1970's listening space - Please help contribute

Great Memories,this thread really hit a 62 year old HARD right in his 60/70s Heart!

......hmmmmm,what I can remember of that era,in Surrey outside of Vancouver B.C. was first hearing Scott McKenzie's San Francisco..while,get this, blasting down a steep hill,Listening intently(Yikes early distracted driving!)through my Japanese transistor radio,glued to my left ear,steering erratically with my right hand,when the Music totally took hold & off into the rhubarb I went,luckily onto a vacant lot of bumpy ground-n-tall grasses,my mind 'Officially first time Blown" BH(before Homegrown)....
................................................................................I swear I knew,right at that exact moment that...'Something was up!'.........the Summer of Love it was later coined,had started!
....Wow,after I heard that,all the Cool FM stations all started playing some of the best Music of our era,I liked the one that now eludes me out of nearby Seattle Washington,my 'Late Night' station of choice.

hmmmmm,oddly enough,we all started growing our hair long & spewing out things Like Far Out,Groovy,Outta Sight Man...oooooppppps...then our parents knew something was up too,lol....those were the days!.....
YES,Mozart,you MUST at least Try and see if you can get those Reel to Reel tapes!....I totally agree,the Disc Jockeys of that era had some of the best ears(and noses) for up-n-coming Musicians/Bands/ Events,like Be-Ins/GreenPeace/War/Environment protests & Free Concerts!...and best of all played whole Albums late into the Night,commercial Free,which many of us taped
..........................................................................................................................the Music like the Homegrown(etc) flowed along with Living/Being in the moment of Free Love & Artistic flair all steadily streaming up the Coast from San Fran to Vancouver B.C. in Psychedelic Buses,VW Micro Buses,and lots of old GMC & Chevy,REO Speed-wagon trucks with wood houses built on their chassis,complete with wood stoves,and stained glass windows,(another thread idea,)Boy I wish I'd had a camera back then,because there were some very really cool wheels back then!

The furniture and furnishings were definitely all over the map depending your parents & of course your income,like if you scored a cheap old house with some Friends,and of course this usually all dictated by the Length of your Hair(Religion & Politics,lets leave this inside these brackets,Please!ha!)

Flowing easily into this Deep Groove,came some of the best,and such very Cool Looking vintage clothing c/w old man suit vests on guys-n-girls mixed with some of the most Beautiful long hair on Women I can ever remember.WOW!
Of course lots of local Levi pants,shirts,Cowboy boots(West Coast & near everywhere else,I think?),& lets not forget the British Invasion with Mods-n-Rockers,Paisley and bell bottoms,leather belts,Hats & soft leather Fringe Leather coats....
I still have mine,its my Camp-Fire coat...paid $85.00,that was a lot of dough,I could of bought my friends Grand Mothers,53 Chevy for that,a 'Good Deal,common back then too!
I choose the coat over the car,Because all you had to do was stick your thumb out and you had a ride in 5 minutes,max,who the hell needed a car?
I ain't even going to tell you what gas was back then,but it was sold by the gallon!

For room decor-n- furnishings,stereo stands,lights etc,I too remember lots-n-lots of paneling(most always dark) in many of the lucky enough to be finished Rec Room's,which where I grew up were usually a work in progress for working Dad's.
If like me you were lucky enough to be able to have the Rec room(finished by my teens) for you & your friends,& if you got to set your drums up there to 'practice'.-n-Jam while the girls shot pool on the Table Dad 'made',well we were Happening Man!
Dad said he could hear my 24 Bass kick drum,back at the street corner,when he came wheeling Home.Ludwig Maple shells projected nicely,cut through Concrete....Joe Cocker Mad Dogs-n-Englishmen comes to mind for some reason,with me wearing RS cans trying to get the footwork of Cockers,then drummer down?

