The Land of Ugly
Jeoff and I caught the ass end of Parenthood last night. The credits rolled, and I said, “We should totally show this to the kid one day, so that they understand that we grew up in a world of ugly.”
So, yeah. Here’s an homage to the home decor of my childhood. How many of these ring bells for y’all?
The wooden console tv.
Macrame plant hangers.
Clocks trapped under glass.
Twisted wire trees, bought with S&H Green Stamps.
Brass ducks!
Huge tiki chairs!
Weird wooden coffee tables!
There’s probably more that I’ve traumatically blocked. Like, everything being mauve and teal for a little while. Or, those sculptures of disembodied praying hands that my Grandma had. And, I’m pretty sure that every house came equipped with at least one crocheted afghan blanket.
tags: childhood
Harvest Gold, Avocado Green, and sculpted brown carpet. Station wagons. Earth shoes, polyester double knit, Tangee lipstick. Transistor radios. KISS when they were skinny.
Bicentennial Celebration NeoColonialist Minuteman Decal stickers.
— rootietoot Jun 30, 06:33 AM #
Ooh. Textured carpet. I was thankfully born too late for most of the shag rugs… EWW.
— Veronica Jun 30, 12:04 PM #
that tiki chair kicks ASS!
Lessee, we had braided rag rugs…the metal twisty trees, and a whole lotta chipped formica on everything!
— RenegadeEvolution Jun 30, 03:44 PM #
Two words: electric organ.
— Moira Jul 1, 12:42 PM #
My mum likes cherubs.
We even have a wallpaper in the hall downstairs with cherubs on it. The stairs looks like the fucking stairway to heaven, for crying out loud! LOL.
But, least the house looks better (IMHO) than it did when the previous owners lived there – I kid ye not, serious 70ies throwback! Ah, joy of joys! :)
— Amy Jul 1, 04:14 PM #
I went through the Mauve & Dusty Blue phase around ‘90. This also included geese and wood crafts. Some of the geese had bows around their necks.
— more cowbell Jul 1, 10:40 PM #
“Country ducks.” Quack.
— Veronica Jul 2, 11:38 AM #
we had all that. and my mom did the mauve and country blue with ducks theme for her kitchen. also my childhood is haunted by my mom’s owl knick-knacks. owls forever remind me of the 80’s. and don’t forget that the clock under the glass is almost always PLASTIC!
— sam Jul 2, 07:13 PM #
hey, my folks STILL have the crocheted afghan blankets.
we also had, during my childhood:
orange plastic armchair that was precisely the shade and texture of American cheese gone crusty
shiny, shiny black sofa in some unnatural fabric
kitchen in harvest gold, with a car to match (not really, but same color)
big TV on legs that is almost as old as I am and they still have. (they’ve upgraded most everything else, though)
Have you read that James Lileks book on 70’s decor? it is AWESOME.
— belledame222 Jul 2, 07:15 PM #
...i think my grandparents (maternal; paternal were more into “Oriental” antiques in a colorful mishmosh) had that clock under glass. and a sofa permanently encased in plastic. and a fuzzy dog-head-cover over the kleenex box. and a sampler on the bathroom wall saying
EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY
YOU ARE GETTING BETTER AND BETTER
— belledame222 Jul 2, 07:25 PM #
Sam—my grandma collects owl firgurines, too. Some of those fuckers are CREEPY, with their giant eyes, and dust. It’s not good.
Belle—well, there’s something to contemplate on the toilet.
— Veronica Jul 2, 09:03 PM #
hey, i like weird wooden coffee tables!
— nexyjo Jul 10, 05:02 PM #
My aunt had one that was a safety hazard.
— Veronica Jul 11, 11:25 AM #