“Sweet smoking Jesus, what was the matter with these people?”
Who knows? But we do need to accept the fact that otherwise sensi... read full description
Who knows? But we do need to accept the fact that otherwise sensi... read full description
reviews
Jul 06, 2009
Jenny
rated it: 
FUNNY! I haven't laughed out loud for this many consecutive pages in years. A couple of tid-bits:
"Surely [this design:] started with someone in a clown suit sawing puppies in half, and it just got worse."
"Hail the albino-dinosaur-prostate hanging lamp!"
"If you wanted a decor that contained so much red and so many candles that you could blame the sudden appearance of Satan on your furniture- "Well I certainly wasn't planning to hav More...
"Surely [this design:] started with someone in a clown suit sawing puppies in half, and it just got worse."
"Hail the albino-dinosaur-prostate hanging lamp!"
"If you wanted a decor that contained so much red and so many candles that you could blame the sudden appearance of Satan on your furniture- "Well I certainly wasn't planning to hav More...
Oct 22, 2009
Scott
rated it:
So, I kind of flipped through this book, and the pictures alone (even if they're poor reproductions) are pretty awful and worth a look. But I wasn't really "into" James Lileks tone. He's kind of mean, excessively snarky, and sometimes he just tries to hard. But that's why there's that phrase, "Don't judge a book by it's cover, or even a few out of context pages." Because when taken as a whole, these rooms deserve to be made fun of, even if it is a little harsh, Lileks is almo
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Apr 16, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
a truly wonderful/terrible book. I must confess that recently when I was watching old episodes of "Family Affair" I found myself swelling wit a strange longing towrds the marigold and avocado color scheme - along with the brown paneling. It seems like such an ideal environment all around - I love that show! It must bring back some secirity in childhood issue for me...
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Dec 29, 2010
Cornerofmadness
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 22, 2008
James
rated it:
I sent this as a gift to a friend who has a degree in fine arts and is a talented artist and designer, along with a book on the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) - I knew that once he regained consciousness and got over the bleeding from the eyes likely to result from some of the pictures, he would be laughing.
If you witnessed the 70s, you will find somewhere in this book the image of a room you've been in, maybe even lived in. Look around now and be humbly grateful, then wonder what those of us s More...
If you witnessed the 70s, you will find somewhere in this book the image of a room you've been in, maybe even lived in. Look around now and be humbly grateful, then wonder what those of us s More...
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Aug 15, 2008
Rob
rated it:
Personally, I feel nostalgic about the 70s, and I think that James Lileks harshes on that decade a little too much, both here and in his other works.* I'll concede the point, however: the examples of interior design in this book are mind-numbingly atrocious, and Lileks's commentary is, as usual, as hilarious as it is incisive. If you enjoyed Lileks's masterwork, A Gallery of Regrettable Food, you'll find this a worthy successor. Gaze upon color schemes that even a blind man could not contemp
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Sep 03, 2008
Lori
rated it:
Ahhh, the 70s....they were the best of times (if you were a sweaty, coked--up-to-the eyeballs swinger on the make hoping your little bag of sweet sinsimellia would sedate most of the groovy chicks into your pad)...they were the worst of times (if you had any friggin' design sense or something approaching aesthetic appreciation.)
Lileks and I must have both spent the decade in that second category...firmly rooted in the 70s as the worst of times. Perhaps we both care too deeply about More...
Lileks and I must have both spent the decade in that second category...firmly rooted in the 70s as the worst of times. Perhaps we both care too deeply about More...
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Sep 09, 2007
Tracey
rated it:
A Christmas present, I perused Interior Desecrations : Hideous Homes from the Horrible '70s that very afternoon.
While the 1970's may seem like an easy target, James Lileks has gone above and beyond his duty to find truly awful interior design examples from the Me Decade. Harvest gold and avocado barely rate a mention compared to the hypnotic patterns, schizophrenic objets d'art and clashing colors displayed in this book. As in his previous publication, The Gallery of Regrettable Food More...
While the 1970's may seem like an easy target, James Lileks has gone above and beyond his duty to find truly awful interior design examples from the Me Decade. Harvest gold and avocado barely rate a mention compared to the hypnotic patterns, schizophrenic objets d'art and clashing colors displayed in this book. As in his previous publication, The Gallery of Regrettable Food More...
Jan 28, 2011
Jennifer
rated it: 
Some weacky over the top 70's groovy rooms but way to many just weren't that bad. Either I have awful taste or the author was extremely snooty. All photos seemed to be high end designs and when I think 70's look I think of what I saw every day at home and at freinds, cheap nubby couches and bicentenial themed drapes. The author's commentary for each room was pretty witty for the most part. Id like to find his other book about regretable food.
