Oh my god, if you think that was awful, wait until the 70s. I wish we could post pictures here - because some of the magazines I collect are just horrible.

The 60s ushered in the "try more than one color" in a room (hence green walls, rose carpet and blue furniture), but the 70s - well, they were HORRIBLE.

See, I'm not so sure that's true. Midcentury design is considered by those "who know design" if you will, to be amongst the most innovative, interesting, radical, etc. design styles. Eames, Saarinen, Frankl, Nelson, Gottschalk are generally considered brilliant iconic designers, depending on who you ask, I suppose.

I thought several of the pieces of furniture in the living room were quite cool--those two chairs, the cabinet, the stereo and that couch was great (not the fainting couch, but the starker one).

I just went to Palm Springs for a wedding two weeks ago, and that is the midcentury design capital of this country. The wedding was in a very cool glass house set around a pool, kind of similar to the one in the Jet Set episode. And we stayed in this very cool motel called the Orbit In, which was renovated back to its original midcentury appearance. It's very wild... As one of the reviews say, it's enough to bring out your inner Sinatra.

http://www.orbitin.com/

There are the grooviest photos.

I agree wholeheartedly about the 70s though! That was midcentury design on acid!

@BC: Eames, Saarinin - all expensive for their time. Most people did not have that stuff. I should know - I buy it all the time!!

However, they do have examples in the mags I collect of homeowners using this furniture and yes, it can look bad in a multicolored room.

The Orbit Inn was professionally designed - not with 1960s colors, but today's colors. I swear, in the 60s, it was teal, yellow, green and red. Period.

Are you an interior designer? How cool!

My brother in law just switched careers to interior design from....ADVERTISING (he was an account manager and then in house at several dot.coms and as a consultant.

That doesn't necessarily mean he's gay, right? LOL...not that I'd otherwise have a problem with that, but he is married to my sister, so I would hope not.

Every era has beatiful design: Unfortunately, as stated peviously, Betty Draper has awful taste.

That room would have been wonderful with eggshell grasscloth and simple ceiling to floor slubbed satin draperies (across the entire wall). Had this been the backdrop, the cane-patterned pull-up chairs would have worked beautifully. The sofa was perfection....a fortune in 1963...and still sought after.

As far as the 70's....C'mon, we all liked Mary Tyler Moore's apartment...and the interior sets from the film "Shampoo" are STILL fabulous.

@BC, no, not a designer.

@Gavin - that room was almost textbook Better Homes and Gardens. Grey walls, pop of orange furniture, throw in a pattern and paint the wood. Seriously, I could do the 60s magazine layouts in my sleep!!

Look at James Lileks' Interior Desecrations: Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s for a laugh:
http://www.amazon.com/Interior-Desecrations-Hideous-Homes-Horrible/dp/1400046408

@Egyptbelle: Yes, it's rooms like this (from the 70s) that I'm talking about. Say what?
http://www.lileks.com/institute/interiors/71book/7.html

I love midcentury modernism-- the good stuff-- LOL. By which I mean the more cutting-edge designs, Scandinavian influenced, etc. Like the California house in "The Jet Set" more so than any of the more ordinary homes we usually see on MM.

(Love the Orbit Inn, @Betty Crocker! So cool! I want to go to there.)

Thirteen asks about the aesthetic of the era and why did people find it appealing? Well, to generalize very broadly, there was a strong aesthetic movement in both furniture and object design as well as clothing design of optimism and looking ahead toward a bright future in the 1960s. It had a lot to do with the advent of space travel and exploration, so there was a lot of imagery and patterns/shapes that were similar to rockets, space helmets, planets (Saturn's rings, circles, etc.), machinery, geometric lines...

At the same time, there was also a contrasting conservative trend looking back toward early Americana, predominantly in furniture and home decor, not as much in fashion. We can see some of this influence in the Drapers' faux-country-style kitchen and casual TV room/den. I'm not as sure what this represents culturally/sociologically speaking, other than maybe a fear of change, and seeking comfort in the old-fashioned.

More examples of wonderful 1960's decor:

New York's defunct Top of the Sixes and the Forum of the 12 Ceasars.... the sets of The Patty Duke Show and Uncle Bill's fab Central Park South apartment on Family Affair.

There was a hotel bar (Marriott) I used to stop at here in Springfield, Ma in the late 60's-mid 70's. marble tables,paisley wallpaper, rattan Peacock Chairs, stained glass wall dividers and exposed brick. The ceiling was covered with 1x1 bronze mosaic mirror. OTT? yes, but absolutely lovely.
We will NEVER see such exuberance (or expense) ever again.....oh almost forgot the open weave wooden draperies..... the room was maybe 30x75

Maybe you need to refresh yourself with those God-Awful rose and chintz ruffled extravaganzas of the 80's and early 90's....available in household furnishings AND evening dresses!

