How One Gen-Xer Turned Her Home into a Polyester Paradise – WorthPoint

For those who grew up in the 1970s, childhood memories of shag carpets, avocado green kitchens, and paneling can still elicit a shuddering form of style PTSD—a “can you believe we wore/bought/displayed that?” For the last forty-plus years, the “Me Decade” was widely considered an unfortunate time for interior design, fashion, and décor. However, in the last few years, ’70s home staples like macramé, natural elements such as rattan or cane, and that iconic color palette—green, brown, mustard, and orange—have seen a revival by a younger generation who see beauty in the era’s groovy look.

HIPPIE CHIC

While millennials and Gen Z have recently embraced this ’70s “retro chic,” there is one woman—a Gen Xer, no less—who was ahead of the times in every way—a style soothsayer of sorts. Beginning in the 1980s, Corbyn Hanson Wittig began collecting what was no doubt plentiful 1970s home décor at thrift stores and garage sales. Over the years, she purchased items like handmade afghans, crewel art, owl macramé, flower-covered toilet seats, velvet armchairs, Pyrex, and stained-glass hanging lamps—often at discount prices. For her, the seventies were a colorful, fun-filled decade that was the antithesis of the tacky 1980s–1990s and the recent minimalistic millennium.

When Wittig and her husband, Ian—a millennial, no less—purchased their Chicago home in 2021, the fifty-four-year-old collector/writer decided to put her years spent procuring to use by decorating her home ’70s style—complete with mushrooms, owls, and flowers. In what can only be described as an absolute time-capsule pad, the decade has sprung to life again in all its synthetic glory, thanks entirely to Wittig’s forethought.

GROOVY KIND OF LOVE

WorthPoint: What is it about a 1970s aesthetic that appeals to you? Colors? Bohemian vibe?

Corbyn: I embrace the audacity of the decade. The muddy tertiary hues, hedonistic shapes and textures, and sense of whimsy that permeated every aesthetic—from modern/futuristic to traditional. There was a playfulness to it that comes through, still.

WP: The 1970s is generally regarded as the decade taste forgot. It has a bad rap. What would you say in defense of it?

C: I think a lot about this, and I’m not sure why there’s an objectively applied “tastemaker” attitude applied to aesthetics’ very subjective nature. It’s odd and complicated. I think the 1980s is more easily described as the “decade that taste forgot.”

WP: Since you grew up a ’70s kid, is it more of a nostalgic appeal for you, or do you just like the style now?

C: I just never stopped liking it. I was that girl in high school dressed like Stevie Nicks while everyone else was wearing acid-wash jeans and side ponytails. And I have collected older stuff since moving out on my own in 1987. I just always liked it and have always decorated my home this way.

WP: What kind of cool décor do you remember from your childhood house?

C: Our ranch house in the Orlando area had fabulous blue shag carpet, smoked mirror tiles in the foyer, and the grooviest flower-power wallpaper in my bedroom.

WP: What is it about the ’70s colors—brown, orange, harvest gold, and avocado green—that speak to you?

C: I love color in general, and these are just some of my favorites. I like the challenging nature of these less obvious hues. I’m not sure why I like drab mustard yellow and harsh acid green; I guess I’m just a chaotic individual!

WP: Favorite ’70s color?

C: I can’t decide, and I love that I don’t have to! I love a certain shade of green these days that’s like bright grassy olive. I also love the entire family of what I call “challenging yellow,” which can be ochre-drab or phosphor-sulfur bright. I have a complex, dynamic relationship with color and think about it a lot.

ME DECADE MAGIC

WP: Because you began collecting ’70s stuff in the 1980s, was it easy to come by so soon after that decade’s end? People must’ve been cleaning out their houses like crazy to make way for a new decade.

C: Yes! I also got a lot of family cast-offs over the years. But I didn’t just “collect” ’70s. I bought cheap, cool, old things that made me feel something. And I was and still am committed to usefulness, too. I don’t buy objects to collect dust—though I do have a lot of knickknacks. I like to use the things from the past, so I look for pieces in great condition that also still have utility. I want to press things into service just like they were meant to be used.

WP: Do you remember your first big ’70s purchase?

C: I do think my oblong blue tension-pole lamp was a key find back twenty or thirty years ago; it helped push my aesthetic more into where it is now.

