Have been reading this while eating lunch and twice almost spewed a mouth full of rice all over my keyboard from laughing. Yup, had the geese in the kitchen, too. And acid-washed jeans, and big hair, and shoulder pads. Uff da!

When we bought my mom's house, one of the first things we did was tear up the pink carpet throughout the main living areas. Yikes! When Mom moved from assisted living where she took her mauve/blue couch to a nursing facility where she doesn't have room for her own furniture last year, we tried to garage sale the couch and matching chair. Excellent condition, good quality but UGLY! We had to give it away for free just so we wouldn't have to haul it away or try to foist it on the Salvation Army.

springroz - My bridesmaids wore long skirts, made by my mom and were striped with the jewel tones of blue, pink and then green and yep, they were made out of taffeta.

I am so envious of you guys with your muscle cars, I drove a '69 Austin Cambridge with stick-shift.

And for those of you who have posted pics of yourselves, hair notwithstanding, you guys are gorgeous.

I have so enjoyed this thread. Brought back many awful decorating memories!!!!

Oh hair haha! Here I am about a week and a half-ish before the birth of my other son. He had a gnome head and wouldn't drop. Joan Jet hair!!! This is so funny looking, didn't believe in maternity clothes because I thought them too foo foo and that they made me look fatter. Look at the eighties shorts lol. Sorry to bore you with this. I was looking for my first all by myself apartment pictures (still can't find them) but did find the PG ones. The eighties were just a whole bunch of bad hair, bad clothes and bad decor colors.

I found a photo from my 1988 wedding. Here's the Margo's La Mode dress and the turdy little hat, and a whole mess of permed hair. Gah!

In the 80s, I apparently felt that every square inch must be decorated. And obviously I liked the dress and turdy little hat so much that I incorporated them into the scheme. I give you ... My 1980s House of Horrors:

Looking from the kitchen into the dining room. I itch just looking at all this crap.

Oh my! My fav is the bedroom drapes, shrine on the dresser and who could resist the bathroom of LOVE with hearts and all. That was one happening tub in its day.

Oh, Lawd, Auntjen!!!! I can't top those! You were a lovely bride for the times. I swear DH had almost the exact bedroom set when we married. Dresser with the shelves, etc.

We were married in 1981. Small wedding in my parent's home (day after Christmas), so no bridesmaids. Now I'm wondering what colors I would have chosen.

awm, the paneling was nice and we hated to paint it... but we lived there 20+ years and grew tired of the pine. We painted it the first time all three of our children were gone to summer camp (aka ALL alone!). Took us three days (Kilz, then two coats of paint). DD2 only went to camp for a few days, so by the time we finished it was time to pick her up. So much for romantic alone time!

Auntjen - OH MY! Really?! We almost bought that same brass bed but I just could never, even in the 80's make a commitment to brass (sure not doing it this time around either). I'm speechless, flabbergasted - ok I'll stop now.

You win! :)

This totally struck me funny. - Tibbrix! Stop goose shaming me! :D

I think mom still has geese drinking glasses. I'm going to have to look now.

Is it wrong that I kind of like them. Not . sure. why...

anchor hocking goose/geese drinking glasses

Jen - Well, I like your chandelier. (seriously)

I'm having a hard time putting you guys in those houses shown based off what I've seen of your current homes.

I can't see these colors sticking. I don't remember seeing last years color out there either.

Good thread!

Lol@Kippy. Succinct and right to the point.

Auntjen, um..wow?

As for the turdy hat, actually, you were ahead of your time. They're all the rage in Britain right now, only they call them "fascinators", not "turdy little hats". Imagine, an entire country took its fashion lead from your wedding.

Can't beat this, I don't believe, speaking of mauve and bows:

And for you cat lovers:

I just spit coffee out at the Cat Hat, Tibbrix. :D

Jen, love those pics! It's almost scary how nearly identical our houses looked back then .... I had the "Victorian" bedroom, pink bathroom, etc .... and we like the same decor now, too. We've been on parallel paths! I need to scan some more old pics. I'll have a good laugh AND cry. :D

Shee, I had those glasses!

My SIL's house still looks like Auntjen's. Her kitchen cabinets are even painted mauve.......

Oh dear, Jen and MizGG, the Thelma and Louise of decorating.

OMG auntjen, I cant believe that house not just the style of decor but ALL that stuff. No more craigslist looking for you!

auntjen, you are a case study in evolving tastes. Actually, I love that crocheted bedspread!

Are those photos of your ancestors on the window ledge over the bathtub? Wanna explain that one? lol!

I should add my tale of that period decorating woe.....

