Decorating
So Your Style Is: Retro
Speeding straight out of the 1970s, retro style is quirky, fun and full of surprises
What it is: After the restrained elegance of midcentury style, the retro look, born just a few decades later, is a little looser and more fun. The soft, natural tones of midcentury style have given way to bold oranges, dark browns and custard yellow, and pattern is also big news, with swirling lines and slightly homely repeats splashed across rugs, bed linen and curtains. Big, chunky features are also at home in a retro scheme, whether that’s an exposed brick fireplace or a sunken sofa! Fashionable Seventies materials included Formica, that colourful workhorse of the kitchen, as well as dark wood and smoked glass. Today, though, the look can be mixed with glamorous contemporary touches and finishes to bring it beautifully up to date.
Why it works: There is a sense of fun, even excess, about a retro scheme, that ensures it looks striking, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. With designers such as Orla Kiely referencing this period in their china and bed linen designs, and lots of original pieces from the Seventies still available in retro stores, it’s also an easy look to source.
You’ll love it if: You have the Bay City Rollers on your iPod, you think oranges and olives belong in your colour scheme, not your fridge, and you can still remember when nylon sheets were the last word in stylish bedding.
Why it works: There is a sense of fun, even excess, about a retro scheme, that ensures it looks striking, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. With designers such as Orla Kiely referencing this period in their china and bed linen designs, and lots of original pieces from the Seventies still available in retro stores, it’s also an easy look to source.
You’ll love it if: You have the Bay City Rollers on your iPod, you think oranges and olives belong in your colour scheme, not your fridge, and you can still remember when nylon sheets were the last word in stylish bedding.
Weave in some pattern
Swirling lines in bold, contrasting shades capture the retro vibe, but you can bring it up to date by opting for a monochrome take on the period’s colourful patterns. The striking design on this rug has a retro feel, and teaming it with crazy bubble chairs and orange upholstery further ramps up the Seventies style.
Check out more bold monochrome ideas
Swirling lines in bold, contrasting shades capture the retro vibe, but you can bring it up to date by opting for a monochrome take on the period’s colourful patterns. The striking design on this rug has a retro feel, and teaming it with crazy bubble chairs and orange upholstery further ramps up the Seventies style.
Check out more bold monochrome ideas
Bring up to date
Take the classic ingredients of a retro kitchen – the dark brown cabinets, green tiled splashback and orange feature lighting – but source each element new for a fresh update on the Seventies look. This kitchen brilliantly references retro style, but creates a slightly cleaner, less cluttered look.
Take the classic ingredients of a retro kitchen – the dark brown cabinets, green tiled splashback and orange feature lighting – but source each element new for a fresh update on the Seventies look. This kitchen brilliantly references retro style, but creates a slightly cleaner, less cluttered look.
Hang out with it
Spacious living areas that put lounging at the top of the priority list were key ingredients of retro homes, so channel that spirit by introducing plenty of seating in your scheme. A hanging chair adds a shot of pure Seventies cool.
Spacious living areas that put lounging at the top of the priority list were key ingredients of retro homes, so channel that spirit by introducing plenty of seating in your scheme. A hanging chair adds a shot of pure Seventies cool.
Use in every room
Even a child’s room can suit a retro scheme, as this picture illustrates. Here, funky lighting, green walls and accents of turquoise and yellow bring colour, which children love, but with a design context, too.
Browse more colourful kids’ rooms
Even a child’s room can suit a retro scheme, as this picture illustrates. Here, funky lighting, green walls and accents of turquoise and yellow bring colour, which children love, but with a design context, too.
Browse more colourful kids’ rooms
Check it out
Floor tiles laid in a classic chequerboard pattern are often associated with American diners of the Fifties, but lay them in a more retro shade of orangey-brown and you bring the look bang into the Seventies.
Floor tiles laid in a classic chequerboard pattern are often associated with American diners of the Fifties, but lay them in a more retro shade of orangey-brown and you bring the look bang into the Seventies.
Take to the walls
Painting your walls with a design, rather than top to toe in a single shade, is a great way to bring a hint of retro style to your space. This living room continues its band of sludgy tones off into the corridor, to create a sense of movement. Comfy seating and an oversized light complete the look, and turn the space into something Austin Powers might approve of.
Painting your walls with a design, rather than top to toe in a single shade, is a great way to bring a hint of retro style to your space. This living room continues its band of sludgy tones off into the corridor, to create a sense of movement. Comfy seating and an oversized light complete the look, and turn the space into something Austin Powers might approve of.
Max it up
More is often more in a true retro room, so layer up the rich orange, brown and yellow tones, add some patterned wallpaper, and get those chunky Seventies ceramics out and on display. Fondue anyone?
More is often more in a true retro room, so layer up the rich orange, brown and yellow tones, add some patterned wallpaper, and get those chunky Seventies ceramics out and on display. Fondue anyone?
Head for the homespun
Retro style often edged towards the homespun, with crochet and patchwork among the favoured textiles and simple furniture with colourful upholstery slotting into the scheme, too.
Retro style often edged towards the homespun, with crochet and patchwork among the favoured textiles and simple furniture with colourful upholstery slotting into the scheme, too.
Think big
Large-scale lighting and big, bold architectural features are central to the retro look. This staircase has both, with its quirky balustrade, illuminated by a funky chandelier. There’s also a painting in suitably retro tones of orange and red on the wall.
Large-scale lighting and big, bold architectural features are central to the retro look. This staircase has both, with its quirky balustrade, illuminated by a funky chandelier. There’s also a painting in suitably retro tones of orange and red on the wall.
Team it with neutrals
It’s not necessary to cover walls in colour to achieve a retro feel. Introduce the yellows, oranges and brick reds of that period on smaller items first, from bed linen to cushions, weaving it in against neutral walls for an easy-to-live-with result.
Does retro feature anywhere in your home? Tell us what you love – or hate – about the style in the comments below.
It’s not necessary to cover walls in colour to achieve a retro feel. Introduce the yellows, oranges and brick reds of that period on smaller items first, from bed linen to cushions, weaving it in against neutral walls for an easy-to-live-with result.
Does retro feature anywhere in your home? Tell us what you love – or hate – about the style in the comments below.
You don’t need to drench your home in orange paint to achieve a retro feel. Incorporating just a handful of pieces that nod to the look will add depth to your scheme. Here, wonderful yellow leather and tubular steel dining chairs contribute some retro style to an eclectic dining space.