WP: What has been the single best place/event to find ’70s stuff?

C: It’s been so many decades; I’ve really gotten stuff from absolutely everywhere—Craigslist, yard sales, curbside finds, thrift stores, estate sales, eBay, and donations from generous strangers. I’m a cheapskate, and I rarely spend more than $20 for any single object. And I honestly don’t need anything else so if I do buy anything, it’s because I’ve fallen hopelessly in love with it. I make sure to get rid of at least one thing before bringing it in. I’m not a hoarder.

FAR-OUT FENG SHUI

WP: Aside from cheap prices, is there another reason to thrift?

C: I hate adding to the pile of STUFF humanity has already produced, and I love having my décor be extraordinarily personal and inimitable in that way. This is my home. It should reflect how I want to feel in the space. Huge bonus for not hurting the planet more than it already has been.

WP: When you bought your house in the Chicago suburbs a few years back, was this house 1970s vintage already, or did you make it a time capsule on your own?

C: It’s true the house was something of a time capsule with unrenovated walls and flooring. Adding my own collection of thrifted vintage furnishings only made it more so. But I was a big fan of the OG blue bathroom and the wood-paneled partial basement.

WP: How does your husband—a millennial—feel about this specific aesthetic? He is living in a different era, décor-wise.

C: My husband knew who he was getting! We are very tech-forward and future-oriented and take full advantage of modern society. This is just a fun aesthetic. We live in 2024 and are grateful for that. Bless this damn mess, we love humanity, and we espouse vintage vibes, not vintage values.

FUNGI FIXTURES—A MUST!

WP: What are some favorite pieces in your home?

C: A one-of-a-kind mushroom light fixture would be the first thing I’d grab if told I could only leave with a handful of cherished items. But I’m also delighted with our groovy couches, which are a recent, very lucky find.

WP: Is there something that you can’t find and want to own in a major way?

C: I’d love to have an oil rain lamp and have been looking for a budget version since (yep) the late 1980s. It also makes me grind my teeth not to have a glorious wall-mounted electric fireplace like the ones Sears sold.

WP: What is the general reaction when family and friends visit?

C: It varies. People aren’t rude in person, only online. We don’t have family here, and any friends are new ones. We just moved here to Chicago three years ago. We’re definitely oddballs in this community, so I’d say it’s a stronger reaction than we got in California or that I got in Austin or New York.

WP: Nowadays, younger generations are latching onto seventies stuff. They love the mushrooms, the CorningWare, the macramé … Why do you think Gen Z, in particular, is snapping up this stuff?

C: I think folks resonate with the weirdness and sense of humor the decade embodied. And lots of handmade elements speak to our need for human connection and individuality in a bland, online, HGTV world.

WP: What advice would you give someone who wants to recreate an era in their home?

C: Just patiently seek well-priced vintage versions of anything you’re looking for FIRST. Forget your regular retailers. You’ll find similar prices for lamps, etc., in the world of vintage.

WP: What quintessential items MUST they have for an authentic ’70s look?

C: Optimize based on your own preferences, but an easy shortcut can be achieved through swag lamps, crocheted afghans, and thrifted art.

WP: Lastly, if you ever tire of that funky 1970s vibe, is there another vintage look/decade you’d love to experiment with?

C: No, this is who I am and who I’ve always been. I’m not sure I’ll just become a different type of person, but I make room for any possibility. However, I cannot imagine not prioritizing thrifting as a means to decorate any home.

For those wanting to follow Wittig’s thrifting adventures or virtually tour her one-of-a-kind home, visit her Instagram @imarriedamillennial—an account with 24.5K fans—and her very popular TikTok @70stimecapsulehouse with thousands of young followers. Currently, Wittig is working on a book about vintage dollhouses—a particular passion of hers; she decorates these homes, albeit toy—at 1:16 scale. Her dollhouse/miniatures Instagram is @hemarriedagenxer.

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Jenna Girard has been a freelance writer and copy editor for over 25 years, with a focus on feature writing. A lifelong collector of antiques and collectibles, Jenna has amassed a remarkable collection of entertainment ephemera, vintage fabrics, head vases, and mid-century art and home décor. After 16 years of living in Los Angeles and working in the entertainment industry, Jenna now resides in her home state of Michigan, where she continues to write/copy edit for LA-based media outlets.

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