1980s Ugly Homes – Bathrooms, Living Rooms, Kitchen & Bedroom

Romantic heart-shaped bathtub for two! Bring on the bubbles and the bubbly!

These were sent from our reader Landon. This is from his 1983 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada home. The bathtub is surrounded by 8″ tile and smoked glass mirrors (typical of the 1980s). The house had seafoam green/blue carpet, mahogany wood trim, parquet wood flooring, and Zest-soap-colored countertops.

This 1984 Mesa, Arizona bathroom looks like an actress’ dressing room on a movie set.

This dark, dreary, dusty wet bar was probably created in the 1980s and untouched ever since.

These Apache Junction, Arizona sellers are giving buyers the moon!  Or they are merely commenting on the state of real estate today; everyone got bent over.

Looks like a skunk too.  Are the sellers from Ohio?

Gotta love the pastel colors of the 80s.  And the Southwest/Taos adobe village artwork.  Brass & glass chandelier.  Classic 80s.

Late 1980s/early 1990s home décor complete with kokopelli placemats and geometric mirror design.  Gray/white/mauve/teal dining chairs.

Floral pastel sofa & couch.  Pouf valance in sandstone red.  Typical painting of a Taos village purchased at Costco.

Native American pattern shower curtain.

For a comprehensive look at furniture, home design, and home features in the Phoenix area from the 1950s to the 2000s, check out the index of 77 posts.

Design Through the Decades – part 75

Part 2 of 2: What was home décor and interior design like in Phoenix in the late 1980s?  The pastels and creamy colors took over, such as mauve, rose, salmon, peach, and seafoam green.  Brass accents appeared.  Flexstone texture was added to furniture and decorations.  Paint splash wallpaper and parquet flooring.  Because 1980s home décor is so distinctive, many homeowners today are remodeling their homes for a fresher look. Here’s a great web article titled “How To De-80s Your House.”

Let’s take a closer look at the late 1980s in Phoenix homes, starting with a 1987 Phoenix home.  Pinks and greens.  Berber carpet.  Pouf window valances.

Hunter green was extremely popular in the 1980s as seen at this 1987 Phoenix home.

Mirrors with a geometric design, brass & glass table, and pillows with heavy fringe were very 1980s.  This is a 1986 Scottsdale, Arizona home.

Floral pattern couches and chairs were big in size and popularity in the late 1980s.  From a 1988 Phoenix home.

Floral wallpaper and parquet flooring.

Bright blues and turquoise combined with other bright colors made an impact in the late 1980s, especially as a Southwest motif.  This is a 1988 Glendale, Arizona home.

The Southwest theme was used in many Phoenix area homes in the 1980s.  The couches, lamps, paintings, drapes, rugs, & decorations were all connected.  This is a 1989 Peoria, Arizona home.

Dried flowers were all the rage in the late 1980s.  They work well with the Southwest décor, right?

This 1989 Tempe, Arizona home shows off the pale green drapes, the knobby wood dining set, and the wood laminate inlay table.

One final photo of typical 1980s home décor and interior design in Phoenix homes.

Design Through the Decades – part 74

Part 1 of 2:  What was home décor and interior design like in Phoenix in the 1980s?  It had a wide variety of colors, designs, patterns, and textures.  Framed Nagel drawings on the wall.  Red, white, & black colors used together.  Because 1980s home décor is so distinctive, many homeowners today are remodeling their homes for a fresher look.  Here’s a great web article titled “How To De-80s Your House.”

Let’s take a closer look at the early 1980s in Phoenix homes.  Geometric patterns, shapes, & angles in home design were, like, very 1980s, for sure.  Totally rad designs with olives, oranges, & yellows like this.

Aqua, aquamarine, teal, or any variation of blue-green were seen on and in many 1980s Phoenix homes.

Parquet wood flooring, wood tables, patterned sofas/couches, and gauzy or burlap-type drapes on dark wood dowels defined the 1980s.  Here is a 1981 Phoenix home.

Combining hunter green color with wood furniture was a common interior design motif in the 1980s as seen at this 1984 Glendale, Arizona home.

Darker pastel colors just as rose, mauve, and seafoam green were used in window treatments and furniture.  Again, dark wood furniture was common.  This is a 1984 Peoria, Arizona home.

Mirrors were big in the 1980s, especially with patterns.  Hanging macramé planters added some flair to this 1980s living room with plush Saxony carpeting.

More mirrors!

There’s that teal/aquamarine/green-blue color again.

1980s dining room with glass chandelier, mirrors, and black furniture offset by pink drapes, vase, & rug.

Wallpaper with tiny flowers was totally in style in the 1980s.  This is a home outside of Arizona, but you get the idea.  Hollywood-style make-up lighting and blue-green towels.

Design Through the Decades – part 66

Roofing In Phoenix, Arizona

The 1970s – Roofs:

Most Phoenix homes in the 1970s had gable style roofs with white asphalt shingles.  The carport roof seen here makes this 1978 home have a cross gable design.

Flat foam roofs started to show up more frequently in the 1970s.  Here’s a 1971 Phoenix home.

Red tile officially made its debut in Phoenix homes in the 1970s, at least for decorative purposes.  The home here is still a flat roof with foam.

Wood shake roofs were not that common in Phoenix from the 1950s to the 1970s.  Here’s a 1970 Phoenix home with wood shake.

There was a time when white rocks were placed on top of a white foam roof.  The thought was that the rocks pulled the heat away from the roof.  The white foam reflected the hot summer sun.  Here’s a home from 1971.

The 1980s – Roofs:

The 1980s in Phoenix became the decade of the red tile roof.  It may not account for over half of Phoenix homes or even 25%, but it left a lasting impression on roof design.  Here’s a modified roof with flat & gable styles with red tile at a 1984 Phoenix home.

Pink tile was also used toward the end of the 1980s.  The pink or red clay tile was arched.  This created air space between the tile and the underlayment felt paper.  Clay tile roofs are supposed to last a lifetime, which they may, but the intense Arizona sun can make the underlayment brittle over time, requiring a re-roofing.  Roofers have to carefully remove all of the tiles, store it for re-use, replace the underlayment, and re-lay the clay tile.

Flat foam roofs were still popular in the 1980s in Phoenix.  Foam roofs require more preventative maintenance than shingled or tiled roofs.

Whereas gable style roofs were common from the 1950s to the 1970s, reverse gable style roofs were used in the 1980s.  This is a 1986 Phoenix home with asphalt shingles.  Note that you cannot see the roof when viewing from the front.

This is a 1980s Phoenix home with a double cross gable roof design with shingles.

Vaulted ceilings were very trendy in 1980s Phoenix homes.  The roof pitch was much more pronounced in these homes.

Design Through the Decades – part 63

The 1970s – Parking:

By the 1970s, covered parking for two vehicles was standard in Phoenix.  Two-car carports could still be found in some 1970s homes.

Sometimes there was storage space above the carport as seen at this 1971 Phoenix home.

The carport sometimes extended out from the main house.

Two-car garages were the most popular choice for covered parking in 1970s homes.  This is a 1971 Phoenix home.

An enclosed garage protected cars from theft and from the sun.  Garages also allowed for secured storage, which was important since 99.9% of Phoenix homes do not have basements.

The 1980s – Parking:

By the 1980s, two-car garages were standard in Phoenix homes.  Carports only showed up at townhouses.  Most 1980s homes were designed with garages dominating the architecture.

Bedrooms were often found above garages in the 1980s.

Some Phoenix homes did not have living space above the garage.  The garage had a flat roof instead as seen at this 1987 home.

Typical 1980s Phoenix home with two-car garage.