From the outside, Kathy Skog's house looks like an unassuming 1970s home: a pine-clad, modified A-frame overlooking Iola Lake in Wisconsin. Step inside, however, and an entirely different story reveals itself. The home’s interior bursts forth with a kaleidoscopic range of colors—moss green and daffodil yellow and brick red—quirky design objets and sleek lounge sets, all true to the period, down to the tangerine Preway fireplace and the burnt orange hand chair.
For many people, the 1970s conjure up a garish era of shag carpets, polyester bell-bottoms, macramé, and putrid colors—the so-called “decade that taste forgot.” But for Skog, who owns a vintage-decor boutique called Mid-Century Madness in Menasha, Wis., it was a glorious, whimsical period. “We're children of the ‘70s,” said Greg Reinhardt, Skog's fiancé, describing the couple’s love of the era’s offbeat, earthy shapes and motifs. “It was organic, the weavings and hanging lamps and owls—just things that make you happy.”
As midcentury design purveyors, Skog and Reinhardt had long collected furnishings from the 1950s to the ’70s. Eventually, they needed a home to showcase it. “When we were looking for properties, we wanted something different. I didn’t want a cookie-cutter house,” said Skog. With dogged hunting and the indispensable help of a Realtor®, a member of the National Association of Realtors®, they found this cozy 1,250-square-foot house, built in 1975, with its large open living area, vaulted ceiling and spiral floating staircase leading up to a balcony bedroom.
The couple faithfully restored it and filled it with funky treasures and they rent it out for '70s lovers to enjoy. Today, the house is a perfect example of the playfulness, individuality and expressiveness that the 1970s were known for.
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