Retro Interior Design - 1960's

Retro interior design of the sixties, looked to the past decades for much of its inspiration and designers added their own stamp onto styles from the 20's, art nouveau and the Victorian era. They cheeky twist gave the 60's its unique look.

The image of the open plan living room is an example of modern retro interior design. Mezzanines were the big addition to a space in the sixties so perhaps you could introduce one into your room. Make a floor plan with elevations to asses the space you have available. If it looks like it would be possible, then your next step is to consult with an interior architect or architect.

Much of this decade is about the 'groovy designs' and music that came out of London, England therefore, retro interior design could easily incorporate some style from cool Britannia. There is a fascinating saying from the 60's, "if you remember it, you weren't there" which pretty much sums up this retro era.

Pop music, free love and flower power influenced design and how people lived. Andy Warhol was a big player on the art scene in the 60's. His addition to pop culture immortalized the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Lennon, Jagger, Chairman Mao and the Campbells soup can.

Colors: your color palette could be a diverse mix of vibrant color, taken from the plastic space age look of the 60's. This could be a wonderful bold collection of color resembling the look of the Jane Fonda movie, Barbarella; white, red, pink, blue, orange, purple and silver.

For this concept you can introduce colors that lie on opposite sides of the spectrum and get away with it! Use a color wheel to help guide you.

The other color scheme that was very popular in the 60's was monotone. So you could keep your theme black and white. This look was extremely vogue in the 60's. The work of artist Betty Riley will help inspire your ideas.

Walls: Motifs used on wallpaper that were once recognizably Nouveau and Deco, exploded into giant scale psychedelia. Flat painted walls also work really well to create your retro inspired interiors.

Framed posters and large murals could help you shape and achieve your look and giant MOD logos and symbols painted on your wall will give that retro feel

You can see the 20's influence used to create the 60's wallpaper in the examples shown in the images below.

Decor: if you have always loved those hanging ball chairs then now is your chance to have it. Retro home decor is all about the plastic, ball chair or pod chair that is often seen in James Bond movies or the film, Austin Powers is an iconic piece of 60's furniture. Beanbags help to create a chilled out feeling to a room and there are so many really fabulous types available. Big foot stools and scatter cushions would add to your retro interiors therefore analyze the size of your room and see where you could place a colorful collection.

TIP: Favor plastic, metal, glass and rubber over wood.

The image below shows a cool, retro styled living room.

Floors: for your floor, what better than a great, big shag pile carpet or rug. The longer the pile, the groovier and it is so comfy to walk barefoot on.

Lighting: the lava lamp was a big hit in the 60's and would be a good symbolic gesture for your retro look.

Neon lighting would be a good addition to your retro interior design and would fill your space with color.