34 Things Everyone Had in Their House in the ’80s
Updated: Apr. 12, 2024
Who can forget the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? See these other fantastic items that are just SO '80s.
Garage Door Opener
As the U.S. emerged from the economic downturn of the ’70s and ushered in a new era of consumer spending in the ’80s, nearly every house on the block started adding garage door openers. Our 1984 issue documented how to install a garage door opener. These days we’re writing about how you can retrofit your garage door opener with Wi-Fi.
Sewing Machines in the Laundry Room
This laundry room from a 1984 issue showcased a room for all seasons and it included a sewing station. We’d be hard pressed to find a sewing station in a laundry room, let alone a home these days. This room also had a computer nearby to make it part hobby room too. You can already see the rise in plastic laminate coming into play. It’s a far cry from what we’re doing these days like a laundry pedestal or these 20 small-space laundry room organization tips.
Kindergarten Classroom Wallpaper
This wallpaper featuring colors of the rainbow will seem familiar for anyone growing up in the ’80s. Maybe more so in the classroom but it also appeared in a similar way in homes. Back in ’84 we highlighted a computer program that told you exactly how much wallpaper you’d need for a room. These days you can figure that out on your phone and much more with any one of these apps.
Bread Box
A bread box seems almost anachronistic these days but they used to be a staple of the house. We should people how to build this oak bread box back in 1983.
Electric Typewriter
There are a couple of things that make this room neat. One is the electric typewriter that many people had in their homes back in 1983, but there’s another thing that’s cool. The Family Handyman decided to build this room from castaway metal office furniture. We gave it a paint job in order to repurpose it. Some 35 years later we still love repurposing things, like these 80 items fantastically fit for repurposing.
Outdoor Furniture
Redwood patio furniture seemed all the rage back in the ’80s and maybe even before that, too. We showcased this patio furniture set back in 1983. The modular design allowed for versatility in arranging the furniture and the lounge chair moved into different positions as well. If there’s one thing we’ve never been short on, it’s been patio furniture ideas. Here are 15 incredible patio furniture ideas you can add.
Cane Wood and Chrome Chairs
These chairs are similar to those the Breuer Chair Company produced during the decade and have long been a terrific vintage look for some people.
Recipe Box
Recipe boxes are kind of like family heirlooms as they, too, have become digitized. We created this see-through recipe box in 1983 to provide easy viewing while cooking and baking. Plus, the card wouldn’t get dirty from handling while cooking or baking. These days we’ve come up with new solutions for 21st century cooks and bakers, like these 10 DIY kitchen tablet stands and a drop-down tablet tray.
Juicer
Fresh-squeezed orange juice used to be a chore in the ’80s and juicers like this one were commonplace in homes. These days there are any number of products that will get you going quicker in the morning.
Wallpaper
Wallpaper remained popular in the ’80s as an interior design option and we profiled Karen Nyman back in 1982 after she started her own wallpapering business. She was one of the few women who ran their own wallpapering business at that time. Wallpaper fell out of favor in the ’90s but some are hinting that wallpaper is making a comeback in the 2010s.
Wrought Iron Outdoor Furniture
Wrought iron furniture has always found a place on the patio but this set with a floral pattern seems a little more specific to the 1980s. This set was made by Lyon-Shaw and is enameled wrought iron.
Floor-to-Ceiling Mirrors
Well, maybe, not every home had a floor-to-ceiling mirror but you probably saw it often enough in a film or television show. We displayed this setup in 1982 inside an apartment. We said back then that floor-to-ceiling mirrors added a feeling of more space and also hid cabinetry and an entertainment center. You might notice the angled lighting creates a dramatic effect and helps point your eyes where the interior designer wanted you to focus. Mirrors have long been a device people use to make a small room feel bigger, but have you heard of these 14 ways to make a small room look bigger?
Rubik’s Cube
Originally called the Magic Cube, the puzzle was created by Erno Rubik, a professor at Budapest’s Academy of Applied Arts and Design. Rubik often built geometric models, and one of them, a 27-piece cube was marketed in Hungary in 1977. By 1980, it was frustrating millions of Americans. It was licensed to the Ideal Toy Corp in 1980.
Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids
One of America’s longest running doll lines, the Cabbage Patch Kids are soft sculptured doll-like creatures sold by Xavier Roberts. Roberts came up with the idea as a 21-year-old art student, when he utilized the quilting skills he learned from his mother and the historic technique of “needle molding” to develop his own line of fabric sculptures. The dolls were first manufactured by Coleco, then Hasbro, Mattel and eventually Wicked Cool Toys. You may also be interested in the most valuable finds in antiques roadshow history.
Care Bears
The Care Bears, a fictional group of multi-colored bear characters, were originally created by artist Elena Kucharik in 1981 to be used on American Greetings cards. The characters went on to become a toy fad in 1985, which then inspired TV programs and films. Today, there are 218 Care Bears. Speaking of history, check out the incredible history of flags in every state!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Many boys across the U.S. had some sort of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle memorabilia. Many had Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle sheets or action figures. The heroes in a half-shell rose from a comic book to action figures to a mini-series before really catching on as a cartoon. Old action figures can sometimes garner some money with the right collector. Be sure to check your home to see if you have any of these valuable items laying around.
Trivial Pursuit
Who doesn’t love being able to voice their library of trivia knowledge in a socially acceptable setting? It’s no small wonder how Trivial Pursuit took off so quickly. The game was created in 1979 and just five years later, 20 million sets sold that year alone. More than 100 million units have sold and the game has taken all kinds of different formats since. If you like hosting game nights, then you need to see these 25 awesome game room ideas.