I remember so many cool posters all over the place,many advertising groups at the Fillmore,Jimi Hendrix,Keep on Trucking,Elvin Bishop,Steve Miller,and some of the very best were locally drawn posters,many of which after the concert/event were scarfed off buildings,and power poles.
I remember lots from local groups playing the lower mainland venues,clubs,bands like the Collectors(they later became Chilliwack),Mother Tuckers Yellow Duck,the Electric Circus,or was that a venue,?..boy so many forgotten bands,that didn't make it?.
.....and of course lets not forget the Folkies-n-coffee houses,Shari Ulrich,Pied Pear,Bim,Valdy etc......I so wish I hadn't sold off an Album poster that came with a Double Album,can't remember who it was,but its had the most interesting double exposure I've have ever seen!
Many local,possibly pot inspired innovations regarding decorating walls,an example was about(or more?) 1000 Export A empty cigarette packs plastered checkerboard style over entire bedroom/rec room walls,Egg cartons for acoustics,I sooooooo remember one DAD coming Home to see his whole REC room in old EGG Cartons,WOW,He was So Pissed!
And went he saw the Light panel flashing,well lets just say we were asked to leave,and when we were finally allowed back,it was all off the walls and the paneling was painted.
Disco balls-n-Polyester came way later where I grew up and were detested by many of us,as well as Drum Machines of that era,well,unless you were an ABBA or Bee Gees fan,just sayin....
We were hard core Allman Bros,YES,Rush,R&R,etc fans.
Saw my first Black Light in Santa Barbara,visiting my Ulta Cool Kissing Cousins-n-Friends....they were already 'Tuned in and Turned on',and had such good looking friends..O.M.G!...California Girls,so true & Huntington Beach...Surf's Up,lets Go!
I remember the Cinder blocks/Bricks and solid planks seemed to be more the university crowd,who were always moving a lot,but the one I 'thought was the Absolute 'Very Coolest',was when many of us rooted around in old Antiques and 2nd hand stores,and we found,finished off & used older Library cabinets,or gutted Radio cabs and put our stereo's inside,opening only when we Played,Listened to records.If you were willing to do the work (sanding-n-staining)you could them way cheaper!
The trick (Dad was a Carpenter)was sanding down-n-staining the ornately carved cabinets,finishing the wood to match-n-the Real Wood Veneer on your speakers of choice,with many of us choosing the 'West Coast Sound' JBL 4311's(in Walnut or Oak) or the later series,but many University folk had AR,Advents,I really liked AR,but bought JBL's c/w Sansui components,Thorens TT,a combo was sought by many,along with Marantz,etc.
These cabs worked well as the components didn't become HUGE,till the later Receiver Wars,then the cabs became too small to house the bigger sized receivers,tt's etc,and were once again passed on or sold to friends who were happy with what they already had spent their hard earned cash on.
..Many of us worked hard and were ...'saving up'.to get our Dream Stereo and speakers'....its a fact many people paid more for their stereo's than their cars back then!.....and as a lasting tribute to the quality of the high end units many are still playing happily,others after a long awaited recap!..
..................................................................................................................another fact,after many Many years I was finally able to bring myself to paint our wood paneled Man Cave,yupp with a Much Lighter shade,Yes,I know it was hard to do,but it was time,to bring in the Light of the Music of that Era,along with some D.I.Y sound damping the ceiling,and after ceiling paint I'll add some bass traps,1st refection panels etc.....
................................The LP's of that era still flow freely like the Memories...great thread,really enjoyed it!!!.
Altec Concert Kenny
tonight's concert PHISH...IT
 
I'm surprised by all of the wall poster recommendations when your opening post, eliminated "dorm room" decor. If you're going to have a couple of posters in an "adult listening space" for the 1970s, they at least have to be in those cheap plastic poster frames that were available in any discount department store of the time, NOT stuck to the wall with bluetac or thumbtacks.

I was surprised that you eliminated shag carpeting in the opening post, as well, since that would be a stalwart characteristic of such a space in most of the 70s, unless you are talking about a "basement rec room," then you might have square linoleum floor tiles in some geometric pattern, often paired with wood paneling on at least one wall.

If you don't have shag carpeting you almost have to have a couple of large macrame ceiling or wall hangings. Early in the thread a good example of one holding a planter was posted. As a wall hanging you could also have a very large abstract-pattern latch-hook rug wall hanging -- note, that it must uneven lengthed yarns of deep brown, bright orange, and a range of earth tones in it.

Couches became very low in the 1970s, with large seat areas and low backs. People slouched back onto them, when grandma visited she had to be helped up out of the furniture. Large round coffee tables became more common. They had to be roomy to hold the sand candles, insence burners, terrariums, and gigantic orange ashtrays like the one earlier suggested.

