What is Retro Furniture Style

Retro style – unique in its essence in the interior. Why? Because it is never outdated and always fascinates with the combination of grace and contrast! Complicated in simplicity – this is about retro.

But where is the boundary that separates the retro from the vintage? Which style can really be considered retro? What good is a retro style? And why the retro style renovation – is not only beautiful but also beneficial?

Let’s find out?

What is retro and what can this style be?

Retro is quite a broad concept, in which it is very easy to get confused. Music, clothing and interiors in this style can be interpreted in different ways. Some people say that retro is something that is older than 30-50 years. Others say that retro is the 1930s and 1950s. And others attribute the concept of “retro” to the second half of the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century. Where is the truth?

We will not argue with the opinions, and consider the broadest understanding of style – it originated in the 1850s. Then it was not quite retro, but retro, strongly seasoned Rococo: pleats, ruffles, curved candlesticks and gilding. But the very form of objects is already getting more strict and simple forms. The interior is dominated by light neutral or dark deep shades in combination with gilding. Wall decorations are characteristic: paintings in wooden frames, wallpaper and trellises with gilding.

To get a good idea of such an interior, visit the museum with the interior of a pre-revolutionary noble family. There is a very good transition from complex Rococo forms to simpler and clearer, but at the same time there are bright elements of chic French style.

If we talk about timing, retro style for a while frozen, stopped in development and up to the 1950s almost unchanged. The reason for this is the war, which made people forget about aesthetics. But after its end people who were tired of asceticism, deprivation and lack of bright colors made a real revolution in style. Here begins the heyday of retro, revealing its essence and character.

If you’ve seen the movie “Stilyagi”, then you can imagine how retro was realized in ordinary living spaces. And if we talk about elaborate repair in the style of retro – it is already vinyl records, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe. Sleek lines, elements of gloss, strict and thoughtful forms – it’s all retro. Simplicity is combined with laconic glamour, and retro acquires its characteristic look, still beloved by many for its refinement, thoughtfulness and absence of unnecessary details. What is called “firm”!

furniture

Important elements: Retro walls, prints and decorations

The modern retro style is made today materials and furniture, stylized as the products of that time. Some of the requirements of this style are high quality materials, good finishes, neat workmanship. It is for this reason that retro can be confused with vintage. However, vintage is a style that implies not stylized, but original elements of the time. In other words, if you can buy furniture, wallpaper or other items in the retro style in a regular store, then the vintage items in their majority will be sold in an antique store.

Bright (sometimes to the point of acidity) colors in combination with precise, absolutely thought-out lines of furniture or drawings. No picture frames, abstract color or black and white prints, lacquered surfaces and gloss. These can be attributed to the main features of retro, which is still popular today. For a standard apartment in a high-rise building, this is one of the universal style choices. If you love vintage, you know that styles that are from earlier periods require breadth and scope. And that’s what we all tend to be limited in.

You might say that retro is a kind of elaborate chic. Beauty is where you can afford it, and no more. For example, the walls can be painted with monochrome paint or wallpapered with a small or medium repetitive pattern. A lot of finishing elements is not about retro. Here it’s more of a play with color and lines. Contrasts in color are combined with soft roundness of lines, the atmosphere of a soldier’s barracks meets joyful colored prints.

Interesting accents in the retro style are curtains and paintings. The former are not without rococo influence. And this means that curtains can be of heavy, satin or translucent fabric, but necessarily with soft drapery, laid with large or medium ruffles. The very essence of the style here is the thoughtfulness of each fold. Hence the impression of chic.

As for wall decorations – pictures without frames, there are often portraits with interesting and bright color combinations, characteristic font: clear, with smoothed lines. The style of paintings – printed on a color printer, and no realism.

Chandeliers in the retro style are also laconic and simple forms. They can be light or colored (again, contrast and alternation of colors) and even minimalist in their design.

The good news is that retro is not too demanding on wall finishes. It’s all about the elements with which they will be decorated. Gramophone, records from it, paintings, carpets with short pile and abstract neat lines and even waffle towels instead of the analog from microfiber and will make the right impression of the room.

Retro style furniture

Requirements for furniture – the same alignment and severity of forms. But, it must be said, it can also manifest itself in unusual forms: elongated chair backs, round seats and asymmetry. But the most important thing is the impression of completeness.

Another important feature is the quality of the furniture. Retro is often wood, the lack of luster of fittings, stability and durability. Therefore, if you prefer this style in the interior, you make quite a profitable investment. High-quality materials last for decades, and the retro style (which is already actually antique) does not lose relevance over time.

A good substitute for expensive wood are three-layer chipboard and deep milled MDF. With quality workmanship, these materials create things comparable to durable wood.

Metal is also present in the frame of furniture: chairs, beds, tables. Closets are more chests of drawers and sideboards on legs rather than full-wall closets. Good fittings are the key to the “health” of furniture. And for retro it is especially important, because moving metal parts of poor quality quickly lose their look and performance. And if you do not know which style to choose, if you doubt your information savvy, if you want practical advice and high-quality work, contact a consultant from “Angstrem”. Any questions about the interior, furniture and the quality of materials, as well as ordering work from one of the largest holdings with a good reputation. A good choice, isn’t it?