A "friend" knew I was crafty and invited me down to their home a couple of hours away for a girls craft weekend. Our husbands were best friends, they had 3 young children and I had two. I think I was pregnant. She wanted to learn how to stencil and had seen a bench I had done. She also wanted me to "help her with the kids" one day when she did one of those home toy shows.

I told her to pick out her stencil and paints and I would drive down for a long weekend. I think the first night we made one of those raffia and paper swags and she told me she had not had a chance to pick up the paint and stencils yet. Next morning Hubby heads off to work and we head to the craft store. She picks out a little block and heart design and those two Pantone colors of dusty pink and blue. We head back to their little house with the supplies and I ask her what she wanted to learn on-she points to the top of the wall at the ceiling. I asked if she was sure? If the hubby was okay with that? Oh yes, he knows all about her plan.... She asks me to start and she is going to watch so she can do the rest. I figure we are just doing the dining area short wall so it is not that bad. I show her one section, she "missed" what I was doing....She ends up deciding she can't climb the ladder, so I should just finish the project for her. Her project was the entire living room, the dining room and around the fireplace. Just as an exhausted me is finishing the last couple of contrast color panels, Hubby comes home..... "Dear, what are we doing to the living room?" (clue the sounds of the bus coming as I get thrown under it) "She decided we needed to stencil"....... Oh and the helping with the kids while she sold the toys was actually, You are watching all 5 kids, make them a good lunch, take the dog out and I will be home this afternoon.

Her now ex hubby just found out a year ago when we were talking about her, that it was her idea all along! He never could figure out why I would come down and do that to their walls.

Well, serves her right to have pink and blue stenciled hearts all over her living room walls.

Ugh, Kippy! Poor you!

I'm pretty crafty when the mood hits, but could never stencil well. I'm about the level of a 5 yr old. Now Decoupage? I can glue with the best of 'em! :D

How about macrame? Now there's a nice lookin' plant holder! Now we're talkin' the '70s!

This is the holiday Words With Friends opening screen. Lol

Maybe Pantone is on to something.

The colors look fine for clothing. But I'm more an earth tone woman, so those colors won't be part of my home decor.

Oh, PS, my cat's name is Serenity. She's not blue -- she's a brown ragdoll.

AuntJen I like the hat. I like the whole outfit. Sure it's period, but it's tasteful! Someday folks are going to roll their eyes at the strapless mermaid wedding gown craze, IMHO.

I pinkmountain - you are so right. I can't wait for all those brides who wore strapless mermaid gowns to look back in 20 years. I have 5 nieces who married during the last 5 years and not a mermaid dress among them.

My 20 something year old niece is getting married this spring and has asked my Dd to be a flower girl. Her bridesmaid dresses are dusty pink. Guess Pantone is on to something!

Tibbrix, the 'cat in the hat' picture you posted is hilarious. Annie added "Pantone’s news release describes the colors as “inducing feelings of stability, constancy, comfort and relaxation,” I think someone was at Grandma's house picking colors. AuntJen, I had a brass headboard, and a similar Laura Ashley comforter set as well. Ah...such funny memories. And that is exactly where those paint colors need to stay, in the past!

I can't believe it...last night I had a dream and I was out shopping and someone held up a dress and said, "What about this one?" It was in the pantone pink and blue and I said, "Oh no...those are the pantone colors. How awful!" Then I woke up!

Clearly spending too much time on GW!!!

lizzie, I figure that designer either had a severe personal dislike of the princess...or of women in general!

Yuck!! We bought one of our first houses in the previous pink and blue era. The previous owner was an interior designer so she had really done it up completely though she did fortunately steer clear of the geese. I still have two pink and blue wool area rugs I can't get rid of. I guess now is the time to renew my effort to sell them.

I'm sort of ashamed of myself for the TMI I've inflicted upon you all with my photos! Ohhhhhh, that was all so awful! In the early 90s, though, we pooled our junk with my parents' junk (who also had a house brimming with it - my mother had close to 400 teapots in her collection at one time!) and hired an auctioneer to stage what turned out to be an absolute event. Our auction lasted all day long, and attracted hordes of people who paid pennies on the dollar for our junk. Even so, we made thousands (thousands!) - which only indicates how much crap we had to get rid of. I then went into my minimalist phase, and while my home definitely had a lot more breathing space it lacked personality and felt sterile.

I like to think I've finally settled upon a happy medium, although I did clutter up my previous cottage-style home with a lot of "treasures." Not to the extent that I did in the 80s, thankfully.