Ghostbusters
We all know who to call if there was something strange in our neighborhood. Not only did the songs from Ghostbusters stick with us, so did all of the merchandising that came after the film’s release. In addition to the two films in the ’80s there was also a popular cartoon series. Even the kids from Stranger Things dressed as the Ghostbusters. If you think your house is haunted, see what our resident skeptic has to say about it.
Wrestling Anything
Professional wrestling might have hit its zenith in popularity in the ’80s, let’s not forget Wrestlemania III drew a then-record 93,173 people to the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987 where they watched Hulk Hogan famously bodyslam Andre the Giant. Another million fans watched the event on closed circuit television spots at 160 locations while another several million watched the pay-per-view event at home. From wrestling dolls to action figures to even lunch boxes, just about every home had something wrestling related in it. These days you probably don’t want to see any of that stuff around. Here’s how you can declutter for good.
You can still pick up WWE lunch boxes at Amazon, if you want.
Slap Bracelets
This old fad might reside down an ally along Memory Lane but slap bracelets used to adorn the wrists of nearly every kid on the block in the ’80s for a minute. They’re still available online at Amazon if you feel like reviving an old fad or want to start a new hipster trend.
Walkman Cassette Player
The Walkman originally debuted in 1979 and it didn’t take long before everyone held one or had one on their hip. Sony sold more than 50,000 units in the first two months and it’s popularity continued as it morphed to play CDs in the ’90s. The mp3 player, however, ended the Walkman’s reign in the 2000s.
Finger Monsters
You likely had a few of these and other toys fall through a floor vent at some point. These Finger Monsters were just about everywhere in the ’80s with kids. Here are some slick ways to corral toys at home now so you don’t have to worry about clutter or losing them.
Micro Machines
One glance at an old Micro Machine commercial will take you back to a time where that’s all that seemed to play on Saturday morning television. The shrunk-down cars and trucks first appeared on the market in 1987. Later they became further intwined with popular culture by appearing in Home Alone and even became a video. For a decade known for its excesses, the Micro Machine seemed incongruous.
Reminisce a little more by tracing the craziest toy fads of the past 25 years.
Fanny Pack
The fanny pack became en vogue toward the tail-end of the ’80s and it still exists, albeit with hipsters and maybe professional wrestlers. It’s hard to remember the convenience it provided or why someone felt it a necessary fashion accessory. Nevertheless, you can still find them at Amazon and a number of other places. Discover the vintage home trends that are making a comeback, too!
Polaroid Cameras
Polaroid cameras date back a long way but by the 1980s nearly every home had a Polaroid camera or at least something similar. We advocated for people to keep a camera in their toolbox to create an inventory of their tools and valuables at home.
It’s a far different scene these days with people using their phones to capture nearly everything they do. Polaroid cameras are still available on the market and a view of the nostalgic can leave one longing for the days of flipping through photo albums.
Boxy TVs
This TV fit perfectly into a see-through divider we created back in 1981 but it could’ve easily gone anywhere else in the home like the kitchen or a bedroom. Nowadays most TVs are flat screens and are mounted to the wall or people are using their tablets to stream programs.
Tile Furniture
Those little doodles of 3D squares you like to do turned into furniture in our 1981 issue. We used ceramic tiles on wooden frames to create these pieces. We used them to display plants and though not every house had furniture like this, there was certainly an emphasis on geometric patterns in the ’80s.
Blinds
Blinds, especially mini-blinds started to take over in the ’80s. Even as soon as 1981, mini-blinds made up around 70-80 of the window covering market. In our story about windows in 1981, we said modern blinds can dramatize a window, de-emphasize a window or give a room an entirely new look. We even had blinds that seamlessly matched wall patterns. We said back then that blinds could be used to hide bad design or structural errors. One thing that hasn’t changed about mini-blinds is how tough it is to clean them but fortunately, we’ve got a great tip on how to effectively clean mini-blinds.
Rattan
This room we featured in 1981 features a little bit of every decor item that made up the ’80s. From the rattan table and baskets to the earth colors, it’s almost quintessential ’80s decor. The linoleum floor will certainly bring back memories for many, too. Find out why earth tones started to make a comeback recently.
Faux Stone Fireplaces
There’s a lot going in this room but one thing that stands out is the faux rock fireplace. Homeowners moved away from the classic brick fireplace in the ’70s and ’80s to something like this. Then there’s the ubiquitous track lighting in the room and vertical blinds on the sliding glass door. Nearly every edition of The Family Handyman has track lighting somewhere in it. This is actually called platform furniture and we built it with plywood, 2x4s and carpet.
Brassy Chandeliers
The chandelier in this dining room comes with a lot of brass and geometric glass. These types of chandeliers appeared pretty frequently in homes, just like the wallpaper in the background and the glass hutch. In this 1981 story we updated this dining room and added parquet flooring as well.
Wallpaper Patterns
We had the emergence of the Rubik’s Cube and it seemed once that caught on it followed to our walls as wallpaper. In this 1981 story we transformed a garage into a hobby/recreation room for some additional living space. This type of project could raise the value of your home, as could these 14 weekend projects.
Teddy Ruxpin
This lovable teddy bear was all the rage in the ’80s. If you want to buy one now, the price tag is a little bit steeper than it was 40 years ago. Teddy Ruxpin was first introduced midway through the decade and allowed you to insert a tape cassette into the toy’s back to play music.
Hi-Fi Sound System
This Hi-Fi sound system came as part of the media room we designed in a 1981 edition of the magazine. In addition to the Hi-Fi, there was a projection TV, video disc player, VCR and turntable. Though you can’t see it, rest assured there was track lighting, too. Back in ’81 we figured a projection TV ran around $3,000, a VCR cost $800 and a videodisc player rang in around $500. Take a look at what our ultimate buying guide for a home theater looks like now.
