{"id":344419,"date":"2025-08-14T12:03:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T16:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/?p=344419"},"modified":"2025-12-17T10:53:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T15:53:22","slug":"seventies-style-is-back-in-luxury-interiors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/seventies-style-is-back-in-luxury-interiors\/","title":{"rendered":"Seventies Style Is Back in Luxury Interiors"},"content":{"rendered":"

From a sunken lounge in Byron Bay to a bold London pied-\u00e0-terre, designers are embracing the laid-back glamour, tactile textures and warm tones of a defining decade, writes Kate Youde<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>A 1970s-inspired interior in Byron Bay, Australia by YSG Studio. Photograph: <\/span>Prue Ruscoe<\/span><\/p>\n

Even if you didn\u2019t live through the 1970s, you won\u2019t have escaped the decade\u2019s aesthetic. In recent years, the period\u2019s influence has been seen from the catwalk to the big screen, not to mention our homes where warm, earthy tones, rattan furniture and rich velvets are enjoying renewed popularity. But why does this era recur as a reference in luxury design?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interior designer Yasmine Saleh Ghoniem, director of <\/span>YSG Studio<\/span><\/a> in Sydney, Australia, believes the decade has \u201can everlasting relaxing mood that\u2019s really grounding.\u201d And she means it\u2014literally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFurniture was low: coffee tables, sofas<\/span> and soft, textural carpets that invite you to kick your shoes off and relax,\u201d says Ghoniem. \u201cSoft furnishings were voluptuous and fabrics were super tactile, from velvet to chenille. The \u201970s is also defined by lots of solid timber pieces. Color confidence was much freer then, with patterned wallpapers and printed fabrics used for window treatments, too. All these stimulating elements indulgently feed the soul.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ghoniem drew from this pre-digital age when she was creating \u201ca laid-back family utopia\u201d in the Australian wellness and surf hub of Byron Bay, New South Wales. Comfort was key to the scheme. The centerpiece of the open-plan living area is a 1970s-inspired sunken lounge. This space was original to the 1990s property but she enhanced it with a custom \u201cplump and cushioned\u201d oversized L-shaped sofa.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Subtle touches of chrome in YSG Studio\u2019s Byron Bay project. Photograph: <\/span>Prue Ruscoe<\/span><\/p>\n

The home\u2019s palette of browns include warm caramel and toffee hues, as seen in the terracotta tile flooring in the living area. The choice reflects the owners\u2019 desire for a \u201970s feel, while pieces from the period are \u201csprinkled about\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chrome, another recognisably retro feature, is incorporated in various ways, from vintage dining chairs reupholstered with a \u201cshimmery\u201d<\/span> citron fabric<\/span> to a new kitchen balustrade that frames the sunken lounge.<\/span> \u201cThere\u2019s a coolness to chrome that works beautifully against warmer materials,\u201d says Ghoniem. \u201cThe trick is finding the balance. It\u2019s all about accents as too much silver can make a room feel industrial. Used sparingly\u2014a chair leg here, a light fixture there\u2014it adds moments of reflection that bounce light around the room.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A chrome tubular frame also connects individual seats together in the Victoria modular system that David Raffoul and Nicolas Moussallem imagined for the Italian designer furniture brand Tacchini. \u201cIt looks like it could have been made in the \u201970s but it\u2019s also very contemporary,\u201d says Moussallem. \u201cThat idea of traveling within these lines of time is something that our studio has been working with since our start in 2011.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The \u201cVictoria\u201d modular seating system by David\/Nicolas for Tacchini. Photograph: <\/span>Andrea Ferrari<\/span><\/p>\n

