Interior Designers let Boomers Rest Easy in Retro Inspired Homes | Interior Design Articles

By: Maren Smith-Jameson

With the maturing of the “boomer” population in recent years, the popularity of retro interior design has skyrocketed.  The term “retro” is usually defined as anything old-fashioned or timeless.  Often the most sought after are classic items which Boomers can identify with from their youth.  The style is eclectic so there are many interior design options when using objects designated as retro. Because this term is vaguely applied to a wide range of objects, almost anything created before 1990 can be classified as retro.

How to Find Retro Interior Design Accessories?

Retro interior design Objects can be found in any store that sells home design accessories. Because of their often sentimental or maudlin nature; retro objects will usually be housed in their own section, so as not to clash with more popular newer designs.  Many objects found in the retro section of the home design store maybe unique as many are hand-crafted. Another great source of Retro finds are garage sales and flea markets. Because retro interior design is considered timeless, you may find items from the 1930’s all the way into the 1990s.

Old-Fashioned Signs Point the Way to Retro

An old fashioned sign is a popular item of retro interior design.  The bright colors and striking images are often used to set a color theme for a room.  Advertising everything from soda to horseshoes, many people enjoy these signs for nostalgic reasons like remembering the past when you could buy a pair of shoes for 10 cents.  Different colors, styles, and sizes are available, mainly made of metal or wood.  Built to withstand the elements when the sign was created, there are available today as authentic antiques or for a more modest price you can buy reproductions.

Retro Radios Can Tune your Room

Old fashioned radios and clocks are other popular items in retro interior design scheme.  For a decade from the 1930’s to the 1950’s families gathered around the radio all across America and were brought closer together.  To give their brand of radio a competitive edge against the competition manufacturers of these radios regularly used creative designs and colors.  The result were often beautiful creations of style, finished in wood and faux finishes and signifying their dominance in a room.  Replicas of some of the most classic of these radios using today’s technology are available at many department stores or entertainment venues.

Retro Tunes are on the Jukeboxes

The prize of many retro designed rooms, a jukebox playing the songs of yesterday completes the retro design experience for many.  Jukeboxes may range in size from two feet tall for a tabletop model to five or six feet in height for a large floor model.  Their colorful exterior and whirling mechanics can easily become the focal point for any room.  Authentic  jukeboxes are hard to find and can easily cost thousands of dollars.  In an attempt to achieve the look and save money some jukeboxes are purchased for display only and will never play a note.

Retro is here to Stay

Regardless of your age or inclination few people can resist a retro room for its simple appeal to emotionalism and sentimentality.  Retro makes people feel at home in any home and its easy to transition your home to a Retro style over time.  A few selected pieces picked up at a garage sale or flea market is often the beginning of a life long quest to complete your new Interior Design style; Retro.