Painting & decorating '70s style

That's one way to bring home a roll of lino

OK, so Your Beautiful Home on a Budget is not about craft as such, but when you open a book on the contents page to see a laughing couple in earth shoes and hotpants cycling home from the DIY store on a tandem complete with Donald Duck skirt guard, you know you're onto a winner.

The book is packed with eye-popping ideas for revamping your home on a shoestring, 1974-style. Do It Yourself and you could, for instance, be the proud owner of a psychedelic chest of drawers:

Swoon

Love the drawers (obviously) and the matchy-matchy lampshade, and adore the little mini chest of drawers at the back there (just imagine if that had been given the spray paint treatment too...)

Careful of the fumes, mate

The majority of the jazzing up of furniture seems to be achieved with masking tape and spray paint – here's one of the DIYers busy pimping his kitchen cabinets.

Not sure what the budget aspect of this pink shag-pile carpet is, and pink's a colour I'm not crazy about, but this works – even though this woman looks like she's emanating some kind of Ready Brek glow:

Shag hairstyle, shag-pile carpet

Next, a couple of music lovers listen to Universal Soldier by Donovan on their hifi system, having lined up Simon & Garfunkel's Bookends to play next (both records were released a good five years before this book came out).

Great taste you guys

Last but not least, a smiling foursome unpack their Texas Homecare booty from the hatchback of their Austin Maxi. No wonder they look so happy – what's not to like about this set-up?

Communal living

And that's just a fraction of the interiors eye candy in this book:

Laurie Larson Publications (1974). Part of the Young Color series

I bought Your Beautiful Home on a Budget in a junk shop in Hastings in 2003, along with, and I hesitate to make such a wild claim, an even better one in the series, Planning Colour for your Home, which has a chapter on every colour in all it's 1970s glory. I am planning a post on that, too, so do stay tuned.