Retro Style Need Not Follow a Formula

by Rita St. Clair

This room's Retro style incorporates many midcentury modernist elements, but it contains more focal points than would be found in a well-designed 1950s setting.
Retro Style Room

This room's Retro style incorporates many mid-century modernist elements, but it contains more focal points than would be found in a well-designed 1950s setting.

It's sometimes misleading to speak of the style of a setting. While that can be an accurate way to describe the appearance of a particular room, in other cases it's more appropriate to refer to a room's styles -- plural. Some period designs do look their best when they stand alone. But in many fabulous settings, a variety of styles are mixed and meshed to produce what's known as an eclectic design. And don't assume it's got to be one or the other.

A room can be given a single stylistic direction that's tweaked with look-alikes or new adaptations. An example of such an approach is described below.

QUESTION:

My daughter is moving into her first apartment, which she wants to furnish in what she calls a "Retro" style. I take that to be a 1950s-type look. I want to help her put it together -- not only financially but in selecting some of its elements. Since we're now almost a lifetime removed from that era, can you suggest how to assemble a Retro design?

ANSWER:

Despite the time lapse, it's not a difficult look to achieve. The basic version of a Retro-themed setting will be sparsely furnished, with clean lines, white walls and a few modern lamps.

Companies such as Knoll Furniture and Herman Miller were the stars of that decade, and they still make some pieces that are decidedly '50s in their styling. I chose this photo to illustrate my answer because it shows a room with an essentially Retro design, although many of its elements are actually variations on that style. You and your daughter have an opportunity to be creative; you don't have to adhere to a formula but can instead put together an inspired look.

Please note that this photo comes from "Creating the Inspired House: Discovering Your Place Called Home ." Author John Connell, a Vermont-based architect, leads readers on a cross-country tour of more than 20 homes he regards as inspired.

You can study this example for cues on how to proceed. The distinctively '50s features here include the white walls, multicolored goose-neck lamp, round decorative rug, raised fireplace hearth with no mantel, and built-in, wall-to-wall cabinetry with simple metal pulls and no molding details. At the same time, this room contains more focal points than would be found in a well-designed 1950s setting. I'll leave it to you and your daughter to identify specific elements here that are not of that time and that give the room personal definition.

More Home & Garden ...