Vintage and Retro Home Decor Styles

VINTAGE

What era is ‘vintage’  from?

 Vintage refers to the 1940s and 1950s and evokes the traditional classic styling of that time, it is designed to create a relaxed informal atmosphere, evoke almost a country feel where people tended their vegetable gardens, grew herbs on the kitchen windowsill, hens clucked in the yard and people felt safe leaving their back door unlocked while they nipped out to the shops. 

Why is ‘vintage’ so popular now?

 Because it creates the memories of childhood, of a comfortable and safe family home.  The 1940s and 1950s may not necessarily have been the good old days for many but they are remembered as a time when people came together, there was an ethos of 'mend and make do' hence creativity was to the fore which explains why patchwork quilts and crochet are so popular within this look too.  We have been going through global turbulence economically and just as people are going back to ‘growing their own’ as they did during and after the war, this is affecting how we decorate our homes too.

 Is it easy to create a ‘vintage’ look on a budget?

 Yes!  The ‘Vintage’ style is not a strict, perfect style. Mix and mend with preloved items  is the central theme so feel free to find old furniture and ‘upcycle’ - repair and repaint it, mix different styles of furniture sourced at auctions and antique shops.  If you aren’t up to making a patchwork quilt or crocheting a rug, you can buy them for online stores such as Etsy and Not on the High Street which have many sellers who sell homemade items.  Alternatively, the Greengate brand has fabulous quilts and throws in floral designs that would perfect the look.

 You can paint items of furniture - old chest of drawers, chairs and coffee tables are items that can be picked up cheaply. If you wish to give it a distressed look, rub a wax candles over the corners and edges before you paint it and when dry, rub with fine sandpaper or wire wool over the waxed areas, hence a little of the wood will show through and create that worn look.  

 Dressers or glass fronted display cases are ideal for displaying all your unique finds.  Pretty floral plates or teacups, or jugs and bowls filled with garden flowers create that country cottage garden feel too - it is all about creating a relaxed informal atmosphere. Floral loose covers or throws over chairs will give them a new lease of life and will create a relaxed ambience.  The key with vintage is include all your favourite bits and pieces.

RETRO

What era is ‘retro’ from?

 ‘Retro’ refers to design styles from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and some would argue the 1980s are starting to creep in there too.   According to Danielle Mac Innes of Fuse Finds, modernism has experienced a revival since the early 1990s when designers began to discover the paired down elegance of the period.

How can I create a ‘retro’ look in my home?

 Decorating in a retro style is not placing your home in a 1970s timewarp.  Retro style tends to be a little more over the top, it takes the styles from that era and pushes them that little bit further whether it is with bolder designs such as the Pet Sounds wallpaper from Mini Moderns or being extra bold with colour.  Choose a retro cushion or even some retro mugs in your kitchen will add that additional retro touch without breaking the bank or going too far.

 Retro design style really is a throwback to the mid-twentieth century when streamlined, bright and bold furnishing were introduced.  Furniture lines are usually rounded or curved, sofas in unique kidney or bubble shapes.

Where can I source furniture to create this retro style?

 Items such as Smeg fridges are perfect for helping to create a retro look in a kitchen - available in a host of colours such as sunshine yellow, ice pink and duck egg blue and with its rounded edges it is perfect. Coupled with a checkerboard floor and chrome kitchen accessories and you are well on your way to a retro kitchen.

Skinflint Design www.skinflintdesign.co.uk ships their retro and vintage lighting all over the world, they ‘rescue’ lights from hospitals, derelict buildings and renovated houses and bring wonderful lights lovingly back to life. Check out their website for some wonderful inspiration.

Fuse Finds www.fusefinds.ie will be opening their online furniture store soon but in the meantime their shop in Dublin has a wonderful selection of Eames chairs, sideboards, formica tables, Jacobsen chairs, angle poise lamps and much more. 

As Danielle from Fuse Finds states, ‘Furniture from this period has held its value because of its perfect balance between functionality and beauty".  You can have wonderful fun collecting retro pieces for your home from furniture to funky clocks to elegant angle poise lamps.

Check out Mini Moderns in our online shop  for some great retro designs and Greengate and Jennifer Slattery Textiles for some vintage style home decor finds.