How To Get The Retro Look At Home: 3 Retro Looks + Janine Stone’s Tips

Obsessed with all things old school? Here are some retro interiors by interior designer Janine Stone and her tips on how to recreate it in your own home. 

How To Do It: Retro Interiors, Janine Stone’s Tips

How To Get The Art Deco Look

‘As part of a residential renovation project, we created a bar that has the same allure and glamour of 1920s and 30s speakeasy. Tips for recreating the look are:

• Choose sleek, geometric furniture with tantalising polished chrome and metallic accents. The bar stalls are a great example of this in our design.
• Revel in the luxury of exotic woods for your flooring, cabinetry, and try luxurious leathers and for your upholstery choices. Visually, leather exhibits a lustrous sheen that catches and reflects light, adding a touch of timeless elegance to any space. Apply bold, contrasting colours, like the timeless dance of black and gold, to evoke the drama of the era.
• Capture the era’s unapologetic opulence with mirrored surfaces and polished, lacquered finishes.
• Above all, it’s important to get your lighting right in a space like this. Opt for dim mood lighting and carefully consider your spot lighting. Vintage lighting fixtures found in galleries and antique shops can also add the finishing touches to the aesthetic.’

How To Achieve Old Hollywood Glam

‘This one is actually a project currently in progress. A home cinema that embraces old Hollywood glamour with sumptuous fabrics and upholstery. Not everyone has a cinema room in their home, but the old Hollywood look can still be achieved:

• An obvious choice is to upholstered soft furnishings in that red velvet that’s so iconic of the time.
• Similarly choose plush, deep-pile carpets and upholstery fabrics that sink you into luxury.
• Gild your surroundings with the shimmer of gold and mirrored accents, evoking classic Hollywood regality.
• Adorn your walls with heavily textured or geometric patterned coverings. We opted for a red velvet curtain on this occasion.
• Curate art, posters, and pieces for your space that pay homage to the golden era’s magic. We opted for old movie posters, given the space we were creating, but they’re so many interesting artefacts from the time that can be framed and displayed to create this effect.’

How To Curate Regency Charm With A Contemporary Update

‘We designed this orangery to be restored for use as a contemporary summer room, that wouldn’t take away from its Regency character. Our advice for achieving a contemporary spin on this look includes:

• Paint with pale hues, echoing the ethereal charm of our orangery project, and infuse your space with a contemporary Regency-era dream.
• Source globally for materials and decorations, adding a touch of distant lands to your design. These elements are seen in our design in the rich mahogany shutters, lime washed wood floors to Cambodian sculpture art.
• Look to the interior architecture of the time for inspiration – we integrated mahogany window shutters into the faux-malachite Italianate elements for a modern take on classical opulence.
• Elevate sculptures on illuminated plinths, to show off your worldly travels and give your space multiple focal points.’

janinestone.com