Three Hip, Groovy DIY Decor Ideas
Created: 16 February 2023 Updated: 6 September 2023
We loved creating these groovy decorations for our 1960s murder mystery party (Murder in the Swinging Sixties).
As we ran the game three times (it was our first one!), we experimented with three different sets of decor ideas for our two parties and one dinner party.
With each idea, we focussed on the musical theme of the game and also included some hippie touches. (Peace man!) We hope you enjoy each idea!
We created a fab psychedelic vibe to the party by covering one wall of the dining room and one wall of the lounge in a 60s Groovy Room Role (from Amascan). We then picked up these wonderfully bright pink, purple, turquoise, green, and yellow colors with two Sparkly Sequin Table Runners from Hestya and also with different printouts from the party pack.
To echo the black of the records that we used throughout our decor, we used a black tablecloth. But then we added a really fab colorful touch with two Sparkly Sequin Table Runners from Hestya. (We decided that using two table runners, one down each side of the table, was more colorful than having one central table runner.)
As the murder mystery is set in the 60s music industry, we wanted to create a musical feel throughout the decorations. Records - both LPs and Singles - were popular throughout the 1960s and so we used LP records for placemats and Single records as coasters. For the coasters, in order to continue the groovy color scheme of the room roll, we used the record centers that come with the game's Decoration Pack.
Note: we bought a batch set of second-hand records from a local charity shop.
Tip: if you have a wooden table, then create placemats that offer some degree of heatproofing by having several layers of records with cardboard circles in between them. Use a black felt-tip pen to cover up any visible traces of cardboard.
We then used the circular musical place cards and the colorful menus that come with the game's Decoration Pack.
We also covered an empty wine bottle in some leftover room roll, added a music-themed wine label provided with the game to another wine bottle, and scattered some sparkly green and purple glass pebbles as table adornments.
As an unusual table centrepiece, we turned Singles records into a mobile that enhanced our colour schemes and the musical theme.
We used a dozen Single records and glued the record centers that come with the game's Decoration Pack on BOTH sides of the Singles so that the mobile would be equally colorful from all angles. We then hung these Singles from different arms of our ceiling light, using different lengths of black cotton, to create an interesting effect.
Note: by handing the Singles from different arms of our ceiling light, we were able to create a 3D effect. We could have created a similar effect by hanging them from different points on the ceiling.
We used the 12 Singles Record Covers in the game's Party Pack and turned them into a feature by staggering them on a large A2-sized black card background. (Note that the black card echoed the black tablecloth for visual consistency across the party spaces.)
We also used our teenager's drums and guitars as props to echo the music theme of the mystery. (In the murder mystery, PLJ Phoneix is a music mogul and Pearl is organizing the world's grooviest rock festival.)
We bought a second-hand picture in a gold picture frame from a charity shop. We replaced the picture with black card and then stuck the PJL Phoenix Records sign from the Decoration Pack into the center of the card.
We then selected 8 second-hand LP records and stuck the record centers provided with the game onto the center of each LP.
We turned the frame onto its front and used an electric drill to screw one LP into each corner so that just a quarter of the record center was hidden by the frame when seen from the front. We screwed the other four records onto the frame so that they formed the top, bottom, left and right centers of the frame.
We opted for a music vibe for most of the party decor, but you can't have a Swinging Sixties party without hippies and our murder mystery has a prominent hippie theme.
Therefore, we created a hall "welcome" table with a hippie vibe.
We used gold spray paint on six empty wine bottles.
Tip: use this paint outside and put an old cloth underneath to avoid staining your driveway.
We then went to Pixabay.com and Unsplash.com and printed different printouts with a love or peace theme.
We added to the hippie feel by placing some brightly colored scarves over the hall table.
Finally, we used the same psychedelic scene setter that we had used in the dining room and lounge to add a feeling of visual consistency between our party spaces. We also framed the "Chicks, Cats, Hippies and Squares" poster from the Decoration Pack on a black card to coordinate with the black tablecloth and the black card on other posters throughout the lounge and dining room.
For this idea of how to decorate our Swinging Sixties party table, we swapped the striking contrast of the black tablecloth with the sequinned table runners for a warm red tablecloth. We then bought some colorful second-hand scarves from a charity shop and overlaid the red tablecloth with a wide shocking pink scarf and then a narrower turquoise scarf. We used a multi-colored crocheted scarf for the table runner.
Instead of a candelabra, we used the hippie peace and love bottles for table candles.
Colored glass beads and some simple flowers added to the hippie look.
We bought an abstract fabric oddment in warm tones of red and gold from a charity shop and hung this from the picture rail above the sideboard to mimic the wall tapestries some hippies used.
A sixties record player and record case added period detail - as did the old rotary dial phone that was available in the 60s.
As with our first idea, we had a mobile of Single records as our table centerpiece.
We used a colorful abstract scarf for the tablecloth, then covered the sideboard with purple scarves. We then hung an assortment of tablecloths and long scarves from the ceiling to create a feeling of hippie wall tapestries.
We then picked up the musical feel of the game by fixing two guitars on top of the sideboard to make a statement as guests arrived. We also used a miniature musical toy set for the table centerpiece.
Then we added some flowers and colored beads to complete the simple hippie look.
If you would be interested in a fab, fun 60s murder mystery shindig, then please check our Murder in the Swinging Sixties game.
