How to Create a Retro Look in Decorating

Focus on a specific decade or year, and then gather images of home decor from that era for research. Vintage magazines and catalogs are available at many thrift and antique stores; these primary sources give you a strong sense of retro home decor styles. Assemble images, paint chips, fabric swatches and photographs of the rooms you are decorating on a large piece of foam board. This "inspiration board" keeps your images in one place and lets you determine the retro look that you want for your house.

Give a room a retro reboot by starting with the floors and walls. A 1950s-style redecoration might start with bright, technicolor shades on the wall like cherry red, seafoam green and poodle-skirt pink. The 1960s saw the foil-covered wallpaper, or paper covered with raised velveteen figures, while the 1970s saw bold colors and op-art inspired patterns. Floors are equally important; the iconic fifties floor is covered in checkerboard black and white tiles, while the sixties and seventies enjoyed the popularity of shag carpeting and parquet floors. Adapt these concepts for your budget by painting or papering just one wall for a dramatic focal point, or adding a rug in a geometric pattern or fluffy material.

Choose furniture that echoes the lines of your retro period. Simple, sleek and unfussy lines were the hallmark of 1950s and 1960s furniture, a style that was dominated by designers like Arne Jacobsen and Ray and Charles Eames. The 1960s and 1970s also saw a more relaxed aesthetic emerge in furniture that emphasized comfort and functionality. The papasan chair, a shallow wicker basket that held a soft cushion, was hugely popular in 1970s homes. As the decade progressed, the furniture of the 1970s became more futuristic, reflecting the space exploration of the period. Shiny, sterile surfaces like white plastic, stainless steel and black leather were popular. This futuristic aesthetic was embodied by designer Eero Arnio, whose egg-shaped, molded plastic chair was found in many modern houses.

Finish your retro decorating look with trendy, period-appropriate touches. A kitschy sunburst clock keeps time in a retro-fifties kitchen, while love beads and lava lamps add a groovy flair to a sixties-inspired living room. Geometric patterns on carpets and lampshades give a seventies touch to a bedroom. Use your walls to showcase prints by popular artists of the period; Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko dominated the 1950s art scene, while Andy Warhol rose to prominence in the 1960s. Vintage advertisements from your decade also make for retro wall art.