15 tell-tale signs you were born in the 1970s

1. You get misty-eyed about

macramé
hanging plant-holders. This marks you out as a true child of the Seventies.
We have good news for you: they're back. Who'd have thought? Etsy and the edgier interiors blogs are awash with the things. For best effect, pair with that other Seventies staple, the spider plant.

2. You hanker after a nest of tables.
You probably had a nest of tables long before "midcentury modern" became one of the most overused descriptions on eBay, applied to every bit of tat. We're guessing they're teak and from G-Plan's Quadrille range and that you lovingly polish them with Pledge. Right? Being a child of the Seventies, you will of course be familiar with the entire G-Plan back catalogue, especially the coveted Danish collection created by Kofod Larsen. But you will also regularly name-check Archie Shine, Nathan, France & Sons and Stag.

3. You have a secret thing for house plants.

Back in the Seventies a Swiss cheese plant - or Monstera deliciosa, if you want to be clever - was every middle-class mother's pride and joy. It groovy sat in the corner of the lounge, shooting tendrils through the surface of the soil and slowly, triffid-like, taking of the whole room. She even wet-wiped its leaves, while tuned in to the Jimmy Young Show. We're happy to report that these too are back. Some farsighted soul, in it for the long haul, has obviously been cultivating them over the intervening years, otherwise surely they'd now be extinct. (PS You'll find that Baby Bio sells leaf wipes.)

4. You fancy a bit of hot tub action

Just as well that they're back then. Hot tubs have something of a suburban reputation, but the latest versions, from companies like bathingunderthesky.com come handcrafted in western red cedar and have a certain folksy charm. Wood-fired, easy to heat and requiring no chemicals, you might as well be a good neighbour and invite the whole street round! (We don't want to know what happens next...)

5. You find yourself trawling eBay searching for drinks trolleys. Because sometimes a nest of tables just isn't enough. Time was when a drinks trolley would have been the height of irony, striking only a kitsch note in an interior owned by Beverley from Abigail's Party. Not now. NB: they only look sophisticated and cool in a stripped-back interior, their surfaces bare but for a well-chosen statement lamp. What you don't want is for it to look like something out of an old person's front room laden with sweets and knickknacks.
But then you'll know all this if you are a child of the Seventies.

6. You love a bit of disco glamour
Are
you partial to sparkle, the odd glitter ball around? Everyone loves a
bit of decadence and glamour Studio-54-style, right? Bianca, Bowie,
Bolan - icons that still inspire. Spacey, unprectictable, wild... Get
those champagne saucers out, the party starts here! Wig out...

7. A peacock chair is on your wish-list.
You may not have been fortunate enough to have one at home in the Seventies, but you certainly aspired to one. Back in the day, it was typically a glam conservatory piece... very popular in TV series and movies, often artfully strewn with an acoustic guitar or a beautiful girl across it. A wonderful design, it's both so very Seventies and yet so timeless.

8. You like your wallpaper loud and funky

Remember how people used to laugh at swirly wallcoverings in the 1980s and 1990s, trotting out that old chestnut about the Seventies being the decade that taste forget. Well, the joke's on them now. However, should anyone laugh at yours, point them to the glorious offerings on the House of Hackney website.
Then, when their back's turned, spit in their liebfraumilch.

9. Your favourite sofa is big. And tan. And leather
Look familiar? Isn't this piece just bursting with retro cool? Tan, mustard, chocolate, BEIGE - pick any of those earthy The

Good Life hues - they were all the rage in the Seventies - and as it happens, bang on trend for 2015. Perhaps you have tribal print and crochet cushions as well. What about a Morrocan pouffe? And not forgetting beanbags...

10. You‘re seriously thinking about having shag-pile carpet fitted.

You're bored with bare wood, and suddenly parquet feels a bit passé. Anyway, wall-to-wall shag, as it were, is just the natural progression from a Beni Ourain rug, surely? Think how cosy it would feel! Think how fabulously groovy and low-slung it would all look! (Yeah, and think of the things that might lurk there... But enough.) In the Seventies they were so deep you could lose yourself in them and covered walls and not just floors. Don't believe us? Just Google "Jayne Mansfield bathroom"
for proof. Promise us two things: don't carpet the loo in it, and stick to a chic shade of off-white.

11. You dig designer plastic
Are you a fan of ice-white polymers? Seventies James Bond was always walking round stylish monochrome pads full of that fab new material called plastic - iconic Panton chairs, Tulip chairs and tables, hanging bubble loungers, ice buckets... Cool, right? White is very Bond, but those Tutti Fruitti colours are also very right-on, no?

12. Your lighting

is retro hip
You have vintage pendants dotted around. Like this Poul Christiansen Le Klint number. And, you've even found an original fibre-optic lamp online - look, see how it showers amazing, trippy rainbow sparkles everywhere. Like, wow, man!

13. Your kitchen is

a Tangerine dream
You believe décor is about making a statement. While some people rip out those old avocado and orange units at the first opportunity, you have an affection for those bright kitchens of yore. What a refreshing look at breakfast. Plus there's a great table for family meals. Bet there's a fondue in one of those cupboards too. And, you note, Le Creuset has updated its Volcanic cookware. That new purple one is right on the Seventies money.

14. Your stairs has open treads
You're all about letting the light in, aren't you? Stylish open or floating stairs maximise the light and make a space seem grand and airy. Open-plan living and double height spaces are seen as very contemporary, but they are in fact Seventies ideas. Just like those tubular chrome leg chairs... Well, their rattan backs fit very well with those warm wood treads.

15. You still like to play games
Well, who can resist a space hopper? Race you to the end of the garden...

For more design inspiration, go to the Livingetc home page.