Everywhere you look there’s a statement or an icon of the era. From the round Keracolor TV and the disco balls that adorn the bathroom to the bold orange curtains, shaggy rugs, plants aplenty, those amazing kitchen tops and tea towels (she sells those you know) and all those amazing furnishings. Some wonderful 1970s art on the walls too. A Tretchikoff on the wall, naturally. (image credit: Estelle Bilson)

Estelle Bilson Wiki, Age, Husband, Partner, Bidding Room

Surrounded by mainly Georgian and Victorian furniture all my life, by the age of 13 I guess I rebelled somewhat, fascinated by anything from the art deco period of the 20s and 30s, to post war atomic design, through the post-modernist 60s and 70s. Over the past 30 odd years I bought and sold to enhance my own collections, and to upgrade the furniture in our home. collection, and revolutionised modernist furniture design. The style works well in both retro and modern interiors(Picture: Ilex Press) Jesting aside I design and make upholstered furniture and soft furnishings, but in truth, my design process is pretty much always the above. Indeed, as Estelle points out, this is still a ‘homely’ house rather than some kind of museum of the decade and a house that ‘really make me happy’. Which is pretty much the point. What I like the most about the 70s is the mindset. The roots of sustainable living started in the 70s. The quality of build and design is that much better. Nothing looks like it will fall apart in the next 10 minutes. There’s years of use left in this furniture. I’m so glad to be able to save it from landfill.Everything in my house is 40s-style – or if it isn’t, it’s hidden away. I have three children, so there’s no way in the world I could get away without having modern things such as a TV and a washing machine. But the washing machine is covered with a curtain and the toaster is in a cupboard under the worktop. I have a real 40s toaster on the counter: I daren’t turn it on, even though it does have a plug fitted. My kids are always complaining about the toaster. They go: “Mum, why is the toaster in the cupboard?” I say: “Because that’s the way I like it!” But they don’t mind, really, because they know it makes me happy. I love the simplicity of the era

home into a spectacular tribute to the Mum transforms her home into a spectacular tribute to the

Thanks, Estelle! Get your hands on Estelle’s incredible wares here, discover photographer Molly Major’s work hereand dip into our limited edition Flamingo-A-Go-Go collection here! Fancy doing something similar with your home? Estelle offers up a bit of advice. (image credit: Estelle Bilson) We currently hire our home and contents as a retro styled location for television, video and photographic shoots and many of the retro wall coverings and accessories are part of our own designed collection, which is made in the UK using traditional craftspeople and independent businesses, you can shop our full collection HERE, including our best-selling tea towels which are made entirely in our home county of Lancashire, the traditional centre for cotton production in the UK. I would love it if you would enjoy following along with myself and my life, please head on over to the following social media platforms below where you can freely interact with me. From a sustainability point of view, you are saving furniture from landfill and if more people did this there would be less need for manufacturing of cheap shoddy furniture which doesn’t last and wastes precious resources. Don’t shy away from chairs or sofas, your friendly local upholsterer can help you create something beautiful that is bespoke to you. By supporting vintage dealers and craftspeople you’re also supporting a small, local business, most of us do a happy dance when we make a sale (I know I do) and that personal touch when buying something is much more heart-warming than a soulless transaction in a multinational store, some of my closest friends I’ve met through vintage furniture. Finally, the thrill of the chase can be addictive, beware!

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I don’t wish I lived in the 50s. I love vintage style, not vintage values. When I’m reading magazines from that period, some of the adverts are so archaic. It’s all about buying the woman in your life a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. But I couldn’t live in modern surroundings, either. This trend for grey at the moment – I can’t bear it. Everything is grey. People are even painting the exterior of their houses grey! I need colour in my life. Natasha is based in London and previously worked in the fashion industry. Her experience of working with top fashion brands helped her to combine handmade historical items into contemporary living. Estelle Bilson is an antiques dealer, interior designer, author, 70s expert and television presenter. She is a dealer on BBC One’s daytime hit, The Bidding Room, hosted by Nigel Havers. She is the founder of 70s House Manchester, a unique, luxury British interiors brand, which prides itself on creating authentic retro designs. Estelle also has a fine collection of 1970s clothes. ‘It’s an era that really speaks to me and I’ll grab any chance to get dressed up. But don’t get the idea I swan around the house in my 70s finery. With a four-year-old, they’d just end up covered in snot and yoghurt!’ If we’re talking a real-life scenario I’ve always had an urge to buy the 1950s chalet we stayed in as children on holiday park in Lincolnshire; by the 80’s it was looking decidedly shabby as it hadn’t been decorated in 30 years (there was even a tiki bar next door) and everything was meant to reflect sophisticated and glamorous 50s Miami (to be fair, for a small resort outside Skegness it was punching way above its weight with this notion) nevertheless I loved it and its faded glamour….

