I think when it comes to home decor, when we are in an AirBnb or someone else’s house for whatever, my wife has commented on “Millennial tastes”.
And now I cannot unsee it…it’s mostly about the bland colors. Ironically, it always reminds me of what I would see in 80s movies or movies supposedly set in the 80s - those always seemed so cold and austere; it seems like Gen Y went through some kind of weird throwback to that kind of aesthetic.
There are a bunch of “by decade” style things. I bet someone has done one for interior design.
searches
If one takes this as authoritative, I’d say that it well predates Gen Y. Going by the text in this article, it sounds like the peak was maybe the 1960s or 1970s.
Bright colors were introduced in the 60s, along with new shapes and designs. Neon colors, bold prints, and texture fabrics were common design elements of home interiors. Couches and chairs were often covered with wild fabrics (influences of the hippie movement). 60s homes also had shag carpeting and wood-paneled walls to create a cozy space. Lamps were also a huge part of defining any space; lamps in the 60s had interesting shapes, and paper lampshades were colorful.
Influenced by the space race, furniture and decorations in 60s homes looked like they came straight from the future. Homebuilders also integrated technology and used new materials in home construction.
1970s
Color continued to be a large part of interior design in the 1970s as self-expression flourished. Mustard yellow was a favorite, but it was often combined with other bright colors to create a unique palette. Crafts and DIY projects were commonly seen throughout the 70s house to reflect the individuality of the time period.
Nature replaced the technology influences from the 60s, as society became more socially conscious. As a result, design relied on organic lines, colors, and forms. Many homes had large windows or skylights to bring in natural light. And interior designers also began to think more about self-sufficient designs and creating an environmentally-friendly space.
This says that pastels started to become a thing in 1980s — that’s still color, but more muted.
1980s
Triangles were a popular shape in the 1980s, and pastel colors were extremely popular. Pastels offered a softer color palette than the 70s. Floral patterns were popular, especially for drapes and bedding. Chintz often decorated homes in the 80s, along with floor-sweeping window drapes.
Overall, interior design trends of this time period were often a conglomeration of previous decades. Interior design in the 80s reflected opulence, ornamentation, and over-indulgence. But unique to the 80s was the concept of an open kitchen. This layout was designed for family living and helped create a more open dining area and living room.
In the 1990s, they say it started to be common to just have beige or white rooms:
1990s
During the 90s, interior design focused on creating a comfortable space. Homes had neutral colors and featured natural wood. Natural wood cabinets were extremely popular in kitchens. If a kitchen didn’t have natural wood cabinets, it probably had white cabinets. Walls in some rooms were covered in a patterned wallpaper to add some color and texture, but it wasn’t uncommon to see a room that was just beige and white.
Furniture and decor were somewhat minimal, especially compared to the 80s. Wall-to-wall carpet helped some homes feel cozier. And long drapes continued to be quite popular.
They don’t say much about the 2000s except that green became more common as an accent:
2000s
Interior design in the 2000s was extremely environmentally-friendly. Greens became more stylish as a wall color or accent color. Homeowners sought after materials that were better for the environment, like recycled materials, and environmentally-friendly appliances. Some homeowners went as far as to bring the outdoors inside by building sunrooms to let in a lot of natural sunlight.
Overall, the layout of homes in the 2000s was more relaxed than in previous decades. Open floor plans allowed interior designers and homeowners to choose what they wanted a space to become. For example, it was common to have an “office” area with a computer in the heart of the home instead of in a separate room.
They say that neutral colors dominated in the 2010s:
2010s
Because of the global marketplace that exists today, anyone can be an interior designer. Cookie-cutter designs just don’t cut it. Homeowners looking for something unique to make their house stand out. Designs today feature handmade craftsmanship and showcase the DIY attitude. And you will find eclectic decor that makes a home feel authentic and genuine.
While there is still room for accents of color and sections of prints, homes are typically painted with more neutral colors like grays and tans to create a clean look and a cozy atmosphere. Homes continue to be built with open layouts to accommodate families.
And that you still had neutral tones in the 2020s (and minimalism is mentioned)
2020s
The 2020s interior design trends focus on sustainability and smart home technology, reflecting a global awareness of environmental impact and technological integration.
Eco-friendly materials and upcycled furnishings dominate, supporting a greener lifestyle. The rise of smart devices and home automation allows for energy-efficient and convenient living. Style-wise, there’s a shift towards minimalism with a twist, incorporating bold statement pieces and vibrant accents against a backdrop of neutral tones.
Multifunctional spaces are essential, accommodating remote work and wellness activities. Natural light and biophilic design principles enhance the connection to the outdoors, promoting health and well-being in home environments.
So, this doesn’t have numbers, and I like numbers, but I’ll buy that it’s at least a rough approximation of what things looked like. If this is correct, the shift away from vibrant colors had to have at least started by the 1980s. If you figure that new households had maybe people that were, say, 20, that’d be people maybe born in 1960, so late Boomers or maybe early Gen X are about the latest that the shift could have started.
That being said, it also seems fair to say that it was a progression, and it was probably taken further by later generations.
I always figured some of the cold and modern look you’d see in the 80s - at least from the upper upper class - was a reaction to some of what the 60s and 70s was known for and how garish and maybe gauche that seemed to people living in the 80s looking back on the (fashion) excesses of the 60s and 70s…I mean shag carpet and bright orange, holy shit.
