Five blast-from-the-past designs from the Chatelaine archives

1950

The trend: Restful tones

What we were thinking: "Are you a good mixer? See how gay colours, fresh fabrics and contemporary furniture are blended with imagination."

1969

The trend: Supergraffiti

What we were thinking: "Can an ordinary box-shape room with straight lines, sharp corners and flat surfaces, look sexy? It can, if you give it curves it never had."

1970

The trend: Sunshine and colour

What we were thinking: "The illuminated wall with a split-screen effect in the living room is graphic artist Barrie Briscoe’s concept of the sun’s rays."

1981

The trend: 18th century classics

What we were thinking: "Goodbye, throwaway culture. Hello, traditonal decorating and a greater respect for things past. Traditional furniture is outdistancing modern now."

1984

The trend: Tiger stripes

What we were thinking: "The resurgence of interest in trompe l'oeil (visual trickery) includes a return to fabrics that look like luxuriant furs."