Stories Written By: Rennie Hand

Just thought I’d let you know that I’m still working on the forum archives. Been adding more thread posts from the Music section and it’s a pretty enjoyable job reading through all the old posts and seeing the banter going back and forth on top of the subject matter is really cool.

So I was thinking it would be great to get those forums back up and running to get a good 70s community together so if you could pop over to www.escapetotheseventies.com/70s-community whilst it’s in it’s beta stage and join in the conversations so when we have a little community there and finish our tweaking we’ll be able to launch it straight away with a ready made community.

Keep it cool… keep it groovy

Recently trawling the net for 70s news I came across this great article by Pele Findson, who writes for The West Australian. It seems that the 70s are influencing today’s home decor much more than we ever knew. In particular the older arts of crafting seems to be coming back into fashion with Macrame, cross stitch and even knitting growing in popularity.

It gave us purple kitchens and shag pile bathrooms but it seems we’ve forgotten the painful decor memories the 70s served up and are remembering the good times instead.

“The era we are going through is not too different to the 70s, an era that was coming out of financial hardship during which interiors were minimalist and kept neutral,” stylist Jo Carmichael said.

“As time edged into the 70s, safe colour schemes were replaced with fun and frivolous colour palettes and pieces that reflected their owners’ personalities.

“It’s not quite an explosion of colour but the safe, calm interiors of the past few years are making

way for pops of colour in lighting, upholstery and accent chairs.

“The return of neon and bold geometric prints is a good example of this. And although it’s been back for a while, wallpaper is taking on more daring patterns and colour combinations.”

The increasing popularity of craft, such as macrame and cross stitch, was also a nod to the 70s.

“Craft helps us put character and personality into our homes and websites like Etsy (etsy.com) and madeit (madeit.com) help us do that,” she said.

Iconic furniture pieces to take inspiration from included Eero Saarinen’s signature Tulip tables and chairs, the Verner Panton S Chair and the cane peacock chair.

Deborah Dickson, from Bluebird Vintage, said the beauty of 70s-inspired homewares was that they worked well with modern decor.

“Danish teak, bright Italian plastics, West German pottery and kitsch laminate is back, and we love it!” she said.

“Whether it’s sleek and modular or rustic and bohemian, 70s pieces sit nicely alongside contemporary pieces because they’re functional, too.

“They also bring a touch of something special and unique to an otherwise neutral room.”

Interior designer Jo Lively, from Brush Interiors, said the key to successfully introducing retrostyle pieces into your home was to mix the old with the new.

“Modern 70s styling has a quieter, softer look incorporating the best elements,” she said.

“Those earthy tones, such as avocado green and orange, work well mixed with contemporary colours and pieces.”

And a little goes a long way, Ms Lively added.

“Often, it can be one thing that creates the effect such as a hanging egg chair in a room or outdoor area, a curtain of beads in a doorway or a pendant light with bold geometric styling.”

Ms Carmichael suggested teaming yolk yellow or tomato red with teal and natural wood for a cool 70s palette.

“We are trying not to be as oppressive as the era became with all-clad wood panelling rooms and wall-to-wall carpets,” she said.

“Try accent panelled walls instead or parts of your kitchen cabinetry in a wood veneer.”

When it came to floors, Ms Carmichael pointed to accent rugs.

“We are seeing round grass rugs in patterns that are like a time warp, like the Armadillo & Co rugs,” she said.

Jo Lively had another tip: “Source kitsch pieces from second-hand shops, markets or online to add personality and nostalgia to the space.”

“’10 ways to tap into the seventies trend”‘

“‘1. Geometric prints”‘

“‘2. Wallpaper”‘

“‘3. Beaded curtains”‘

“‘4. Macrame”‘

“‘5. Cross stitch”‘

“‘6. Danish teak”‘

“‘7. Wood veneer panels”‘

“‘8. Pottery”‘

“‘9. Plastic”‘

“’10. Indoor pot plants”‘

Courtesy of  http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/article/15400523/bringing-70s-style-into-the-home/

Hi everyone, we thought it might be good to have one place where you can keep up with what’s happening on the site and also where you can keep up to date with any news relevant to the 70s.

We’ve been working hard lately on tweaking the forums ready for their launch, in particular the log in. We’ve decided to make it easier we’d let you use your Twitter & Facebook details so there’s no need for you to enter email addresses and go through the rigmarole of confirmation. You will be able to go right in and drop your comment in just using the one click social media log in.

The members of the original forums from 5 years ago….. yes we’ve been around for that long, will be very pleased…or maybe not lol, to see a lot of the old threads being uploaded into our Forum archive section. I’ve added a few more today but still have the huge music section to do yet.

Some news for all you Rod Stewart fans, He’s doing a summer tour next year in the UK so if you’re a fan of the Scottish crooner check out this link Rod Stewart Summer Tour

That’s all the news for today, I’ll have another update for you tomorrow.

Don’t forget….. Keep it cool, keep it groovy