How to Decorate a Retro Bedroom
"Retro" is a term used for design and cultural trends from the late 1930s through the late 1970s. Choose your era, and shop at flea markets, garage sales and antique shops for some of the important items. Many retro-style items are still being made and can be purchased at large discount stores. You can capture the "retro" feel of those eras by choosing both old and new furnishings. With the right touch, your room will look hip, not dated. This article provides retro-style 1050s and 1960s decoration ideas. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Retro 1960s
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Paint your walls purple, red or bright green, and hang artwork by sixties artist Peter Max and posters of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.
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Drape your windows in batik prints or create swags out of gauzy solids and prints from India.
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3
Place one small table next to a pile of brightly covered floor pillows in a corner for meditating. Place an incense burner and a candle on the table next to them.
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Cover your bed in bright, solid color linens and cover them with a coordinating crocheted afghan. Hang a large, round paper Japanese-style globe near the bed.
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Find a stereo and sixties albums at a garage sale, and play them while you're relaxing in your retro bedroom.
Retro 1950s
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Paint your bedroom walls in pastel shades, and buy a blond bedroom set. The more pieces, the better. Install 1950s-style perforated wall-sconce lamps on each side of the bed (see Resources below). Hang a sunburst (a type of metal sculpture common in the 1950s) on the wall above the bed.
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Put a chenille bedspread on the bed. Beds in the 1950s usually had only two pillows, which were laid flat. Shop for a round or square white corduroy or silk-covered pillow in a jewel tone, and lay it tilted upward between the two other pillows.
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Hang two-layer curtains in pastel colors. The inner part should be voile, the outer part in a heavier, coordinating drapery fabric.
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Find a 1950s-style boxy "slipper chair" covered in yellow, aqua or green leather, and place it in the corner.
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Tips & Warnings
Get maximum enjoyment from your retro bedroom by making sure all items are well cleaned and the colors vibrant. Flea market and antique store items are often dusty.
Resources
- Photo Credit MGM, Inc., US Postal Service
