The Vintage '70s Kitchen Design That Deserve A Comeback

If you grew up in the '90s, you might've heard your parents complain about the outdated home décor of their youth. Perhaps they laughed at the olive green toilet bowls. Maybe they even spoke with disdain about the shag carpets and (oh, lest we even speak the name!) wood paneled walls. Once a quintessential element of design, time relegated wood paneled walls to the dusty old coat closet of interior decorating. But lo and behold! Guess what's making a comeback?

They say that everything old becomes new again (check out these Old school kitchen items that are making a comeback) and that is true once more in the case of wood paneled walls. At the height of their popularity they were favored for the warm and cozy inside-outside vibe that they inherently invited. It was the perfect backdrop for the deep jewel tones and myriad prints and textures that ruled the 1970s. Years came and went and then the 2010s brought a monumentally boring smog of millennial gray that took hold of a generation of decorators. However, in more recent years, the dreary haze has lifted and life and color are back on the menu. Once again, people have found that wood paneled walls set the stage for color in texture in the most appealing way. It's been spotted on the walls of ultra cool Hollywood folks like Dakota Johnson , Jennifer Aniston, andBon Jovi, each of whom used different styles of wood paneling and an abundance of earthy colors and textures to accompany them. 

Often associated with the 1970s, wooden walls have roots that reach much farther back in time. While they have been caught in the ebbs and flows of fashion since the Tudor regime, wood paneled walls were a popular design element in Mid Century Modern homes built in the prosperous days that followed World War II (7-layer salad, anyone?) Then, too, they were favored for the warmth and texture the natural material brought to a room — and did we mention they were cheap to produce? By the '70s, they were so in fashion that even cheaper alternatives were made in order to achieve similar looking results. With the onslaught of vinyl siding that ensued, the natural wooden look was ushered out of fashion in the same way all things eventually are: oversaturation. As one person on Reddit put it, "It was popular because it was cheap. It became unpopular because everyone associated it with being cheap." 

While hip clothing stores are chock full of the Y2K fashion staples we thought we put to bed (seriously — have you seen Urban Outfitters lately?) and home décor is leaning heavily into the 1970s vibe again. Deep earthy tones, curvy silhouettes, and a smorgasbord of textures give rooms a sultry feeling that folks have really been digging lately. As kitchens seem to be filling up with those cute '70s kitchen gadgets we all miss, wood paneled walls are suddenly feeling more modern as folks embrace natural elements to juxtapose our increasingly more technological world. Beadboard is favorite way to jazz up an accent wall or a reading nook while floor to ceiling wide wood paneling is perfect for cozying up large spaces.