Living in the past: lifestyles from bygone eras | Life and Living in the past: lifestyles from bygone eras | Life and

Mid Century Modern was a term coined into the vernacular in 1983 by Cara Greenberg with the title of her seminal book, this moniker has become an ionic and global design movement. Focusing on the style of interiors, furniture, architecture, surface print and graphic design from the mid 30s to 60s but has now generally been stretched out to encompass the period of up to 1975, the legacy of these pieces is of enduring design which still looks as fresh and as relevant now as it did then, this is why it works so well with contemporary living and the reason it has become hugely popular. Whiteside has assiduously converted his suburban semi into a prewar home. Photographs: Richard Saker Sinclair also experimented with military wear before settling upon a 40s three-piece suit, trilby and pipe. “My parents were upright Jamaicans who raised me properly and taught me respect,” he says of his London childhood. “The way I see it, everything went a bit south with the 1960s, when the railways were closed and all that.”

It’s a complex story of attachment to a motherland that in many ways rejects you’: 1940s style fan Ernie Samat, photographed at the Two Brewers pub, 34 Park Street, Windsor SL4 1LB. Photograph: Alex Telfer/The Observer For Samat, his involvement in the vintage scene is a tribute to the Commonwealth citizens who are airbrushed out of history: “It’s a complex story that isn’t really told, of attachment to a motherland that in many ways rejects you.” When it comes to a yearning for the social mores of times gone by, there’s an obvious rub. Stern speaks of the dark side of nostalgia – its tendency to naturalise colonialism and the (supposedly vanished) days of male supremacy, and “make domination appear innocent and pure”. Social psychologist Dr Sandra Wheatley speaks of the problematic elisions in the idea of a “retreat to the comforts of grandma’s apron”. She asks: “Where’s grandma’s lived experience in all this? What if her life was actually quite grim, cooking meals from scratch in a cold kitchen…? What if she’d have killed for a microwave?” Some structural work was carried out, making the dining room smaller, the kitchen a little bigger, new windows, plastering and landscaping outside. But beyond that, this house is all about decor and interior design. I know. That is stating the obvious somewhat. Of course, the light fittings are exactly as you would imagine and the wallpaper as bold as anything you would find in the original Conran’s House Book. This is a modern-day living space, but it wears its retro inspiration on its sleeve. (image credit: Estelle Bilson)

Estelle Bilson; The Bidding Room and Me. - 70sHouseManchester Estelle Bilson; The Bidding Room and Me. - 70sHouseManchester

In the unlikely event of winning the lottery, I’d love to be in a position where I could afford to keep this house for our son and buy a more modernist/1970s home to restore to its former glory. This house has such a lot of memories for us, as Steve has owned it for nearly 20 years. I would be very content if this was to be our forever home as the area is lovely.’ (image credit: Estelle Bilson) I do love anything old, from art deco onwards, but there's something about the 70s that's so evocative to me.Our WowHaus, United Kingdom Estelle Bilson’s 1970s house in Manchester Estelle Bilson’s 1970s house in Manchester (image credit: Estelle Bilson) A serial collector, firstly of fashion and accessories, astutely amassing large collections of vintage handbags, clothing and powder compacts which were found for pennies during the 90s to more recently furnishing our home entirely in my fantasy of how I would have decorated it during the 70s. Fallowfield reached saturation point years ago... the pandemic has exposed the problems we knew were there' If (like me) you have a soft spot for the 1970s, Estelle’s house is an absolute treat. This isn’t a time capsule of the era. It’s more of a tribute to the era. (image credit: Estelle Bilson)