The duo, furniture, product and interiors designers and co-founders of the international studio David\/Nicolas, are from Beirut. The Lebanese city\u2019s architecture<\/span> has \u201ca lot of disproportionate proportions,\u201d says Moussallem. \u201cThe \u201970s had this subtlety as well. So we connect with that kind of aesthetic\u2014but we do not actively search for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The pair are now working on the interiors for a new-build villa in Athens, Greece. Their client has requested \u201ca 1970s-inspired house\u201d so they are targeting a feel of the decade in specific areas including its own private nightclub. Raffoul says he and Moussallem are against direct references. \u201cYou\u2019re not doing movie sets,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re doing a real place to live.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Rebecca Hughes draws from a 1970s color palette for this apartment in Chelsea, London. Photograph: <\/span>Astrid Templier<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Clearly, 1970s-inspired design doesn\u2019t have to be confined to a home from that era. Rebecca Hughes, creative director of her eponymous London-based interior design studio, says the choice is more about the character and function of a space, and how someone wants people to feel in it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe thing you have to be careful of with \u201970s style is that you don\u2019t want it to look too kitsch,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cIt\u2019s drawing from the period but also mixing it with maybe some modern pieces, even some antiques, and having a mid-century feel as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She is currently working with a client who wants to take inspiration from the \u201970s for a pool house in Buckinghamshire in southeast England.<\/span> Hughes sourced period pieces including a rattan lampshade and a curved \u201970s sofa, which she has reupholstered in a contemporary outdoor fabric, but is mixing these with finishes such as modern art. There is, she says, a need to be selective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the 1970s was \u201cabout lounging and relaxing and entertaining at the same time,\u201d says Hughes, the aesthetic lends itself to open-plan living spaces. She has designed a mustard yellow kitchen with olive green tiles and chequered vinyl flooring for a couple\u2019s pied-\u00e0-terre in London\u2019s Chelsea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Peter Mikic\u2019s 2025 WOW!house at Chelsea Harbour\u2019s Design Centre. Photograph: <\/span>Max Trafford.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these colors are \u201cquite iconic\u201d for the decade, she says this yellow is slightly more vibrant than original hues to compensate for the room\u2019s lack of natural light. A fruit-pattern wallpaper carries through to the dining and living areas. Interior designer Peter Mikic also chose yellow to drench his Benjamin Moore dining room at the summer 2025 WOW!house interior design showcase in London. Inspired by 1970s glamour, it is a bold space for entertaining.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For both her projects, Hughes\u2019 brief centered on hosting guests \u201cand doing something a little different.\u201d She hopes you \u201cwould have fun\u201d at a home with these welcoming 1970s-inspired interiors. \u201cAnd you might even hope that someone would make you a cocktail in the corner as well,\u201d she adds. Cheers to that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From kitsch chrome to art deco, read more about the captivating elegance of metal<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From a sunken lounge in Byron Bay to a bold London pied-\u00e0-terre, designers are embracing the laid-back glamour, tactile textures and warm tones of a defining decade, writes Kate Youde A 1970s-inspired interior in Byron Bay, Australia by YSG Studio. Photograph: Prue Ruscoe Even if you didn\u2019t live through the 1970s, you won\u2019t have escaped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770370,"featured_media":344420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1399],"tags":[1415,1505],"class_list":["post-344419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-and-design","tag-australia","tag-united-kingdom"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/header-1.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1rB9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":344248,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/heres-why-you-need-a-biodiverse-home\/","url_meta":{"origin":344419,"position":0},"title":"Here\u2019s Why You Need a Biodiverse Home","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"July 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Biodiversity is more than a buzzword. 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New York, New York Elizabeth L. Sample, Brenda Powers | Sotheby's International Realty - East Side Manhattan Brokerage, US$50.7M View\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Market Insights"","block_context":{"text":"Market Insights","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/category\/market-insights\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"contemporary home in Byron Bay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1-2-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":345718,"url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/the-design-trends-to-look-forward-to-in-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":344419,"position":2},"title":"The Design Trends to Look Forward to in 2026","author":"Kate Marburger","date":"December 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"From natural materials to climate-resilient architecture, the design trends shaping 2026 reflect a shift towards sensitive, responsive living, writes Mandi Keighran Byron Bay, Australia | Byron Bay Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Looking back, 2025 will likely be remembered as a year of unease and acceleration. 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