A 1970 "It" Home

Every so often, there is a home whose interiors seem to resonate with us. Perhaps it's because the home captures the mood of the time, or maybe it's that the homeowner or designer hit the nail on the head when it came to using various popular decorative trends. No matter the reason, these homes usually end up being featured in numerous shelter magazines, and now, blogs, too.

One such home that was the hit of design magazines in the early 1970s was the Manhattan apartment of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Moore III.  I first saw the home, one notable for creating a country home effect in a New York apartment building, in a 1970 issue of House & Garden.  While the home was evocative of that era- layer upon layer of prints and patterns, wicker furniture, needlepoint, and Italian ceramics- I do think that it was a rather interesting idea to imbue the space with such quaint, country effects.  Design editors must have thought so, too, because just a few months later, in 1971, House Beautiful also featured the Moore's apartment.  But this version was a little different.  I'm fairly certain it was the same apartment, but the fireplace mantel seems to have changed as well as some of the fabrics.  And strangely enough, the painted piano from 1970 seems to have been repainted with a different design just a short time later.

There are other differences, but I stopped looking at the photos as it was giving me a headache.  Suffice it to say, the Moore's residence was an "it" residence of the early 1970s, one that captured the spirit of that time.

Image at top:  The Moores' Dining-Sitting Room as it appeared in 1970.  The white piano bore painted miniature fruits and vegetables.
  

In 1971, the dining room has a change in fabric, and paneling seems to have been added. Here, the piano was painted with exuberant flowers.

Jumping back to 1970, Marni Moore was photographed sitting on her charming sofa with blue and white floral pillows.

Another 1970 photo which shows a wider view of the living room.

A detail 1970 photo of Mrs. Moore's cocktail table with a top made of blue, white, and red tile. The same table was a holdover for the 1971 photo shoot.

The Living Room circa 1971.

And here, in 1970, was a black and white shot of the living room with the dining room beyond.

The colorful Library made it into the 1971 House Beautiful article, but not that of the 1970 House & Garden issue.

The Moores' bedroom, which I do think is rather pretty, from 1970.