To me, the house on FPBA, which I was watching last night, seems to be the archetypical early-mid '90s upper middle-class to rich house as I remember them. Though the fashion of the show was sort of stuck in 1992 or 1993 for the most part, the house looks distinctly '90s if you watch it now. Here are some elements I noticed in it that can be pinpointed as "'90s":

Palladian windows
Stone sculptures and "gothic elements" like fleur de lis and gargoyles.
Lots of pink, brown, and light tan interiors as opposed to the more modernistic '80s.
Muted colors and colors spread across tones.
Marble ledges and shelves.
Fake plants everywhere.
Wall sconces with real lamps.
Indoor columns and arches.
Lots of heavily sculptured and partitioned interiors with a slightly "off" geometry.
Big, lightly patterned seat covers on chairs.
Couches with a ton of pillows on them.
Those lamps with the upright bowl top.
Lots of big windows.
Sofa seatcovers and "scalloped"-looking sofas.
Quilts and blankets on walls.
Winding staircases.
Heavily sculptured and crafted kitchen installation interiors with stenciling.
Path lights, trellises, lawn furniture, and patios outside.
Built-in bookcases.
Lots of layers of rugs and wall decorations in similar, muted colors.
Exposed brick and exposed materials in general.

Then there was the "other '90s" look, which was very dark looking, but with more color than the black-and-white type '80s look.

I think if people want to see what the cheesiest of the '90s was, they should watch that show. It exemplifies the cheesy elements of the '90s in alot of ways, to me.

The house of the first season (1990-1991) was very '80s.

The house of the first season (1990-1991) was very '80s.


Yeah, however the later seasons to me approximate '90s interior design, if you want a succinct document of it.

I was watching more last night...other very '90s things that appear on the show:

Windowseats.
Lots of pillows-everywhere.
Glass tables with metal detailing, in a very modern way.
Pots hanging from the ceiling and spice racks.

The last 2/3 of the show definitely exemplified what was campy and distinctive about the true '90s, even the mid-'90s. Also, the dresses Hillary wore on the show look very '90s, the slinky black numbers, velvet, and plaid all over. Everything about that show screams '90s...the spandex bodysuits, presence of cheesy dance music, the brightly patterned, outlandish looking tops, and the interiors without any white.

A true '90s house seemed to not have any white-painted walls, a difference from the '00s and '80s. Everything was layered color, whereas in the '80s color was made to stand out more by contrast with black and white, the industrial look. There were some remnants of that black-and-white, industrial look by the '90s, but it had mostly been muted out. Like you'd see off-white with pink and tan and black and blue or purple or yellow in some shade. Or the Seinfeld look, lots of very muted browns and cluttered geometric furniture with fake plants and framed photographs on the wall.

'00s interior design is dead boring...think the house on Desperate Housewives, like a "nouveau-classic American" sort of look without any flair or character. That, or some hyper-modern but slightly curved look without any clutter, or the whole interior is IKEAted.

You wanna know what late 80s/early 90s interior design looks like? Just come to my place, it's like a time capsule to 1989!

You wanna know what late 80s/early 90s interior design looks like? Just come to my place, it's like a time capsule to 1989!


So is mine, I think it was all decorated c. 1988.

So is mine, I think it was all decorated c. 1988.


I think alot of peoples' houses would look pretty much the way they did when they first moved into them!

The house of the first season (1990-1991) was very '80s.

I know! I notice that the layout of the living room was very different from that of the other seasons (from 1991 on). I wonder why they remodeled it. ??? But I do like the post-first season layout (with the curving staircase in the background) better; it has more "life" to it.

I know! I notice that the layout of the living room was very different from that of the other seasons (from 1991 on). I wonder why they remodeled it. ??? But I do like the post-first season layout (with the curving staircase in the background) better; it has more "life" to it.


I guess I never took much notice of how the insides of the houses looked. Too busy laughing at the daggy fashions, and Will Smith's try-hard atittude (which hasn't changed a bit, I must say).  :P

I guess I never took much notice of how the insides of the houses looked. Too busy laughing at the daggy fashions, and Will Smith's try-hard atittude (which hasn't changed a bit, I must say).  :P

The kitchens were different, too.

