Settling Down.

Following the exuberance of the affluent and innovative 1960s, interior design in the 1970s settled down. The poor economic situation provoked moderation in home design. Rather than bizarre experimentation, people were interested in historic preservation. As a result old homes were renovated, and urban neighborhoods were reclaimed. Some homeowners combined preservation with economic moderateness by remodeling existing homes and converting stables, carriage houses, clock towers, and barns into dwellings. Eclecticism in interior design grew throughout the decade.

Opening Up Space.

Open space became very popular in the 1970s. With its roots in the egalitarianism of the 1960s counterculture, interior design sought to create community by dispensing with walls as rigid space dividers. Contemporary designers of homes, offices, and schools opened up rooms to full sunlight and outside views while still accommodating the needs of the occupant. These wide-open spaces were called "interior...