8 Ways to Embrace ’70s Style at Home

Walking into the 1920s West Hollywood bungalow owned by Heather Taylor and Alex de Cordoba, you’re entering a home filled not with Jazz Age glamour or sturdy Craftsman charm, but with the spirit of an era not universally beloved by those who lived through it: the 1970s.

Maybe it helps that the 30-something couple view those years with the affectionate nostalgia of early childhood. “Stylis­tically, it’s one of my favorite decades,” says Heather, who co-owns an art gallery (taylordecordoba.com) with Alex and designed their home’s interiors. “I love the films, the fashion, and the look of the whole era—those warm, earthy, funky combinations of colors and shapes, the handcrafted vibe.”

And the house demonstrates how the best principles of that time—mixing old with new, heirloom with handmade, patterns with more patterns—can look just as fresh today.

In the living room, floral fabrics mingle with graphic prints, and Moroccan and Mexican accessories with midcentury furniture. All are linked by a typically ’70s palette. “As long as there’s an aspect that connects color or tone or shape, they’ll complement one another,” says Heather.

Bringing the outdoors inside with plants, cut flowers, and the like is, as Heather says, the quickest way to make a room feel fresh and beautiful: “You can buy a plant for six bucks.”

While bold patterns and bright fabrics rule the rest of the house, the bedroom is a tranquil zone of woven linens (matteohome.com). “I think of these spaces as a neutral escape from the rest of the house,” Heather says. “A kind of respite from it all.”

The ’70s were not a time immune to … interesting taste, and that’s something we can still get behind, in small doses. Case in point: these postwar West German ceramics from Retro Gallery on La Brea Avenue.

“The house is user-friendly—I want people to feel welcome,” says Heather. And keeping the place settings casual helps too: The red bowls, for instance, cost a dollar apiece at a hardware store in the Mexican countryside south of Zihuatanejo. “I don’t care if you break anything,” Heather adds.

In the spirit of Earth Day, celebrated for the first time in 1970, old materials find new use in the backyard. The deck was constructed from bits and pieces left behind by the house’s previous owners; the farmhouse table and the bench were made from salvaged scaffolding.

Heather keeps her colorful Le Creuset cookware (a cult favorite 40 years ago that will never go out of style) where everyone can see it. Note that the stove is not a period piece—no avocado or goldenrod appliances in sight.

Heather’s been knitting for years—these yarn bowls belonged to her grandmother. She recently started learning to weave too. “I love thinking, I can do this. I can make fabric right now,” says Heather. Next up: macramé?