The kitchens were different, too.


Yeah, guess I never really noticed. To me 90s houses looked pretty much the same as today.

The kitchens were different, too.


I've always thought that kitchens, bathrooms, "entertainment rooms", and living rooms are the parts of a house that change most decade to decade. Like a homey, spacious '90s kitchen with lots of stenciling and pots and pans on the ceiling and a tiled floor and indoor plants is different from a supermodern '00s kitchen or a cold, clean '80s kitchen. Occasionally bedrooms change too. Like, in the '90s, window-seats and four poster beds were huge. Now, the more minimalist futon thing is in.

we stick to the high off the floor 4 post bed, it's still the best sleep around.

McMansions are basically the thing now, I guess it started in the 80's (out in California probably, not sure) but they're cropping up everywhere. Cathedral ceilings, flat screened HDTV's, an island in the kitchen, sub zero fridges. Game room in the basement, possibly a sports bar.

and let's not forget an SUV in every driveway....perhaps an H2 for the shameless and an H1 for those who are really asking for it. McMansionism = CONSUMPTION!

we stick to the high off the floor 4 post bed, it's still the best sleep around.

McMansions are basically the thing now, I guess it started in the 80's (out in California probably, not sure) but they're cropping up everywhere. Cathedral ceilings, flat screened HDTV's, an island in the kitchen, sub zero fridges. Game room in the basement, possibly a sports bar.

and let's not forget an SUV in every driveway....perhaps an H2 for the shameless and an H1 for those who are really asking for it. McMansionism = CONSUMPTION!


Si, si. I think they're actually even out of fashion in California now, though they started there in the '80s. The '90s definitely had McMansions (see FPBA house, lots of other TV houses), but they were less obnoxious and purely ugly than your typical '00s McMansion. Like, an '00s McMansion has no landscaping, a tiny lot, pipes running up its high, windowless sides, and an utterly uninteresting, dull, uncomfortably "ordinary" looking sort of interior. Think the houses on Desperate Housewives.

Yeah, guess I never really noticed. To me 90s houses looked pretty much the same as today.

I suppose so...in some respects. :-\\

I suppose so...in some respects. :-\\


'00s houses are much plainer and whiter.

'00s houses are much plainer and whiter.


One thing I've noticed is that in the decorative scheme of '90s houses, there was no room for black or white. Meanwhile, '80s and '00s houses are centered around those colors, usually with a third color included and bursts in the decorative accents, with tons of warm browns and metallic blues in '00s houses. '90s houses would say layer royal purple and gray black, or tan and pink.

One thing I've noticed is that in the decorative scheme of '90s houses, there was no room for black or white. Meanwhile, '80s and '00s houses are centered around those colors, usually with a third color included and bursts in the decorative accents, with tons of warm browns and metallic blues in '00s houses. '90s houses would say layer royal purple and gray black, or tan and pink.


Do you think 80s interior design in general was more bold and experimental than 90s? I would say 70s homes were conventional on the outside for the most part (though alot of experimenting was happening), but beautifully gaudy inside, with georgeous linoleum and shaggy vomit-coloured rugs ;-). When I think 80s architecture I always think of 'Scarface' for some reason, and the real space age/polymer sort of design.

Do you think 80s interior design in general was more bold and experimental than 90s? I would say 70s homes were conventional on the outside for the most part (though alot of experimenting was happening), but beautifully gaudy inside, with georgeous linoleum and shaggy vomit-coloured rugs ;-). When I think 80s architecture I always think of 'Scarface' for some reason, and the real space age/polymer sort of design.


The '80s, like the '60s, were pretty modernist. Lots of industrial-type designs and gray/muted mousey browns with bursts of color defined the design schemes overall. Also, the super-plain, modernist kitchens with alot of indoor plants are uber-'80s. '70s houses were like split-levels or those wooden ranches that almost looked Scandinavian, or remodeled older houses. They had like tons of linoleum and all these weird vomit-colors and puces and teals and multiple gradated colors on refrigerator doors...'90s interior design was pretty subdued, yet "classic", and pretty cluttered looking.