In revisiting these photos, it occurs to me that I only still own four of the items shown in the photos: The two afghans (which were made by my grandmothers), and two tiny little porcelain vases that belonged to one of the grandmothers. Not bad, out of all of that!

I love the photos, your's and everyone's, Jen! It's fun to see how things evolve. :)

I know I'm late to this party but you all had me rolling in laughter.

And I managed to source you some dishes...pretty sure this was the pattern my mom had when I was growing up...

http://www.replacements.com/webquote/CORCOPR.htm?rplSrc=GPLA&rplSubEvent=179779&productTargetID=144872617014&dvc=c&rplsku=87987&mkwid=s144872617014|pcrid||pkw||pmt||pdv|c&gclid=CMWOiJbe0MkCFYNBfgodCn4BmA

Angie, my Mema had those dishes! I wanted them so bad. :D

The subject of these lovely colors has just come up on a quilting blog I frequent. It seems quilters aren't any happier with them that decorators! LOL

Donna

There's something inherently sweet about those dishes!

Or maybe I'm just feeling all nostalgic this morning ...

What a difference a few decades makes! My old home recently sold (there have been several owners since I moved out in '99), and it looks like a flipper has gotten hold of it for this last sale. I think it looks much better now than it did when I owned it!

Kitchen then:

Kitchen now:

Master Bath then:

Master Bath now:

O M Goodness Aunt Jen! How did you breath in that house? How did you dust it all? I never went the route of the country bumpkin look (handmade items, ducks, geese, hearts, etc). I DID however do the blue and pink look (French Country blue and dusty rose) but I decorated with crystal and Capodimonte porcelain but I've never been excessive in my decorating. Maybe it's my claustrophobia :o When we built this house in 81, the first carpet was a French country blue. The next color was dusty rose (bless my husband's heart!). Next, taupe. Now one bedroom has a dark chocolate carpet, one has sage and the den is an antelope print.

Sidenote, LOVE your wedding dress :) I married in 1979 in a long (lace) sleeve (November) sleek ecru satin gown. My colors were burgundy, blue, brown and rust (or rootbeer as the florist called it). I know! Sounds strange but the colors worked well together for a fall wedding.

Man oh man! Since I'm overly sensitive to clutter, I don't keep things and that goes for older, once loved decorative items. Maybe I should have kept a few things. I just went on ebay to what the Capodimonte is selling for now. I found one of my favorite pieces. Selling on ebay for $337. I'm sure I paid well under $100 for it...YIKES!

Vintage Capodimonte Piano Made in Italy Large Beautiful Hand-Made VERY RARE!!!

Monica, I was married in early May 1983 (in central FL) in a long-sleeved crepe-back satin gown with a short train! I was pretty hot! LOL

Donna

I was married in '73 and the colors were pink and green because they'd always been my favorites. No sense of whatever was in fashion. I loved the cranberry and pink years in clothing. I'd say the first time I was aware of popular colors in decor was in the mauve decade, and I didn't like that color, so dodged a bullet there. I liked, and still do I suppose, the hunter green and burgundy decade. I can look back at those photos and not flinch. I like looking back at what were clearly the favorite colors of my mother and grandmother, and seeing the pattern there--something more familial and outside of fashion.

Ford = fashion forward (concept car AND spokesman)

I probably sold you the blue ribboned geese...I remember selling that stuff by the truck load! I think every kitchen from the west to the east coast was decorated that way. From wallpaper, to curtains, dishes, canisters...you name it! I actually still have a throw that we use to this day in our family room with a great big giant goose with a blue ribbon around its neck! Ha! I can post pictures if need be. :) lol!

I know without a shadow of a doubt you didn't sell it to me. I didn't have any of the stuff you just described. Never did care for it.

Was looking for a fresh color scheme for my gardens this year... Not liking the pink/blue pastels at all, call it what it is! Fancy words will not convince most of us. Brings back the 80's, just terrible!! I have huge gardens, leveled with stone all around my home. Last thing I want is all that space to look like its a huge baby shower.. So disappointed! Wish something vibrant and warm had come out. Sorry, but guess I will do my own colors! Just horrible!

There must be something drastically wrong with me because I never followed trends, not a single goose, duck or wooden heart. I was never into cutesy. Wait, I did have padded shoulders!

Ingrid, i'll be totally honest in saying I loved my geese, and slate blue wallpaper with mauve hearts! Hey, I was younger and thought 'trends' were where it was at. These days, I dance to the beat of my own drum! As for those padded shoulders, just call me Linda Evans. lol

Since it was impossible to buy women's clothes without padded shoulders at that time, I forgive you all. And myself.