Mixing old styles with newer looks is very “cool” and a popular decorating style today. Phrases like “Urban Chic” or “Fresh Vintage” are used in some circles instead of “retro”. It’s still “retro,” but a different version of the past when shoppers combine “edgy” vintage collectibles with contemporary-style furnishings and decor. Others understand “Urban Chic” a little differently, referring to the rise in popularity among collectors looking for metal furniture and industrial styles compatible with city life. Of course, this is also a throwback to earlier times. Metal accessories and furniture dominated mid-century homes and were used for magazine racks, telephone stands, ashtray holders, seating, serving pieces, etc.
Today, urbanites like to buy old industrial steel shelving, vintage metal desks and chairs, old commercial desk accessories, and many factory finds to decorate lofts, apartments, and houses. This opens up a whole new market for sellers starting to look for items in unusual places. Suburban homes feature high-tech kitchen surfaces and lots of stainless steel. Buyers now love vintage metal containers from the 1950s that seem to fit perfectly in today’s sleek kitchens. The “metro-retro” look is often combined with collectibles from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s to create eclectic interiors that are unusual, outrageous, and affordable.
If the industrial look isn’t your thing, there are other directions to consider. I have met many young collectors who are attracted to the “bohemian style”. “Bohemian style” is what happens when flea market collecting is out of control, but in a good way. Somehow, collectors bring the look together with unifying color schemes, themes, patterns, or rhythms that organize the collections. Once again, collectors mix and match different eras, styles, textures, wall coverings, etc. and, like seasoned decorators, bohemian collectors tell us it “works.” This style is hard to explain, so I might suggest reading Elizabeth Wilhide’s Bohemian Style, a publication by Watson Guptill. While collectibles from the 1960s and ’70s have moved more slowly in brick-and-mortar stores than in earlier periods, “fashion collectibles” are gaining momentum as department stores emphasize these styles. Designers are taking greater risks than in the past and it seems that buyers are once again being forced to experiment with interiors, products and materials for the home.
Let me remind you of what they said years ago “let it all hang out”. In fact, both new-goods makers and vintage-goods collectors alike are “doing their own thing.” Numerous online businesses are growing with “sixties nude” websites catering to shoppers who love palettes of pink, brown, and lime green, as well as cute patterns of stripes, polka dots, and swirl designs. In fact, there are web designers who specialize only in this style.
While “twenty-thirty-something” shoppers have fun ordering new home and clothing related items inspired by “psychedelic” colors and patterns, mature collectors
they want the originals and are active buyers at markets, shops and shows. Colorful toasters and fondue sets, once thrift store staples, are now “cool” finds for both serious collectors and casual shoppers jumping on the “retro” bandwagon. The next time you turn down a set of mushroom-themed kitchen canisters, think again, you may be overlooking a real “retro” gem that even Pottery Barn is keeping an eye on.