Memories of mid 80's for my short story?

[onesmalldog]

What can you remember of the mid 80s living in the UK as regards house decor, colours, house style, furniture, knick knacks, wallpaper, doors, flooring, light fittings etc?

Also what did you eat and drink?

I'm writing a story need this sort of detail to make it realistic.

Would be so grateful to hear your suggestions - and fun!

Blankets not duvets. Avacado or pink bathroom suites were popular.
Patterned carpets and no CH. We had ice on the inside of windows in winter
Open coal fire with back boiler so you had to light it in summerto get hot water and an outdoor wc

I’d say wood chip was more 70s , I think the 80s was half and half decorating with a dado rail and plain or stripe below the rail and a pattern above . It was also the start of home computing and Sky TV started in 1989 .

MiconiumHappens I've still got one. I use it to make one portion of boil the kettle gravy or custard.

cadburys swiss gateau and fondant fancies were treats at my nans. Homemade rice pudding and Sunday roasts with veg from garden.

Wet ones tub by the toilet and dolly toilet roll holder. Vacuum covers that looked like rag dolls.
Hot water bottles and proper wool blankets.

I miss her so much.

CB radio and silver Escort cars. Roller skates in street. Dinky cars. Dressing up like Madonna and singing papa don’t preach without upstanding the words. Avon soap sets and Collins mini dictionary’s as coupons collected on Daz?

Brown patterned carpet. Gas fires with grills and portable calor gas heaters.

those creepy Pierrots on duvet covers etc
I had a creepy Pierrot skirt...

Habitat wallpaper in primary colours

We bought our first house in 1986. Avocado bathroom suites were definitely out, we had one and couldn’t afford to replace it. We’d have gone for champagne if we could.
Habitat was huge and everyone had a chicken brick from there.
No artex and no woodchip, we removed it.
Cafetières.
Original house features starting to be restored or put back. Pine doors. Pine kitchens. Pine bedsteads.
The end of brown as an acceptable colour for home decor.

I also would have thought most people had central heating and inside plumbing , we were not particularly well off ( comfortable) and we had both of those in the 70s , let alone the 80s.

And we had duvets with modern print duvet covers from habitat. Only my grandparents had sheets and blankets.
My grandmother had a inside toilet for the first time but no central heating. Back boiler behind the fire, she had to light the fire even in summer to get hot water for a bath.

Pastel colours were trendy for furnishings. I had a pink and grey theme in my bedroom and my sister had a peach and grey bedroom.
Sony Walkmans and ghetto blasters
Lots of neon clothing and tacky plastic earrings.
Ski pants, shell suits and pixie boots
Taping the Top 40 on a Sunday evening and trying to stop the recording between songs to avoid all the talking bits

Orange varnished pine furniture. Grey pink/mint and white as a colour scheme.
White with red accents (in kitchens).
I agree a lot of 70s stuff as people just didnt redecorate. I had a rich uncle i remember he had a glass dining table and chrome/leather chairs.

I decorated my room mid 80s and I remember hundreds of off white paint to choose from - went for Apple White in the end. Food wise I remember M&S ready meals were the height of sophistication and often served at dinner parties, I loved Findus Crispy pancakes which were all the rage. Decor wise Athena posters of girls with punky hair and make up were all the rage in plastic red frames. I tried to dress like Madonna with lots of diamante necklaces - the more the better - and black lacy fingerless gloves.

Frankie Says t-shirts
Baggy dungarees
Choose Life t-shirts
Smash Hits on a Tuesday
Jackie & Just 17 magazines
Buying the centre insert of 7 inch singles on the market for 50p
Going to Boots on a Saturday afternoon and putting on a full face of make up, perfume and hair spray / gel from the samples

Black Ash chipboard furniture from Argos
3 piece suites in rose pink with flowers.
Deep wine coloured swirly living room carpet and Flotex in the kitchen.
Orange pine kitchen table.
Table nests.
Boys teenage bedroom decor diagonal stripes in red or yellow on black.

American shadow carpet and frozen chicken Kiev

For the house decor, I guess it depends if you mean what did people tend to have during the 80s or what did they do if they decorated in the 80s! I had a Saturday job in Laura Ashley from 1986 and the best seller wallpapers were Albert (cloakroom), Kate and Palmetto. Lots of borders as people have said and LOTS of chipboard round tables which you made a top and "skirt" for!

For clothes, jeans from Chelsea Girl, shoes from Stead & Simpson, neon accessories, Madonna style accessories, knickerbockers (maroon velvet....), pedal pushers, ox-blood school shoes - or for the more traditional look, those Laura Ashley sailor style floral dresses).

Sony Walkmans, ghetto blasters, sun-in.

I could go on!!!!!

Black grey and red zigzags, pierott the clown, avocado bathroom suites, with really ornate taps, towelrails in the shape of dolphins, and other monstrosities.

Just found a Laura Ashley book from 1989. Stencilling! Ditsy patterns all matching.
Frilly Austrian blinds. The country cottage look was really popular and fake-Victorian style. Also mahogany effect woodwork.

Tinned red salmon or ham salad with brown bread and butter for a posh Saturday tea or if my grandparents were visiting.

Chips out of the paper on the way home from the cinema.

Piano key video players and ask asking my folks to get me horror films from the video shop.

Our living room was filled with 'Old Country Roses' Royal Albert ornaments and upstairs was all Ainsley 'Little Sweetheart' I think it was called. Royal Doulton Ladies were also popular.
Bathroom was all peachy tones.
Elaborate curtains with tassled pelmets and tie-backs.
Dm loved Tupperware and 'fiesta' parties.
Vienetta was a luxury item as were tinned salmon sandwiches.
We always had homemade trifle on a Sunday.
Special occasions and the adults cracked open the Martini Asti Spumante.

MFI wall units.

toasted sandwich makers - we didn't have one, but were jealous of friends who did.
soda streams - we didn't have one, but were jealous of friends who did.
cremola foam
Findus crispy pancakes - curry or mince or cheese flavours.
choc-ices as a special dessert (in box in the freezer)
Black Forest Gateaux (came frozen, and took ages to defrost enough to eat, so often were eaten hard and crunchy if you were impatient).

The excitement when we got a fourth tv channel - Channel 4. lol.

Collecting Holly Hobbie cards from Panini - and swapping them with your friends to fill the book.

Slushi Machines - amazed that raspberry flavour was blue.

Almost every house had ashtrays - My parents liked to use those large white clam shells. But also had chunky smoked glass ones. Mum smoked in the car, when we were in it, with her hand out the window.

Painting by Number - having to admire a picture done by friend's Dad, and thinking - gosh that's rubbish, and being amazed they had it up on display as if it were a valuable/genuine work of art.

YY to Pierrot the clown.

I had a habitat red tube bed too, and a geographical patterned duvet.

We had artic roll for pudding, or frozen mousse things that came in individual tubs.

I had an awesome rubber collection and used to rush home from school so I didn't miss Grange Hill.

I got my bedroom redecorated in 1986, it was all white gloss paint and pink plastic handles, pastel wallpaper, a certain sort of picture from Athena with pastel coloured models and one of a exploding Coke can. Also cut out Bacardi adverts from magazines and stuck on the wall 😁

@Iloilo I went to an 80,s night last I and at leather the people there were wearing a " choose life" T shirt😂