You hear a lot about how ’70s and ’90s home decor trends are making a comeback, with the drive to bring more comfort and coziness back into our living spaces. But then there’s the ’80s — stuck somewhere in between, with a whole lot of white, a whole lot of dark, and really, it’s just not pretty.
The music, movies, and everything else of the ’80s was truly spectacular. The home decor? Not so much.
The 1980s Kitchen Packed a Lot In
This brings us to 1980s kitchens, where ’80s kids spent more time than ever before. Mom was probably at work, and now there were kitchen islands — even stools to sit at and do your homework.
MORE ’80s PHOTOS: What Life Was Really Like in the 1980s
This was before we retreated to the “computer room,” and after we were no longer forced to watch TV in the den, because holy smokes, some of us even had TVs in the kitchen!
So What Did the Average ’80s Kitchen Look Like?
With the ’80s came the need to accumulate stuff… lots of stuff. Everything was plastic, sometimes cheap, and plentiful. The counters were cluttered with gadgets that seemed essential at the time, there were appliances we haven’t seen in decades, and decor trends that felt super cutting-edge in 1985 and totally confusing by 1995. Some of it (rooster-themed and country everything) just sort of happened, and everyone went with it — all in.
Let’s take a trip back to the kitchen island, basked in the fluorescent light of your childhood — here are the things you’d find in an everyday 1980s kitchen.
PHOTOS: Things You’d See in an Everyday 1980s Kitchen
See 35 things that made every 1980s kitchen unmistakably, unapologetically ’80s.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
LOOK: 1980s Daily Life Captured in Photos
Step back into the everyday world of the 1980s — mall hangouts, boxy sedans, Walkmans, and family snapshots that capture life in all its perfectly ordinary charm. These photos celebrate the small moments, styles, and scenes that made the decade unforgettable.
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
