Simple retro ideas that you will love in your home

Rita Deo Rita Deo
Luxury Marble Sofa, Anzalna Trading Company Anzalna Trading Company Garden
Loading admin actions …

To bring a touch of old world charm into their lives, people sometimes buy vintage furniture and décor for their homes. Some of the lucky ones are able to inherit these from homes of parents, relatives or friends while others have to purchase it. Retro furniture and décor pieces are also recommended by designers as this is environment friendly and made by upcycling products that would have landing up in a landfill site. The most positive part of decorating a home in retro style is that it can easily become part of a modern home without appearing inconspicuous.

This form of interior design trend has brought back colourful patterns and bright colors like orange, teal and purple to homes. A touch of colourful patterns and intricate designs can bring a lot of change into a room and accentuate its retro look. The best decades for retro inspiration are 60’s and 70’s when even the most outlandish clothes, colors and hairstyles were considered trendy and fashionable.

Ornate ceiling fans

To decorate a house in a retro manner every part has to follow a similar style pattern to maintain décor symmetry. This scenic living room decorated in classic style follows a mixed color palette of brown, red and cream following which the retro style ornate fans of the same color have been attached. The roof has been cladded with wooden planks to maintain its classic touch and has beams are used to install dome shaped lamps and fans with black and brown color tones. 

The best features of this enchanting room are the beautiful vistas of water and open lawn that is visible from open glass windows on either side of the room. Beautiful wooden flooring and dark brown walnut wood furniture bring a  gentle finesse to the living room.

Marble carved sofas

Retro sofas are characterised by delicate carvings and heavy cushioned seats that bring a distinguished look to the room where these are placed which can be a living room or a dining area. This marble sofa with intricate carvings is a classic example of retro style that brings   back memories of a nostalgic era when lush cushions and kitschy colors were a part of life. Designed by Anzalna Trading Company, this handsome sofa made out of premium marble is a one of a kind piece with attractive motifs.

Though more suited to a classic style living room or a palace, this sofa can be fitted into any setting to give a regal touch with royal blue velvet furnishings. Not only the outline, even the center section of this marble sofa and its handles are carved with cherry leaf and flower motifs that enhance the overall elegance of the piece. Due to its long and wide layout this super cool sofa is placed on six curvaceous legs that match up to carved handles and backrest.

Vintage clock

This is one antique piece from decades ago which still has class and gives an old world charm to every home where it is located. The main reason behind their popularity is the easy age old   mechanism that keeps them going and is easy to repair and maintain. Previously referred to as long clocks, these large pendulum clocks became “grandfather’s clock” after the famous song by Henry Clay Work. While some grandfather clocks stand on the floor and have a huge pendulum swinging back and forth within its wooden casing, few are hung up on empty corridor walls for adornment

This beautifully carved grandfather’s clock designed out of black walnut is several years old but is in perfect condition. Dark columnar pillars on its front and crown region along with intricate carvings give it a regal look. The clock face has white Roman numerical and elegantly designed metal hands to keep time and mark hours with minutes.

Retro dresser

The dresser has now given way to plain cabinets and cupboards in many homes but few country style kitchens still retain the quixotic dresser with multiple shelves and storage area which could be located anywhere in the house. With trendy new in wall cupboards rusty faded dressers like these usually get relegated into the store room or get broken down to make small storage boxes.                                                                                          When a classic piece like this is restored and brought back to use it can become a handy storage area for several important objects in your house and can turn an empty corner into a relic zone. As these dressers were made of fine quality wood the overall condition of the drawers and doors are intact and it only needs a fine coat of paint to continue working for another generation. It can be used for storing glassware, photographs, books and other nick-knacks around the house.

Retro display shelf

Though most homes today have closed cupboards with twin doors or a single door depending on the size, some people still prefer open cupboards because of their utility. Open cupboards cannot be used for storing private items like clothes, shoes, jewelry etc, but these are ideal for books, decoration items and vessels in the kitchen. This smartly designed open display shelf with triangular shelves is versatile and can be used anywhere in the house to keep important objects.

In the living room it can be used to display objects like collectible figurines and photographs. Keep it in the dining area and it becomes a handy storage shelf for glassware and cutlery. Made of seasoned teakwood the display case has been given a veneer finish to bring out its rich colors and texture.  If you have an awkward corner at home with nothing to fill it, then this corner shelf can be an excellent piece of furniture that can be decorated with photographs or small artificial plants.

Retro coffee maker

Wake up and smell the coffee! People around the world irrespective of their location like to have something warm to drink when they rise every morning. While today most coffee makers are made of stainless steel which can be directly plugged into an electric socket, this timeless pot is a stove top coffee maker. Though it has a retro look it is still widely used as it Macchinetta is less expensive than electric models.

The model in this picture is also referred to as moka pot and has an aluminium body with handles made of malachite. It is large enough to prepare six cups of coffee at one time and its blue body adds color and beauty to the ambience of any kitchen. Specially crafted to make Italian style expresso coffee at home this coffee maker makes the brew using similar mechanism as a pressure cooker to brew frothy coffee within minutes.

Metal framed bathroom mirror

Bored of looking at the same oval mirror above the basin in your bathroom? Exchange it for a trendy retro style window with colorful embellishments that can bring fun and brightness into the bathroom. In a plain and rustic bathroom with grey walls, colorful oval mirror with edgy diamond design in shimmering blue bring color and sparkle into the otherwise grim area.

For more retro styles read through this interesting ideabook in our magazine.

Need help with your home project?
Get in touch!

Highlights from our magazine