I mean, the middle class and the poor cannot really cycle through things like this at the pace that the upper upper class can, and so I’d see things like avocado decor especially in the bathroom and kitchen which was tres cool in the 70s - for probably a year or two - in people’s homes well into the 80s and 90s and in some cases, the 00s. So I think what we experience in the everyday is probably blurred across decades of what is considered fashionable.
I think, from past reading, that some of the shift to white — well, or at least light colors — may have been with the intention of making interiors brighter. Like, more reflected light, so for a given amount of light from windows or from lamps, the room is better lit.
Like, I remember a lot of 1970s-era stuff looking dark and shadowed. Dark wood paneling and often darker furniture. If you look at photos of house interiors that people took, a lot were also kinda dark. The 1960 and 1970 shots from the above article aren’t dark, but those are gonna be professionally-taken pieces, might have light diffusers or whatever set up for the shot. If you have light colored stuff all over, the light bounces around more, get more diffuse lighting.
You can do even better if you do things like have mirrored walls, but that’s fragile and can be obnoxious.
So it might have been a shift based on functionality to try to get more and more-diffuse lighting, and white just happened to be the most-reflective color.
Today we can do energy-efficient diffuse lighting with things like LED strips. If wanting more diffuse light is the dominant factor causing a shift towards white, I wonder if extensive use of that might reduce the desire for light colors. Though…that doesn’t help where one is relying on sunlight during the day.
There are passive devices that can gather sunlight. I remember that sailing ships used to use these glass things that were flush with the deck but had a sort of crystal shape to pipe more light down to the top deck. That wasn’t a lot of light — ship interiors were dark — but maybe we could use some combination of that and other stuff.
Prism lighting is the use of prisms to improve the distribution of light in a space. It is usually used to distribute daylight, and is a form of anidolic lighting.
Prism lighting was popular from its introduction in the 1890s through to the 1930s, when cheap electric lights became commonplace and prism lighting became unfashionable. While mass production of prism lighting systems ended around 1940,[1] the 2010s have seen a revival using new materials.[2]
I think when it comes to home decor, when we are in an AirBnb or someone else’s house for whatever, my wife has commented on “Millennial tastes”.
And now I cannot unsee it…it’s mostly about the bland colors. Ironically, it always reminds me of what I would see in 80s movies or movies supposedly set in the 80s - those always seemed so cold and austere; it seems like Gen Y went through some kind of weird throwback to that kind of aesthetic.
Thinks of how to look up some data on this.
There are a bunch of “by decade” style things. I bet someone has done one for interior design.
searches
If one takes this as authoritative, I’d say that it well predates Gen Y. Going by the text in this article, it sounds like the peak was maybe the 1960s or 1970s.
https://mcarthurhomes.com/design-by-decade/
This says that pastels started to become a thing in 1980s — that’s still color, but more muted.
In the 1990s, they say it started to be common to just have beige or white rooms:
They don’t say much about the 2000s except that green became more common as an accent:
They say that neutral colors dominated in the 2010s:
And that you still had neutral tones in the 2020s (and minimalism is mentioned)
So, this doesn’t have numbers, and I like numbers, but I’ll buy that it’s at least a rough approximation of what things looked like. If this is correct, the shift away from vibrant colors had to have at least started by the 1980s. If you figure that new households had maybe people that were, say, 20, that’d be people maybe born in 1960, so late Boomers or maybe early Gen X are about the latest that the shift could have started.
That being said, it also seems fair to say that it was a progression, and it was probably taken further by later generations.
I always figured some of the cold and modern look you’d see in the 80s - at least from the upper upper class - was a reaction to some of what the 60s and 70s was known for and how garish and maybe gauche that seemed to people living in the 80s looking back on the (fashion) excesses of the 60s and 70s…I mean shag carpet and bright orange, holy shit.
I mean, the middle class and the poor cannot really cycle through things like this at the pace that the upper upper class can, and so I’d see things like avocado decor especially in the bathroom and kitchen which was tres cool in the 70s - for probably a year or two - in people’s homes well into the 80s and 90s and in some cases, the 00s. So I think what we experience in the everyday is probably blurred across decades of what is considered fashionable.
I think, from past reading, that some of the shift to white — well, or at least light colors — may have been with the intention of making interiors brighter. Like, more reflected light, so for a given amount of light from windows or from lamps, the room is better lit.
Like, I remember a lot of 1970s-era stuff looking dark and shadowed. Dark wood paneling and often darker furniture. If you look at photos of house interiors that people took, a lot were also kinda dark. The 1960 and 1970 shots from the above article aren’t dark, but those are gonna be professionally-taken pieces, might have light diffusers or whatever set up for the shot. If you have light colored stuff all over, the light bounces around more, get more diffuse lighting.
You can do even better if you do things like have mirrored walls, but that’s fragile and can be obnoxious.
So it might have been a shift based on functionality to try to get more and more-diffuse lighting, and white just happened to be the most-reflective color.
Today we can do energy-efficient diffuse lighting with things like LED strips. If wanting more diffuse light is the dominant factor causing a shift towards white, I wonder if extensive use of that might reduce the desire for light colors. Though…that doesn’t help where one is relying on sunlight during the day.
There are passive devices that can gather sunlight. I remember that sailing ships used to use these glass things that were flush with the deck but had a sort of crystal shape to pipe more light down to the top deck. That wasn’t a lot of light — ship interiors were dark — but maybe we could use some combination of that and other stuff.
searches
Apparently I’m thinking of a deck prism.
According to Wikipedia, something analogous was used in buildings, but electric lighting kind of killed it off.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prism_lighting
ETA: I just read that avocado made/is making some kind of comeback from the 1970s…yikes.