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Home Decor

Five hottest home design trends: Then and now

We flipped through 85 years of archives to find inspiration for today's hottest trends. You might be surprised by what we uncovered.
Five hottest home design trends: Then and now

Design redux

Exotic tile

Then: Some interiors age better than others. This living room from 1970, with its hip-looking Malm fireplace and patterned-tile floors, looks equally at home today. The only thing that might give away its era is the old TV set!Now: Today, encaustic or cement patterned tile is making a comeback on accent walls or in a small rom like a bathroom. When decorating with patterns, it's a good idea to keep everything else simple — whitewashed floors and an over-dyed rug create balance.

Five hottest home design trends: Then and nowNow Photo by Catherine Gratwicke/Loupe Images

Sky-high stacked cabinets

Then: The 1980s marked the beginning of the bigger-is-better kitchen. As we began to spend more and more time in this room, square footage was swallowed up with large work islands, floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and counter seating.Now: Big-box stores like Ikea and Home Depot offer a multitude of semi-customizable cabinet options that allow you to create the kitchen of your dreams on a reasonable budget. Pro-style appliances, sinks and faucets and hard-wearing countertops give home chefs the conveniences of restaurant cooking.

Five hottest home design trends: Then and nowNow Photo by Stacey Brandford

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Blue-black accents

Then: This 1967 living room, complete with streamlined sofas, abstract art and shag rug, looks like something right out of Mad Men. Hits of navy blue and green add punch to an otherwise neutral scheme.Now: The modern update features an on-trend blue-black wall that makes the light-coloured artwork and sofa pop. Here, an antique daybed and velvet-upholstered chair bring a touch of eclecticism to the contemporary room.

Five hottest home design trends: Then and nowNow Photo by Christopher Sturman

Global flourish

Then: Animal-print cushion covers, engraved boxes and a tiger painting from Rajasthan are all part of the visual feast offered up by this well-travelled photographer's living room.Now: Mixed patterned fabrics, layered rugs and objects picked up from distant locales signal the home of another nomadic traveller. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Five hottest home design trends: Then and nowNow Photo by Eric Piasecki

Furniture...from scratch!

Then: Chatelaine decorated this small 1970 builder home for just $700 as an example of what a young couple could do on a limited budget. It's full of DIY ideas: a living room sofa made of a shag-carpet-covered platform, a concrete-block coffee table and bookcases made from plywood shelving strung with rope.Now: Blogs and Pinterest are filling our screens with countless crafty projects. The DIY esthetic has never been more prevalent — take this sofa constructed entirely out of found shipping pallets!Check out more pallet DIYs on our Pinterest page

Five hottest home design trends: Then and nowNow Photo by Lina Östling

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