A 70s-obsessed mum has transformed her house in a living time capsule from the decade including an avocado bathroom suite - which she bagged for just 99p. Simone Radley has spent around £20,000 on retro furniture and antiques from the era to kit out her three-bedroom semi.
She dazzles guests at her house, which features flying ducks on the wall and cheese plants alongside retro furniture, murals and wallpaper. She scours antique and charity shops across the country and online to find iconic 1970s furnishings for the £250,000 house.
And she has spent around £20k on items and work such as plumbing, tiling, carpet fitting, electrical work and joinery. Since moving into the house with husband Jonathan, 38, and their two daughters last September, she has bagged bargains including free sofas and retro bedding for £2.
But her best buy was when she removed an all-white bathroom to be replaced with an avocado and mustard suite she bought from eBay for just 99p. Simone, 38, said her passion for the era began with a love of its fashion and she scoffed at suggestions the 70s is the 'time that taste forgot'.
She said: "I think that's a lot of rubbish, I definitely don't agree. I think it's great.
"It's each to your own and I would never call anyone's style bad really. It's just down to the individual and I think you should really celebrate doing what you love."
Nail artist Simone started collecting 'a few pieces' of 70s style furniture in the couple's old property. But when they moved into their new house in Welton, Lincs., she decided to 'seize the opportunity' to turn the house into one that looks like it's straight out of the 1970s.
She added: “In my previous property, I started collecting a few pieces of furniture from that era. The love grew from there, and as soon as we moved into this property a year ago, I seized the opportunity to do the whole house exactly how I wanted.
"You just get that feeling of comfort, but you look at things in my house and remember them from when you was a child, or your grandmother might have had one. I really love my kitchen although it’s different as it’s from 1959 so it’s a bit earlier than the rest. I also love my bathroom."
While she doesn't have a favourite item, some of her most treasured finds include a tiger print sofa and a gold and brown striped chair and footstool combination. She added: "I don't think I do have a favourite item, as I just love it all. I've got a load of stuff, so it's just really hard to pick.
"The striped chair and footstool are true, authentic seventies so I really like that. I just like the colours and the prints because I like things that are quite bold and stripey. I spend so long trawling sites like eBay and Facebook Marketplace. There's an amazing local antiques centre down the road so I go there whenever I can and I just love going around charity shops.
"That's another reason why I love my house because I love searching for things. I try not to think about how much I've spent, but it's quite a lot and definitely in the tens of thousands.
"It's one of those things where I think lots of people think you get it really cheap but actually you don't. If you want really good, nice retro pieces then they are quite expensive.
"I have DIY-ed some things where I can, like I've painted the fireplace myself and I've stuck a 70s-inspired vinyl on it. I do what I can just to keep the costs down."
While almost everything in the house is vintage, she had had to compromise on plans for a 1970s square television set as Jonathan wanted a 55inch modern flatscreen. Simone added: "Unfortunately we've got an absolute monstrosity of a modern tv which is one of the compromises I've had to make.
"I wanted a 1960s or 1970s tv, but my husband drew the line at that point. So I've got a massive 55inch tv in my living room. He was pretty much on board, and I'm lucky that he lets me do pretty much what I want, although I have to compromise sometimes.
"He's not afraid of colour and other different things, so I think he actually quite likes it. Sometimes when I first pitch an idea, he might not be too sure but I just think that's because he doesn't have the vision.
"As soon as it's done, he always really likes it so so far, so good." And while their daughters Rose, 9, and Fleur, 7 aren't such keen vintage lovers so have got modern furniture in their bedrooms, Simone has snuck in as much retro decor as she can.
She added: "I have got it in there as much as I can so I've painted a 60s inspired mural on one of Rose's bedroom walls. I just try and include bits where I can, so I put 60s flowers on the wall in Fleur's bedroom and I've got a 60s vintage light shade.
"Rose does often say 'mummy I don't like our vintage house, I want a normal house like other people' but I don't think they think it's too bad. For me, it is normal as it's what I love and I think that people should be free to do what they love."