Wherever possible use these colors, in addition to bright orange: "avocado green" and "harvest gold." This was an inescapable color scheme in the 1970s.

Exotica -- Pier One Import stores were just starting to expand into suburban areas all around the country during the 70s, so the well-adorned adult listening space might have a gigantic ceramic cat or elephant in it and, instead of a recliner, a "Papasan Chair." These are still available, but no pink or blue cushions in the 70s -- some kind of earth tone, green, or maybe bright orange or deep purple.
 
This might be either a fun thread, or a total train wreck, but I'm betting with fellow AK'ers it will be the former.

Setup: I want to do a retro listening room, that reflects what you might have found in the mid 70's furnishing wise. I can paint/poster/etc so no worries there. One thing: No shag carpeting (boo). Think more like adult listening area, no bedroom/college student décor.

Here's what I have component wise:
Sansui Model 2K - Silver/black
Pioneer RT-707 reel to reel - Silver
Sansui Turntable - Silver
Wharfdale W70D - Walnut cabinets

Go!! :thmbsp::scratch2:

My 70s decor: A bedroom in East Coast suburbia where a 21 year old cutie named Aylene entertained me for half of the Carter administration. Her parents, while often home, left us alone to play. Sometimes we played at my place, replete with fake Oriental rug and a hi-fi system employing the Quad 57s, Quad 405 amp, Nakamichi 410 preamp, Yamaha T-1 tuner and Phillips 312 turntable. The 405 and Nak are still around. The rest are gone, including Aylene who now resides in the Sunshine State. For me, the late 70s was a great time.
 
This thread is great. I like Mid-century modern, but I connect to the 70's. My wife likes all that big late 70's heavy wood furniture, luckily, we don't have any yet.
 
My 1970s coffee table. Ceramic tile top so heat resistant and wipe-clean:


Some '70s interiors were kitsch but some were super cool and stylish, much more so than modern design. Get a copy of the film 'Shaft' and check out his pad to see how it was done with a bit of class.
Awesome!
 
The mid 70s? Well, but for two years in the Army, I was a poor college student for the entire decade, so home furnishings weren't exactly a priority. Still, I had the time of my life. Part of the time in Greenwich Village and the rest of the time at the beach in California. I once had an apartment in California with orange shag carpeting. I guess that was typical for the time.

As for other 70s decor? How about a framed Clockwork Orange poster? I used to have one, but I'm not sure where it is anymore. From about 1973. I also remember having giant pillows that you could use as chairs. And plants. You have to have a lot of plants all over the place. Also, take a look at the movie Boogie Nights. Jack Horner had a nice house. I guess the movie was supposed to be about 1977 and the few years following.

In the house I'm in now, I'm sure I have some furniture from that era. Maybe tomorrow I'll take a few pictures.
 
In 1978, I was living in an 18' travel trailer in Hesperia (California High Desert). I bought a 10 watt Panasonic stereo with an AM/FM receiver, turntable, 8-track tape player and a pair of Thrusters speakers, each with two 5" woofers and an 8" passive radiator. It filled up that little trailer with plenty of sound.

I don't know what it is about the desert. About 30 years later, I visited a friend who had just moved to Mojave. His little living room was flanked by two rather large Magnaplanars. I had an immediate 70's flashback.

Now what was that about lava lamps and beanbag chairs?
 
My present system 100% Sansui - 1970 to 1979.

With the exceptions of the 1987 Sansui AU-X901 amp and 2010 NAD CD player (which I just love the sound of quite honestly).

70's Sansui wooden speaker stands. Late '70s: SR-838 TT, NOS GX-100 TT rack, NOS PS-107C 'High-Efficiency' cables, & NOS Ortofon M20FL 'Super' cart.

Rack - bottom right... '70s NOS (unopened) deck of Sansui playing cards.

Never thought about it but even the furniture is the '70s! LOL. And the Shiner beer & the the CSN LP too! :) Can't remember when the Rolling Stones 'Black & Blue' LP in the rack was made??

Guess my living room is the 1970s. Works for me!


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Sansui 45 RPM TT adapter below is from the 60s.

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:beerchug:
 
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