Dec 19, 2008
Kenneth
rated it:
I bought this as a present for one of my sisters. I think, however, that I shall read it before I wrap it. (That sounds like some sort of maxim: "Thou shalt read before ye lest wrap.") This is by the same author of The Gallery of Regrettable Foods, so take note Amy D., for all the chintz & cheese is here to swallow & violently yak up.
Update: Read, wrapped, & yakked.
Update: Read, wrapped, & yakked.
Feb 10, 2010
Charlotte
rated it: 
This one was only okay. The topic of '70s interior design is certainly ripe for ridicule, but James Lileks just seems angry about it. He has a few good lines, but the overall tone is more mean-spirited than playful or funny. Still love him with all my heart, but this was a bit of a missed opportunity. Great photos, though. I enjoyed my own private game of "find the ashtrays" as I looked at each picture.
Feb 15, 2011
Jessica
rated it: 
The Better Homes and Gardens features on Lileks' website had been my favorite time-waster for years before this book came out, so I was delighted by this collection. The rooms are horrifying, but his analysis of each one is spot on. Whenever I need a bit of a laugh, I pull this beauty out and look at a page or two.
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Jan 24, 2011
Stephen
rated it:
Mr Lileks is a remarkable writer. He's on my short list of writers who have made me laugh so hard I cried (Wodehouse, Benchley, and Thurber are the others). His subject, the horror of 70s interiors, is a good one, but begin to wear thin after awhile. A fun, quickly read book that's worth a look.
Nov 10, 2010
Rhonda
rated it:
It is amazing at what we consider good decorating fashion. This book was introduced to me by a friend and has been passed around on multiple occasions when a laugh is needed. I really like the was that James Lileks illustrates in his way what he sees in the pictures. Great!
Nov 06, 2009
Benjamin
rated it:
Another salvo of sarcasm aimed at past fads. Not quite as hilarious as The Gallery of Regrettable Food, but a fast, funny read in its own right, and the subject material itself - interior design of the 70s - is actually harder to believe than the regrettable food.
Apr 17, 2008
Needleroozer
rated it:
Dian told me that this was the least funny of James Lileks' books, and I think she was right. However, since the other two books of his that I read (The Gallery of Regrettable Food and Mommy Knows Worst) were two of the funniest books to ever cross my path, "least funny" doesn't neccessarily mean "not funny."
This book is funny and worth checking out by borrowing it from you library or requesting it through interlibrary loan.
If nothing else, it's int More...
This book is funny and worth checking out by borrowing it from you library or requesting it through interlibrary loan.
If nothing else, it's int More...
Jan 17, 2011
Judith
rated it:
These are really horrible! How could they live like this; it hurts the eyes. Was
everyone high or something? BTW, I really enjoy the author's snarky comments.
I admire that quality because I just can't do it.
everyone high or something? BTW, I really enjoy the author's snarky comments.
I admire that quality because I just can't do it.
Dec 03, 2008
Kate
rated it:
I didn't like this one as much as The Gallery of Regrettable Food (this one takes on the interior design asthetics of the 1970s) but it was still pretty amusing.
Aug 01, 2010
Jenny
rated it:
sometime you think you've designed something terrible, but fear not, nothing can ever be as eye-gouging-awful as what's contained in the pages of this book.
Dec 02, 2010
Becky
rated it:
I was cruising along, thinking, "Oh yeah.. that's ugly. But it's not like it's the end of the world or anything." And then Oh Holy Crap I got to the bedrooms. My eyes are still bleeding.
May 09, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
Funny funny pictures. I can't believe the variety of matching wallpaper and upholstery from the '70s.
Dec 26, 2009
Mary
rated it:
What Lileks has done for food in the mid-20th century he now does for the home interior....
Dec 25, 2010
Gini
rated it:
OMG, I got this for Christmas and had to read it immediately. Like The Gallery of Regrettable food, I was laughing like a crazy person from page 1 through to the end. In a word: hilarious.
Jun 12, 2010
People had to seriously be taking something in the 70's to decorate that way!
Sep 22, 2010
Beth
rated it:
Ah, the 70s. A time of ugly interior decorating. James Lileks was kind enough to compile some of the "best" in this book. Some are confusing, some are interesting, and some are just downright hideous. It was fun to see what people of an era thought was "in" and "tasteful." I hope he does the same for other decades, especially the 80s.
