sofas here. They have some velvet designs that remind me of the 70's.
Next up, I'm eyeing some accent chairs to complement the couch and provide extra seating for guests. I'm also on the hunt for a coffee table that ties everything together.
In terms of decor, I'm leaning towards artwork and rugs to add warmth and personality to the walls and floors.

I'm taking it slow and enjoying the process. Can't wait to see how it all comes together.

 

We need more pics here.

 

I'm thinking you're a bot or did Baudrillard show up?

 

When the AI boom crashes, can we call it the endless recession of simulacra?