Tacky, No More: Modern Home Accents with a Retro Feel

Retro style is, by definition, a thing of the past. It is a throwback, an homage, a shrine to the tacky, the outdated and the wood paneling…unless you do it right. Retro can also be part of the modern interior with a little creativity and a lot of daring. Here are three modern home accents that are really retro in their hearts.

The Bubble Chair by Eero Aarnio is perhaps the most iconic item to come out of the ’60s. Made in 1968, this chair has never really gone out of style. However, because it is from the ’60s, it has that retro space-age feel. Get a clear bubble chair and use it to augment the minimalism in your home, or use it as part of a lounge or in-home bar set up.

Image courtesy of Jeff Andrews Design

Aaah, the bead curtain. While once the domain of hippies and dazed and confused teens of the ’60s, they can now be incorporated into modern design without any strings attached. Take a look at the shimmering white bead curtain in the image above – it is subtle (no rainbow beads here!) and compliments the surrounding brown and white color palate.

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart

When going retro with oriental rugs, consider your art and color palate. Oriental rugs can be too bold, so you can offset them with simple colors and minimal patterns. It is usually best to choose tribal-like rugs over floral as well, as the geometric patterns in tribal rugs compliment minimalism and the modern home.

Image courtesy of HomeDesignFind.com