Do you ever look at a house on TV and wish it was yours? Do you want to decorate your home to look like one you saw on the small screen? How we see others live on television shapes how we see our own homes, what we aspire to and offers a possible blueprint for perfect living.

In the 1950’s, no longer did we have to leave the comfort of our own easy chairs to get a peek at the neighbors. We could compare and contrast our spaces with other families, from Ozzie and Harriet to The Dick Van Dyke Show. The middle class was in, family and suburban life was on the rise. We moved from more formal homes to tract houses and twin beds.

The mid-60’s even reinforced the concept that we want what we see on TV with Bewitched and the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz.  Samantha and Darrin were modern, fun and seemed to live in the perfect house.

In the 70s, The Brady Bunch was the epitome of upscale California suburban living. Arguably the most recognizable house on TV, the stone planter, open stairway and orange laminate counters were mimicked by builders and designers for years.

By the 80s, shows like Dallas, Falcon Crest and Dynasty depicted a more opulent lifestyle, while The Golden Girls put hip Florida senior living on the map.

In the 2000’s, Mad Men about the advertising industry in the 1960s, brings us back to Mid-Century modern decor. They do a remarkable job of re-creating the time and romanticizing days gone by. By enjoying these interiors, we see a strong example of how trends and styles recycle. We’ve gone full circle from the 60’s back to todays home.

Over the years, interiors on TV have shown us simplicity, glamour and reality as well as iconic rooms and design disasters. We have been given rooms to admire, color palettes to copy and the diversity of our own lives. Our homes and lifestyle has been reflected through the lens in subliminal messages of how we should live.

Television has given us many memorable rooms from The Mary Tyler Moore Show single woman apartment, to the mess of Rosanne to the grandeur of Downton Abbey.

So whether you are a Don Draper, miss your Brady Bunch childhood or still like to fantasize about the homes of the uber-rich, the line between our lives and the media has shrunk.