I’m probably committing Bloggy Suicide by posting these pictures. Seriously.
Here’s proof positive that not only were the 80’s a decade riff with fashion disasters, (think mullets, neon colors and BIG hair) if my questionable choice of decor is any indication, home fashions were not far behind in the ‘what were we thinking?‘ category.
I was looking through some photo albums the other day and came across one dedicated to some of the projects I did back then. Looks to me like I had a penchant for florals.
BIG TIME
These pictures are beyond TERRIBLE. But because I luv ya’, and I wanted to give you a good laugh, I’m posting them anyway.
Remember floor cloths? Well, I made a few. Here’s one near our entryway.
And another in our bedroom.
And here’s a fireplace screen Fisherman put together and I painted. I remember this well. It was lots of fun to make and I was pretty proud of it at the time.
See the rocking chair? It’s one of the few pieces we still have after all these years. It started out in the nursery, and now sits happily in our living room at the cabin. It’s hard to see, but the ‘upholstery’ pieces were very long pieces of fabric that were sewn together then had to be turned right side out and braided on the chair. It was one of the most frustrating and time consuming sewing projects I’ve ever done. They’ve long since been removed. Lesson learned.
Another fireplace screen, but this time instead of painting freehand, I used a stencil. I was BIG on stencils back then.
Remember big bows? You’ve seen them on clothing from the 80’s, hats and even handbags, but remember them used like this? Although we don’t have this painting any longer, I still would love to live inside of it. Such a pretty setting!!
Here’s our bedroom, all decked out with flowers, flowers, and more flowers. Do you see that valence? That was dryer venting covered in fabric. Come to think of it, I was pretty inventive in my youth ;).
Another piece we still have is this bed. When we moved in December, we brought it over to the cabin and now it’s in the downstairs bedroom. It provides tons of storage and I would never want to give it up. In total, there are 14 drawers. Six on each side of the bed which we use for out of season clothing or sheets, and two at the foot of the bed that are the full length of the bed which is perfect for items like shoes, bags, even skis!
A couple of more pieces I hand painted. If you look closely on the top left, you can see the floral border near the ceiling. Remember those?
OMG! Is this room busy or what? I remember making those slipcovers. Took a while to make but they helped to cover up the bland, ugly chairs underneath nicely.
Here’s a view into the kitchen from the dining area. Notice the lattice wallpaper? Fisherman built a pot storage rack and I used it to display some copper pieces among other things. In later years, this half wall was removed and we had a peninsula installed which gave us much needed counter space and storage. See the swag at the top of the doorway? They were super popular back then. The picket fence window box was purchased in Quebec while celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Hard to tell but it had a floral stencil on it too. Big surprise.
This was a custom made piece that took me DAYS to paint. I used oil based paint and had to wait a full day in between coats, and I used around 5 coats including the glaze. This piece functioned as Fisherman’s closet, my vanity and a space for a small TV. Years later we added on an addition of a master bedroom and master bath. It’s one of the few areas I truly miss about our home of 26 years.
Here are a couple of nightstands I picked up at a local antique place. We used these for many years before selling them at a garage sale. I prefer nightstands that have storage, because if you know me you know I don’t like things on counters or tables unless there is no other place to put them.
I remember painting the knobs at first using a bright peach color, and Fisherman said they looked like Bozo The Clown. He was right, so I toned it down.
Now I’m gonna go ahead and do something really brave. I’m gonna hit that ‘publish’ button.
(If you thought I had any semblance of style whatsoever, has that thought gone completely out the window? Go ahead. I can take it.)
Sharing At
A Delightsome Life
Throwback Thursday
Kathe says
It’s amazing to see what was the “thing” just 20 years ago isn’t it? You are a brave brave woman Doreen 🙂
Angela says
This is fabulous!!! I remember stenciling my heart out back then and I also had the floral border!!! I wonder what we’re going to think of our style now in another 20 years!! LOL!!~~Angela
Doreen Sargente says
That’s exactly what I was thinking Angela :). Will we look back at all the burlap and chevron and cringe? lol
Have a great weekend!
Cindy Eikenberg says
Doreen, I had SO much fun reading (and seeing!) this post! My mom, bless her, is still lovin and rockin’ the 80’s floral. I just love to look back and see how things have progressed and changed, which is probably why I am totally addicted to my 50+ year old magazine collection. You can, though, always see how something for today morphed from something in the past. Love that you shared this and just remember – this was all awesome at the time! 🙂 Have a great weekend! Hugs!
D says
Very retro like the Goldbergs on TV.
Fun blog!
Ut ooooo neon is back!
🙂
Doreen@househoneys says
Ut ooooo? Is that you talking in code again? lol
Jane says
Doreen, had we been neighbors or BFF’s in the 80’s, we would have been cheering each other on in the decorating department. I had the florals and the stencils big time! You were much more creative then me in the crafting/painting area, you did a lot that you should still be proud of, like the painted rugs and fireplace screens. Times change but at least we can say we keep current!
XO,
Jane
Brenda Callis says
You were absolutely so in style then! And a lot of it showed that Sister Parrish’s style was still having an influence then. Well, actually I don’t think hers ever went out of style. But so much work you put into your rooms. Who would ever have thought it would not be as stylish eventually? Or that huge shoulder pads that made our waists look tiny would go out of style? What will people say 30 years from now about blog style of 2013? I wonder what it will look like then?
Cynthia says
Doreen, I was loving this blog. Boy 80’s everything I think was just too much. We had some of that 80’s flair for sure in our home. We got married in 1988, everything was mauve and blue. The flowers and the curly cues were everywhere. By the way, I even had the big hair to go with it, what were thinking back then. The taller the more hairspray. We laugh about it all the time.
Cynthia
Pearl Maple says
Have really enjoyed your blog posts, how true, we were ever so trendy in the 80s with layers of details of hand stencilled boarders and big floral prints. I am enjoying peeling back and being a bit more rusting rolling into the new century and looking forward to seeing more of your adventures.
Andi says
I LOVE THIS POST!!! This is so awesome. I love looking at decorating trends of the past. We look at the stuff today and think, “that’s NEVER gonna go out of style.” And somehow, everything does! Or it comes back differently (like stencils!!!). Thanks for baring all. It brought major fun to my Sunday cuppa Joe. 🙂
-andi
Al says
This post made me laugh. I was born in the eighties so I never got to enjoy the sense of style or decorating but I think I would have embraced it whole-heartedly. Bring on the stencils.
Vashti Quiroz-Vega says
Wow! Flowers must have really been “In” back then. Ha,ha! I bet your home could have been featured in a Home magazine at the time though. It’s funny to see that not only clothes and hairstyles change with the years, but home decor does too. It’s cool that you posted these. 🙂
Christina says
Oh you are too funny! Kudos for giving us a blast from the past! Don’t worry, you were very on-trend back then! I remember the 80’s far to well and have bad hair photos to prove it!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Sam says
You’re actually quite the artist! I loved going down memory lane with you. Thanks for the little vacation.
Cecilia says
That brought back some memories. I had roses on everything. Yikes, green and rose colors too. Lol
Paula@SweetPea says
Isn’t it funny how our tastes change over the years? Thanks for the trip down memory lane and for sharing with this week’s Throwback Thursday party.