Ask a Designer: Retro's fun, but keep a balance

Going retro has never been easier. Whether you love '50s space-age style, 1920s art deco or design from any bygone era, vintage furniture and home accessories are everywhere today.

Flea markets and antique shops are stocked with vintage treasures or trash, depending on your perspective. Yard sale season is in full swing, bringing Naugahyde recliners and vintage Tupperware into the daylight after decades of slumber in attics and garages. And at a slew of websites, from niche marketers to the catchall that is eBay, you can find real vintage pieces and endless reproductions.

But while it's simple to get your hands on decor from the past, it's more complicated to use it well.

"Doing retro right is all about balance," said designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com. "If you do everything from the same period, your space can become cliche or kitsch. What you mix retro with is what makes the space unique and updated."

We asked Flynn, L.A.-based interior designer Betsy Burnham and HGTV's "Design Star" judge Genevieve Gorder for their favorite retro decorating techniques.

This undated photo provided by Sarah Dorio shows a room designed by Decor Demon/Brian Patrick Flynn. This design incorporates retro wallpaper and pendant lighting into traditional and transitional style interiors. Whether you love '50s space-age style, '20s art deco or design from any bygone era, vintage furniture and home accessories are everywhere today. (AP Photo/Sarah Dorio) NO SALES. MANDATORY PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH DORIO. MANDATORY DESIGN CREDIT: DECOR DEMON/BRIAN PATRICK FLYNN

LESS REALLY IS MORE

"If you're really into the '50s, don't do the Formica table, and the jukebox, and an old radio, and five other things," Burnham said. Instead, choose just one or two evocative pieces. "Not only is it more tasteful, but I think it's more effective."

For a client who collects toys and action figures from the 1980s, Burnham designed built-in shelves and suggested displaying only part of the collection at one time. "We found a way to have it enhance the space, and not have the space dictated by it," she said.

Treasured retro pieces of furniture or art will be ignored if they're displayed with too many items from the same era.

"You won't notice it until you have something to give it contrast," Gorder said. She suggests mixing favorite vintage items with contemporary pieces. "The juxtaposition between new and old is a beautiful conversation."

LIGHT THE WAY

Beyond buying furniture from a given era, you can infuse your home with vintage flair or temper retro furnishings with contemporary style through strategic use of light, pattern, color and texture.

"George Nelson pendants are probably the most iconic form of mid-century pendant lighting, and they mix well with virtually anything," Flynn said. "Table lamps, especially chrome and ball 1970s style, add a nice element of postmodern sexiness to any room."

Burnham agrees: "Vintage lighting is fantastic," she said, but old lampshades should be replaced with fresh ones to "enhance your vintage stuff, make it beautiful again."

Like lighting, patterns and colors "can act as a bridge between yesterday and today," Flynn said. "Start off slow with accent pillows or draperies. If you get comfortable with that, move on to wallcovering. A great designer to turn to for geometrics is David Hicks. His prints are still in production today and just as popular now as they were in the 1970s."

In his own home, Flynn highlighted the house's midcentury architecture by using 1970s diamond-patterned wallpaper and Nelson pendant lights above the side tables, contrasted with a traditional bed. "The room has a definite retro appeal," he said, "but it doesn't feel forced or out-of-the-box."

He's also a fan of grasscloth, which can give walls a '50s or '70s vibe, and using contemporary color combinations in retro rooms. Try black, gray and blue "with pops of Kelly green" for a "swanky, masculine and entertaining-savvy" look, Flynn said.

Retro or repro?

Whether original or a reproduction, quality is what matters. Shopping online, it can be hard to determine whether a reproduction is well made or whether a vintage piece is in good condition. Be sure to ask questions.

Shopping for vintage originals can be tough. "It helps to educate yourself," Burnham said. "Do a little research ... [and] your shopping will be so much more effective."

The final tip? Have fun. These designers said retro decorating is about celebrating styles you love, even if that means just a bit too much kitsch. Whatever era you prefer, Gorder said, "it's important that you please yourself, because it is the one environment you control."