Retro Kitchen Design Ideas
Let’s go to the flashback! Traditional memorabilia, old-modeled telephones, retro kitchen appliances, and smoke hood over the cooking top – all these are an integral part of the retro era that prevailed during 1950s, 60s and 70s. As these elements are again in demand, retro style of kitchens is taking a big high! Homemakers are inquisitive to know more about what goes into the retro way as they are finding it fun to refurbish their kitchens in retro fashion instead of adopting the modern modular style. To our surprise, during 50s and 60s, homemakers were very imaginative and practical when it came to decorating their kitchens. You can capture bits and pieces from your grandmother’s kitchen and apply those in your so called trendy kitchen. For instance, just by repainting your kitchen in tints of blue, chrome, red or adding an old table, with a typical chromed base or placing an old artwork that reminded of retro era can expose the retro style in your kitchen! Some of the great ideas for a retro kitchen are listed below!
Retro Kitchen Design Ideas
Retro Colors
There are certain colors that give out a typical retro feel to your kitchen surroundings. The most popular colors in retro kitchen design include green, black, blue, silver, chrome, yellow, red, and white. Red kitchen cabinets, white appliances, and chrome accents infuse strong loyalty into your retro kitchen. Even for the wallpapers, use patterns that run on the bottom of the soffit, not the top. Twilight gray, mist green, serene blue, desert sand, white, natural stain are also gorgeous retro colors. Both light and dark colors grant a retro image to your kitchen floors. For light flooring go for pinky beige, sunbeam yellow, chartreuse, turquoise and for dark flooring go for chrome, brown or gray.
Retro Furniture
You can effortlessly give a retro style to your kitchen by going for second hand table and chairs and repainting them vibrantly! Even laminated topped tables, counter-height stools, banquette seating covered in vinyl, “period” wall lights are brilliant ideas for a retro kitchen. And the best part is that retro furnishings are very economical, durable and easy on maintenance! Bar stools in red vinyl, party tables and chairs and old wooden cabinets can be easily purchased from restaurants and bars that are doing away with their existing furniture. Let the furniture stand out vivaciously and at the same time give you enough breathing space to move around!
The Cooking Counter
In a retro style of kitchen, use enameled steel cabinets with stainless steel counters, which blend beautifully with the warm quality of wood and plaster surfaces throughout the house. The kitchen architecture also includes the custom-designed smoke hood over the cooking-top and barbecue. The cooking range in a retro kitchen may include four-burner tops, ovens, and storage drawers to make your kitchen very spacious and convenient for your cooking.
Retro Accessories
Your regular boring kitchen can be ornamented in a beautiful way by adding sparkling and bright retro accessories to it. An old fashioned telephone, retro kitchen clock on the wall, a memorabilia and classic stools will add to the retro feel! You can also be “futuristic” in your approach and add rockets and ray guns, bubble cars and robots that fascinated the futuristic thoughts of people in the 1950s and 1960s. Follow the retro approach, whether it is hand towels, table runners, coffee mugs, glasses, fruit baskets, sauce bottles to name a few. Mix and blend the modern style with vintage fabrics to spur the entire ambience of your kitchen!
Retro Kitchen Appliances
Don’t be under the impression that the appliances used in retro kitchen are outdated and not stylish. You will be taken aback how elegant and functional are the retro appliances. They actually consume less space and make the kitchen look graceful. Complete baking unit, beverage center, colorful and bold retro toasters, blenders, pots-and-pans cupboard, sandwich-maker, refrigerators, ovens, napkin dispensers and dishwashers all have intriguing designs to compete with the modern sleek looking appliances. You will even find retro-styled dinner tableware in the shops.
More Storage
Retro decorum also provides a lot of storage space for your supplies! The cabinets that are built from the floor to ceiling provide plenty of storage. A stainless steel storage cube can be built into the wall or soffit coming out just a small piece beyond the wall cabinet or a raised soffit above the sink, are skillful ways of de-cluttering your kitchen. You can also place the soffits above the fridge, too, if you don’t have cabinets to store kitchen items. A drop-leaf cart or folding doors of the dish cabinets are brilliant options to store and procure kitchen stuff conveniently and quickly.
Style is like a boomerang! What goes out comes back again. This also holds true for a retro kitchen décor. You can choose your pick from a wide gamut of bright and bold elements that prevailed during 1950s or 60s to 70s. Retro era had its own remarkable style and fashion. Just go for it, apply the above techniques and embrace the retro aura in your kitchen which is a skillful blend of beauty and comfort for today’s housewives!
