5 Tips For Bringing Retro Glam Style Into Your Home Decor
Retro glam, or vintage glam as some call it, is an adaptable style that takes the best of the past and adds a bit of Hollywood and glamour to interiors. An endlessly eclectic style, it can incorporate pieces and elements from several decades, sometimes all at once, with cohesive, put-together results. Some designers and homeowners emphasize mid-century modern pieces, while others prefer even older antique elements combined with the new and contemporary ones. Juxtaposition is key when it comes to this style. New and old. Informal and glamourous. Luxury and practicality. But whatever they entail, retro glam interiors can be both glamorous and beautiful, Belle Vivir says.
If you want to add a little or a lot of vintage glam to your home, there are a few things to keep in mind in terms of mixing elements and styles to achieve the variety of vintage-inspired allure you'd like. From color to texture to unexpected touches to keep things elevated, you can create the perfect mix of fashions and pieces that exude your own personal style.
1. Old meets new
A very eclectic style, retro glam often mixes decades and eras of furniture with great results. For example, a mid-century sofa looks lovely when covered with a rich cobalt blue that speaks of an earlier era, next to a modern round gold end table that houses a set of Edison bulbs. While many homeowners prefer decades and eras of choice, this vintage style allows the opportunity to mix things up, pairing, for example, an antique settee with a modern glass coffee table, or an antique chandelier with a sleek, modern mid-century couch. According to Spacejoy, retro glam doesn't worry too much about consistency, keeping things looking fresh and unexpected.
Think about your favorite design decades and styles and find a way to make them work together, whether it's through color, pattern, or silhouette. If you love mid-century furniture, elevate things even more by using more antique fabrics and bringing in some turn-of-the-century pieces and antique mirrors to add dimension to the room.
2. Color
Color is one thing that is extremely flexible when it comes to retro glam styles. Some prefer deep jewel tones and rich, dark colors that remind you of the interior of dark Hollywood movie houses. Others prefer lighter variations that drip with pastels and take their glamor from shapes and materials. The above mix of deep blue drapes and a pomegranate red chair form a beautiful contrast augmented by the neutral ottoman and gold accents. The chair exudes both vintage richness and glamour but is also streamlined and modern.
If you love jewel tones, retro glam is a perfect design scheme. Look to incorporate deep reds and blues with other colors like forest greens and browns. Deep rich retro colors like brown, caramel, and orange also suit vintage interiors well. Lighter hues can also be paired together to create an outstanding décor, especially shades like pink and lavender, which give a more romantic feel to spaces. According to Tracy Lynn Studio, you can often get away with non-traditional pairings of colors far more easily in this eclectic style.
3. Texture and textiles
Vintage rooms are rich with texture and lush materials, mixing elements like velvet and satins with fur and silk. Adding sumptuous velvet pillows and a fur throw can elevate even a completely neutral space to give off a sense of high glamour. Moreover, retro glam rooms usually involve things like velvet upholstered pieces and accents, sumptuous rugs, and draperies that add texture and dimension. These elements can make even the simple lines of a contemporary or mid-century piece go from reserved to bewitching.
Think about mixing surprising fabrics and textures, like a rather staid tweed mid-century sofa with velvet accent pillows and throws. A satin or velvet tufted headboard immediately elevates even the most boring bedroom to glam. Even if you love neutrals-only schemes, adding certain textures like fur and velvet instantly makes the room more luxurious. For example, a simple sheepskin throw, according to HedgeApple, is a great element to add texture.
4. Shiny things
Retro glam is a sparkling style; whether it's the smooth gilt that surrounds a mirror or the glittering crystals of a chandelier, it uses light to great effects. Here, the eclectic pairing of a 1920s art deco lamp with a French rococo style chest and gold accents looks surprising and fresh. Whether you are working with more modern silhouettes of mid-century furniture or antiques from previous centuries, they can all benefit from a little shimmer.
This vintage style also loves mirrors; the bigger, the better, so consider adding a gold-framed, full-length one to your room. Large mirror panels from the 1970s with gold-marbled glass are also a popular glam trend when paired with mid-century furniture. Chandeliers and other sparking light fixtures are key, whatever decade they hail from or are inspired by. Furthermore, consider adding a disco ball to your space for some '70s charm. A mid-century bar cart offers a great chance to display glittering glassware and bottles as well. According to Inspire Q, you can also use gorgeous metallic velvets that give both texture and shimmer.
5. Unexpected touches
One of the great things about eclectic design styles like retro glam is that they revel in the unique and unexpected. Novel elements keep the room fresh and far from predictable. Here, a French-inspired antique chair is upholstered with a more modern and subdued mauve shade and paired with luxurious fur rugs and throws. The result is rooted in the past without being too mired in tradition. According to Ellie Design Studio, vintage glam style is perfect for people who want to make an innovative statement.
Think of adding unexpected elements to your home in terms of colors, shapes, and accent pieces. Art is an easy way to start, so pair a modern abstract art piece with a more traditional piece of antique furniture. Alternatively, you can place a centuries-old landscape painting above a sleek modern contemporary sofa. Cover antique pieces in more modern fabrics, and pair mid-century streamlined pieces of upholstered furniture with Victorian-inspired sideboards and tables. The key is to avoid matched and coordinated pieces and yet still put together an intentional-feeling room.