Retro style – interior design styles 20.

The retro interior design style evokes the design of past decades, typically blending the styles of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Retro style does not have a single, strictly defined form or color scheme, as the diversity of eras and designers allows for many variations. However, there are characteristics that often appear in this style.

.
Retro interiors in different color schemes. Starting from the pastel colors of Scandinavian modernism to bold and contrasting colors.

Characteristics of Retro Interior Design:

  • Color Scheme: The retro style is characterized by cheerful, vibrant colors. Honest and bright shades, such as orange, lime green, turquoise, and yellow, are often found. Pastel colors, such as powder pink or baby blue, are also common.
  • Forms: In terms of forms, the retro style favors angular, geometric shapes but also incorporates rounded and organic forms. Simple, characterful shapes can be found in both furniture and accessories.
  • Patterns: Geometric patterns, such as stripes, squares, and circles, are popular. Floral patterns are also common, especially on wallpapers and textiles.
  • Material Properties: The materials in the retro style can vary widely. Wood, plastic, metal, and glass are all present. Interesting textures and patterned materials are often seen on furniture.
  • Nature of Furniture: Retro furniture often features simple, clean lines. They are characterized by lightness, functionality, and playful elements, and colorful, loose cushions are frequently found.

Conditions of its Formation: The retro interior design style is a nostalgic reinterpretation of the fashion and design of past decades, inspired by periods from the mid-20th century to the 1970s. People love the retro style because the design of old times is unique, playful, and timeless. Retro objects and furniture often create a nostalgic feeling and simultaneously create a unique and cheerful atmosphere in the home.

But this is not exactly the case, as there are several approaches to defining retro

So, which period falls into the retro era:

  1. Either it blends the style elements of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, as mentioned above.
  2. Or it is always considered retro – whatever has gone out of fashion in the past 20 years, because anything older than that automatically transitions to vintage. Based on this, retro would continuously change over time. That is, what is considered retro now are items from after the year 2000. As time goes by, retro eventually becomes vintage.
  3. Or for items older than 20 years, if it is original, then it is vintage; if it is a replica, then it is retro. Here comes the statement that some use retro and vintage as synonyms, which is a complete misunderstanding in style definitions. However, it is understandable to think this way if one cannot determine whether an item is original or a replica, making it difficult to label it as retro or vintage. They say that retro is a modern product that imitates the old fashion, and you are not buying the original but a reproduction that only looks like the older one. In contrast, only the original from that era can be vintage, meaning it is also structurally original. So, if you have a radio from the 1960s that is original and uses vacuum tubes, it is vintage, but if it just looks like it and is a modern manufacture with a hidden CD tray or a USB port, then it is only retro-looking. Similarly, you can buy a retro-looking stove or refrigerator, and even if it has the design of the 1950s or 1960s, it cannot be called vintage because it hides modern engineering inside.
  4. And there is the opinion that neither is the interior always younger than 20 years retro, nor is it from the mid-20th century, but somewhere in between, around the 1980s.

However we define the retro style period, different degrees are present within it. These degrees are manifested in the boldness of colors, which intensified over time, as well as in the appearance of items characteristic of retro.

Starting from a restrained style:

  • Stronger-colored wallpapers with larger, more characterful geometric shapes appeared:

.
Modernist tube-framed furniture with retro-colored upholstery, featuring bold large-format orange-yellow and brown wallpaper, harmonizing with the rug. The chrome-plated tube frames and the controlled (modernist) design counter the free-spiritedness of retro, resulting in an exclusive-looking yet retro-colored living room.

  • Similarly, more colorful geometric-patterned rugs could replace the previous ones:

.
Mid-century modernist Scandinavian living room furniture in retro green, yellow, and brown color schemes, which was fashionable even in the 1970s.

  • New colorful pillows could overcrowd the sofas, covering their simple color schemes.
  • Retro-specific macramé wall decorations, hanging plant holders, and various crocheted items appeared:

.
Modernist tube-framed furniture retrofitted with moderately colored green, orange-yellow, and brown decorative pillows, rug, green leaf-patterned wallpaper, and macramé wall hangings – a retro living room.

.
Before thinking that macramé or hand-crocheting was fashionable only on this side of the Iron Curtain, let’s take a look at this hobby product that was once widely practiced even in rural areas here. The crocheted (now we would say – 3D type) rose tablecloths and decorative pillows were not a Hungarian peculiarity. Exactly such a crocheted (3D) rose tablecloth can be seen behind Marty McFly in “Back to the Future I.” Considering its fringes, it is conceivable that it was also suitable for use as a poncho.