I like even bad 1960's decor....it shows ingenuity, personalization and ....fearlessness.

Zabadu....Better Homes and Gardens is crap! Pick up a 1970's ArchitechDigest (Page Rense looks EXACTLY the same as today, different glasses) and you will see graceful interiors of the 60's and 70's.

Who knew a mocha velvet pit grouping and vanilla berber (with corn plant) could ever looks so great?

The decorator was obviously supposed to be Sister Parish, a very influential interior decorator based in Manhattan. It was exactly the kind of living room she would have created. She was famous for having decorated Jacquie Kennedy’s White House. An interesting tidbit from Wikipedia: one of Parish's cousins was another influential 20th-century interior decorator named, get this, Dorothy Draper. Make of it what you will. Nothing on this show is a coincidence.

Remember when the decorator said to Betty that the hearth is the soul of a house? Either Betty already knows that her house has no soul or she just thinks Sister Parish is talking hogwash because what does she do next? She plunks a behemoth-sized fainting couch right in front of the hearth. Those Victorian ladies weren’t the only ones who got overwhelmed. Poor Betty was overwhelmed by her own soul-lessness.

I also liked the eclipse theme and how things are revealed only when they’re hidden. And how both Connie and Bert sat in Don’s chair. The role reversal would have thrown anyone else, but Don’s an expert in thinking on his feet. Unless of course he’s goofed on reds, that is.

Love, love this show!

Love your post and insights @DonDraperWantsMe, but I have to respectfully disagree on one minor point. I don't think an ordinary suburban Ossining housewife would've been able to get an appointment with the legendary Sister Parish. Too exclusive. Betty and Don are nowhere near being in society AKA "the 400".

I actually think the Drapers' new living room is a bit more reminiscent of Dorothy Draper's style rather than Sister's! Especially the painted furniture and patterned chairs, don't you think? It's funny, when MM first began I actually wondered if Don was supposed to be connected to her somehow.

@Gavin: I guess I feel that BH&G is more representative of "ordinary" people. I mean, I'd have Frank Sinatra's Palm Springs house if I were wealthy.

@bluegirl - I agree, I think it's more Dorothy Draper than Sister Parish.

Thanks Zabadu! If we're daydreaming, then I'm in line right behind you for one of those Palm Springs MCM beauties. Ooh, Eichlers. With a Nelson marshmallow sofa, a white Eames chaise, an Eero Saarinen tulip dining table with a marble top, a Saarinen womb chair and ottoman, a George Nelson desk, some Danish teak and rosewood casegoods...

"Dear Santa, this is my list. I have been a very good girl so far this year."

:)

Zabadu-Sorry about the "BH&G is crap" line...but I stand firm that it was not for ordinary people, but "wanna-be" ordinary people. Like Trading Spaces...everything for under 1000. or decorating your entire home with bedsheets.

And thats not the Drapers.

They are AD or at least House Beautiful.

I still say...the decorator should have started in the the couples bedroom.

One more thing and then I' ll be quiet: Sister Parish was much "cleaner" than Dorothy. The private areas she created for the Kennedy's were "air-y" and featured "relaxed wealth" . I always was enchanted by the playroom with the rosebud slipcovers and matching draperies.

I agree, Gavin, about Sister Parish. Very comfortable and very classic. That's why she's still a legend even today and even a 20-something kid like me knows all about her. I like Dorothy Draper's work too, but they each had a distinct style.

Assorted thoughts:

I thought Betty blocked the hearth because she was putting her needs (planning on having an affair) before that of her family's.

My dad had an Eames lounge chair. I hated the uncomfortable headrest. Like being on an airplane.

Since Eygptbelle mentioned James Lilleks, I just wanted to say that I am also a fan of his. I started visiting his website when I bought his book The Gallery of Regrettable Food. I recommend that part of his website too: http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/

Betty would have blocked the fireplace with the fainting lounge because first, it was the only available location without moving out the regular couch. Second, it was the middle of summer and the fireplace wasn't being used.

The "hearth" in this case (and as indicated by the interior decorator) was the area between the chairs and the couch, not the fireplace. If it had been the fireplace, the furniture would have been angled towards it.

But I do agree, Betty disrupted the entire flow of the area with that fainting lounge. A Victorian antique, it didn't belong with the modern/clean lines of the living room furniture or any other room we've seen. If the bedroom was large enough, it could go opposite the foot of the bed that has the "poofy" headboard.

Think of what the ladies of the Junior League will think when they see the fainting lounge in the living room. "Are you insane?" with more justification for the comment.