I grew up in the land of harvest gold and avocado green. I can withstand anything.

As a kid of the 70’s, I was surrounded by strong colors and shag carpet. Most kids probably didn’t notice or care how garish our surroundings were, but I did.

What were we thinking?

As a child, I would look at photos from the previous decades and admire the choices people made when they decorated their homes and businesses. Specifically, I was drawn to the Art Deco period.

I still think that the design era which gave us the Empire State Building and radios that were pieces of furniture is one of the most symmetrically beautiful our country has ever had.

Even the 1940’s offered amazing eye candy. Automobile manufacturers in the US were still pairing teams of innovative people, who worked to make not only each brand of car, but also each brand’s models, unique and recognizable.

You knew a Ford or a Chevrolet or Buick when you saw one. Now, most cars have as much flair as a stump.

The 1950’s continued with what was a distinctive American look. A Formica dinette table could be found in most homes. The patterns on the surface of the table and chairs were fun. People still love them. The same inexpensive table and chairs today, in good condition, can sell in the thousands.

But, in my humble opinion, it was the 1960’s when the design wheels began to come off.

Big hair, cat eye glasses and fake wood paneling were the beginning. Once those caught on, it was inevitable that I would one day wind up going to my 9th grade prom in a leisure suit.

My grandfather was buried in a leisure suit. I still shudder at the thought.

Not everything from the era was a fashion risk. I liked bell bottom jeans, the 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and Farrah Fawcett.

All three were quite acceptable and an important part of my teen years. Especially Farrah Fawcett.

But, green and gold applied to shag carpet should never have been allowed to happen. I firmly believe that there was a guy somewhere who made the first sample as a joke, and people took him seriously.

But, you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube, and shag carpet wound up being with us for far too long.

Of course, how we decorate our homes these days, the clothes we wear, our hairstyles and more, will be judged by future generations, just as I now judge the 1970’s.

How will the things we all seem to like now rank with our descendants?

Who knows?

As my dad says, “There just ain’t no accountin’ for taste.”

© 2016 John Moore
To read additional blogs, visit johnmoore.net/blog