  • Other retro “inventions” include the spread of beanbag poufs, beanbag chairs, so-called shag rugs, or lava lamps:

.
A retro living room music corner that embraces every color. With medium-brown toned wood elements, orange, red, and blue textiles, beanbag chairs, poufs, a lava lamp, music-centric setup, and a shag rug.

  • The lampshades of earlier years reappear, with or without fringes, but with distinctive patterns. This is likely due to the popularity of crochet as a hobby at the time. It is important to show the technological achievements of the era. The appearance of turntables, first reel-to-reel, then cassette recorders, the possession of volume and sound quality, the ownership of music, and the identification with musical revolutions are all crucial. This is not only important through the display of large audio equipment but also through the ownership of records by bands, showing them off, and placing posters (often masses of posters and other concert memorabilia) on the walls:

.
A music and comfort-centric retro blend. With medium-brown toned wood elements, orange and pink textiles, beanbag chairs, poufs, a shag rug, grandma’s checkered sofa, fringed textile table lamps, rattan boxes. Music everywhere, both on the shelves and the walls.

If we stick to the recent view that true retro style in interior design only goes back to the 1980s, the above description is somewhat modified:

Generally, the phrase “retro going back to the 1980s” suggests that design elements, styles, and objects from the period up to the 1980s fall into the retro category.

The distinction between “true retro” and “vintage” can be area-specific, as Western interior design trends crossed the Iron Curtain with a decade’s delay. So what was the fashion of the 60s and 70s in the West could have been the 80s here, much depending on the individual’s or community’s geographical, political situation, and viewpoint.

Description of 1980s Retro Style:

Color Scheme:

  • Dominated by bright and contrasting colors, such as neon colors, bright pink, neon green, bright blue.
  • Color blocks and gradients, as well as black-and-white contrasts, are common.

Forms:

  • Geometric shapes and sharp angles are characteristic.
  • Asymmetrical arrangements and design elements.

Patterns:

  • Visually intense patterns, such as colorful checks or stripes.
  • Motifs from retro pop culture, like Tetris or other video game motifs, or representations of synthesizers.

Materials:

  • Plastic and glossy surfaces, such as plastic furniture, glossy plastic accessories.
  • Combinations of metal and glass.

Nature of Furniture:

  • Simple-shaped but characterful furniture.
  • Furniture made of plastic and metal.
  • Functional and comfortable furniture, such as wide-seated sofas and armchairs.

Based on these characteristics, the retro style of the 1980s was marked by bright colors, sharp shapes, and the dominance of pop culture motifs. Regarding materials and furniture, modern and functional design was typical, emphasizing the technological advancements and simplicity of the time.

The following image illustrates this overwhelming color scheme well. From a local perspective, one might say that it was impossible to acquire such colorful neon lighting for one’s home, and such things didn’t exist. Let’s not forget, retro is a global style, and in the Western world, home neon lights were easily accessible. Today, this can be easily mimicked with LEDs:

.
Extremely bold color scheme of pink-blue neon lit retro rooms

Returning to a more subdued version, when looking at the following kitchen interiors, we might think that many homes still have such furniture in their kitchens, albeit much more worn out. On one hand, this milieu has obviously proven to be timeless; on the other, financial reasons may also contribute to the lack of replacements. However, since this sight brings tasty, pleasant memories to many, there is still a justified demand for new kitchens to appear in this style for some.

.
Kitchen based on Scandinavian modernism with mint-green and light wood elements, featuring a 1950s retro refrigerator and a lace tablecloth

Looking at these two kitchen pictures, one might ponder that if the above whimsical pictures are considered retro, then these are no longer retro but vintage. If you click over to the next page for the vintage style and look at the white country-style vintage pictures, you might say that these are still rather retro. The boundaries are never clear-cut, the styles are flexible, and the human mind is subjective – it is correct as you feel it!

.
Kitchen based on Scandinavian modernism, featuring a white, mint-green, and yellow color scheme with light wood elements. / Except for one, all images in the article were drawn by DALL-E.

Summary:

The retro interior design style dates back to the mid-20th century. The style is partially characterized by a whimsical atmosphere, playful, colorful, and unconventional ideas. In retro interior design, colors and patterns are very important. Frequently used colors in the retro style are black, white, chocolate brown, orange, fiery red, baby pink, royal blue, and olive green. Patterns in the retro style can be very diverse, such as geometric shapes, flowers, dots, stripes, checks, and waves. Retro furniture is generally simple but colorful and unconventional. Among retro furniture, there are items with faux leather and lacquer coverings, as well as metal and chrome. Accessories are also very important in retro interior design. Accessories suitable for the retro interior design style include colorful lamps, geometrically patterned curtains, colorful rugs, floral cushions, and retro posters.

^
^