Retro Style Interior Design In The Apartment

Retro is a love of the past, including fashion, bright and pleasant nostalgia for times gone by, and the style that has received this name, to bright cheerful colors and unusual forms. It turns out that the fashion for interior trends from the past century requires a certain courage and the presence of rebellious spirit. If you decide to create a retro style design in your apartment, get ready for a dramatic change. However, it is much more convenient to use individual elements in the design of modern housing, even from different decades, if only they were successfully combined in color, and you and your household were comfortable in such an environment.

The retro style of three different decades

Interior designers and historians in the field of fashion and culture divide the retro era into three decades: the 70s, 60s, and 50s of the last century. It was during these years that the peak of the heyday of the retro-style was born, which was born from the late modernity and absorbed all the most daring ideas and hopes of humanity.

Interior in the spirit of the 50s

The first post-war decade declared itself the heyday of industry, a riot of colors and functionality. People enjoyed life, we’re happy to see the peaceful sky above their heads, quickly get rid of the devastation, dullness, dark colors of military everyday life. This joy was also expressed in the interior design: the furnishings of the apartments were extremely concise and functional, and the colors of the walls, the ceiling, and the furniture were bright and optimistic. The ceilings were plastered, whitewashed, the walls were covered with a single color, but rich paint. A characteristic feature of the style is the absence of prints and patterns.

Upholstered furniture of the beginning of the retro-style era was not so soft, it had angular geometric shapes, bulky cabinets replaced dressers, sideboards, bedside tables, banquettes on chrome or wooden legs. The same legs were in sofas and chairs with high backs. Designers actively used glass and plastic, plywood and wood, chrome-plated metal. Home appliances appeared bright and neutral colors with rounded shapes and handle, strikingly similar to the car.

The 60s: hippie, pop art and Astronautics

The 60s brought a lot of new things: people began to conquer space, the hippie era started in the west, pop art came into vogue, having announced Andy Warhol pictures, and loft as a haven for creative people. For the hippie gave the world a lot of patterns and ornaments, mostly geometric and vegetable forms, plain colored walls replaced wallpaper in floral, prints appeared on furniture, blankets, tablecloths, curtains. The most relevant in the retro-interiors of that time were the peas, the cell, and the strip. The walls of the apartments were decorated with posters with advertising of products, neon images of Hollywood stars, “chess linoleum” and fuzzy carpets of fantastic colors were laid on the floor.

Space themes are reflected in the streamlined and futuristic forms of lamps, chairs, shelves, bollards, coffee tables. The background of the walls, the floor becomes more neutral and concise, but the rest of the objects seem to shout over each other in brightness. Vinyl wallpaper, geometric prints repeating in different details, furniture made of plastic, metal, plywood, glass, PVC pipes are popular. An egg chair, a cocoon chair, a tulip chair, soft bag chairs – all these trends of retro design gave us a decade of the 60s.

The interiors of apartments 70s

Interiors with a predominance of warm, deep, rich and noble shades: woody, earthy, marsh, terracotta, mint, turquoise tones are typical for this period of retro style development. The seats in the furniture have become softer, the shape of the sofas and chairs is more streamlined; textured textiles are used as upholstery: suede, velvet. Tulle on the windows was completed with heavy curtains, leather furniture, crystal chandeliers and crockery in a trend.

Lamps lose their resemblance to comic spotlights and futuristic décor, often fabric fringed lampshades are used – on floor lamps, sconces, chandeliers in kitchens, over the dining table. The same “pendants” can be seen on the curtains, covers on upholstered furniture. Inter-room curtains made of glass beads came into fashion, they separate zones in the living room, decorate windows. In the living rooms appeared sideboards with beautiful dishes, bar cabinets, elegant coffee tables: life is getting better, and the interiors ambien become richer, calmer, richer with objects, decor, accessories.

Realistic design of different rooms in a retro style.

Fully recreate the interior of the room in the style of the 60s, 70s, or 50s of the last century only a narrow specialist, a designer-historian, can do it. The task is difficult, requiring hard work and solid cash investments. In addition, it is unknown whether you would be comfortable in such a house. Vintage parts, furniture, accessories will have to look at flea markets, flea markets, restore or artificially grow old, make to order. Consider that the abundance of retro design elements can turn any housing into a sort of junk shop. It is better to use old or “antique” things metered, harmoniously and tastefully, combining them with modern wallpaper, furniture, textiles. Vintage and retro details will be a bright addition, a highlight of the design, giving it depth and individuality.

Retro style kitchen

To create a retro-style kitchen interior, a couple of authentic pieces of equipment are enough: a refrigerator and an oven. The technique itself can be bright red, turquoise, blue or mint. Such models are in the collections of many well-known brands, they will fit perfectly even in the kitchen with classic frame facades. Another option is to use a retro-style finish: paint the walls in pale turquoise or mint color, use a chessboard layout of black and white square tiles. Textile lamp shade with tassels will have to be supplemented with similar textiles – a tablecloth with a fringe in a cage, linen or cotton curtains in flower. Modern built-in appliances in the interior of the kitchen can be masked with panels, doors, and enamel handles, brass or copper faucets in retro style will look great in a set with similar accessories:

Retro style living room

It is this room that the owners try to make an elegant and beautiful as possible, here is the place for retro design, aged furniture, grandmother’s dresser, and vintage posters, other authentic accessories from the 50-70s of the last century. A low chest of drawers, a desk, or a sofa with legs will become a bright spot from the past, and such detail can be supplemented with a fluffy carpet with a geometric pattern or an “animal skin”. Lamps should be chosen in the same style and design: the central chandelier, wall lamps, and floor lamps should be made of either chromed metal, cylindrical or spherical plastic, or of crystal or textile.

If you opt for retro accessories, give preference to bright glass or plastic vases or the same crystal. The disc phone will make a worthy company with a rarity tape recorder, and posters in the spirit of pop art and abstraction on the walls will be similar to the colors of armchairs and sofas. Pictures of Marilyn Monroe, a transparent cocoon chair, and the same weightless plexin-eye chairs or a retro-design coffee table with a teardrop shape will perfectly fit into the modern living room. The main thing is not to overdo it with the details in order to get a harmonious and beautiful interior of the retro living room as in the photo.

Bedroom in the spirit of retro

The bedroom is a private zone, therefore, furnishing this room according to your ideas about retro-style, choose muted, natural tones, deep shades of blue, gray, green, and use bright red, yellow and orange colors only in details. The main trend that the rhinestone will give your bedroom a vintage patina is geometric patterns repeating in textiles. Diamonds, squares, peas, a cell may be present in the pattern of curtains, bed linen, bedspreads, pillows, in the design of the headboard. Trellis – a characteristic piece of furniture interior retro style. Use a banquette and bedside tables on wooden or chrome legs, a fur bedside rug in the shape of a skin, textured plaids, hang family photos on the walls in laconic frames.

The retro-styled design is a state of mind, a thing requiring delicate taste and the right approach. Start with the design of a single room; try yourself as a designer, using bright, colorful vintage items, and the existing design as a neutral background. Making sure that you like this interior style, you feel comfortable in it, continue to experiment, but do not overdo it, otherwise, you risk waking up once in a museum.