Vintage and Retro Kitchen Accessories - Tips to Transform Your Kitchen on a Budget

Aside from looking lovely, one of the benefits of choosing a vintage or retro style for your home is that it doesn't have to cost the earth. The eclectic nature of these styles means that all you need are a few gorgeous vintage or retro kitchen accessories and a bit of imagination.

One of the up-sides of the recent economic muddle is that homeowners across the UK are starting to look at more imaginative ways to decorate their homes.

For those looking for a low cost way of transforming their kitchen this summer, it's time to look again at the vintage, retro or country house looks.

In its simplest form this means some bright, energetic patterns alongside a fresh lick of white paint.

You can choose between the bright, striking colours of a retro look - choosing a few central and eye catching items - or go for the gentler vintage look. The best thing about both of these looks is that they can be done on a shoestring budget.

The first place to look is your attic or garage; those boxes of forgotten trinkets from years ago. Before you rush out to buy anything new, have a look to see what is hiding in your storage. Vintage and retro looks can encompass styles from many eras - and who knows, that vase you rejected in the 70s might be perfect on your window sill now.

The next stop could be second hand shops, charity stores and (depending where you live) car boot sales. Remember that people don't scrub items before selling them through these types of outlets - so try to look past the grime!

Old wicker items and furniture can easily be given a new lease of life with a coat or two of paint. Bold and bright colours are great for retro, while pastels will suit vintage. And remember that car boot sales and second hand shops will often be the best places to find beautiful doorknobs and light pulls.

When it comes to choosing a few new items to brighten up this look, there are lots of useful but beautiful vintage and retro kitchen accessories to be found. The best kitchen accessories are functional - like kitchen roll stands, brightly coloured storage tins, clocks or serving platters.

While we all love fresh flowers, dried flowers can look great with the vintage or country house look - especially hydrangeas which dry to beautiful faded colours- and of course they are much cheaper. Dried flowers can also be perfect for showing off a bright vase.

If you are a creative soul, why not have a look in the remnants bins of fabric and furnishing companies. From covering chair seats to making placemats or napkins, for anyone handy with a sewing kit this is a great way of bringing bright patterns into your kitchen.

Stick to striking and bright coloured fabric for a retro style, or opt for faded florals, chintzes and ginghams for a vintage or country look which can be more decorative and delicate.

Vintage, retro and country styles are all about the little touches adding up to give a bright and pleasant feel to a home.

Mona have been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his blogs more often for tips and advice that helps people with the interest for cheap modern furniture and great passion and knowledge for retro modern furniture and all the different options & providers available in the market today. Find out for more info also here rexkelly.com

Retro Chair Styles - Make Your Home Funky!

If you want to create a relaxing and comfortable place for your friends and family, check into the many retro chair styles available now. If you need a special place to write in your journal, to play games, or just to sit and visit, retro chairs are the way to go. You can select from many styles of chairs, tables and sets that are well-constructed and beautiful, and very funky, too.

Acrylic telescoping chairs look super around a bistro style table, and they stow away for storage. Bucket bar loungers give a special retro look and style to your office or home. A lunar lounger is made in the shape of a half moon, and it will be an excellent conversation piece.

You can select dining chairs in classic 50's style, in various colors of vinyl for a retro look. These can help give you a contemporary or vintage look, your choice. Or rock and roll and have chocolate malt in retro dining chairs. A pub table will add that special ambiance to your family or red room. Many other styles are also available.

You can recapture memories of your happy and carefree childhood with colorful metal dining tables and chairs. Take your family back to those warm summer evenings at Grandma's house with retro metal lawn chairs. Vintage patio furniture is a desirable and timeless addition to your deck or yard. You can find the retro chair styles in many bright colors, so there will surely be one or more that will suit your style and strike your fancy. Retro chrome chairs have a finish that is powder coated and hardware made from stainless steel, so that they will resist chipping, fading and rusting.

Children love tie dye designs and animal prints, and they are becoming more popular today. Your whole home will probably not be retro-inspired, but a room here and there will be a refreshing change from current styles. Your kids will enjoy the designs that were cool and "hip" when you were young, because of their bright colors and patterns.

There are various types of retro vinyl chairs you can choose for your home. Retro dinette chairs or retro diner chairs will make your dining room a blast from the past. A retro chrome table and retro dining chairs will brighten your day and make mealtimes more interesting.

For your kids, select Fuf chairs in zebra velvet and leopard suede. They are convenient, super soft and comfortable. If you purchase an inner liner, you can remove the outer cover for cleaning. In this way, you can keep your chairs looking great.

In selecting retro furnishings for your house, include retro office chairs for your work space. If you don't have vintage retro stores in your area, you can even find Cosco retro chairs for your home. You can find retro furniture in many colors and styles. Incorporate a bit of the past into your home with retro chair styles, and you'll enjoy the pleasant memories.

Katherine have been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his blogs more often for tips and advice that helps people with the interest for cheap modern furniture and great passion and knowledge for retro modern furniture and all the different options & providers available in the market today. Find out for more info also here rexkelly.com

Retro Patio Furniture - Is the Vintage Revival Here to Stay?

Retro furniture is something that has slowly been making a comeback over the last few years. To some it's an acquired taste, but to other it's a style that they simply can't ignore.

For many the concept of retro patio furniture may be slightly foreign. To those who are unsure, this is the style that came out in the late 1950's and continued to dominate the furniture- and appliance market right through to the 1970's. This was in reality a generational expression of cheerfulness over the end of the hard fought Second World War. A range of designer across the globe got caught in a creative frenzy. The USA arguably started it all, but the phenomenon soon spread to Europe and Scandinavia.
 
Incorporating retro patio furniture in your outdoor space usually creates a very fun type atmosphere. It's normally seen as a bold statement in contras to your more traditional choices. There are various ways to express yourself with retro patio furniture, and no doubt your decorating efforts will attract its fair share of comments from your guests.

A favorite among home decorators is the retro style egg chair. Very simply this piece of furniture is an egg-shaped shell with a padded interior. The shell can come in a variety of different materials ranging from fiberglass through to a lightweight sturdy aluminum. Depending on the rest of your patio furniture, this can complement your decorative efforts significantly. Normally it can also seat up to two people.
 
The market also offers the old-fashioned 1950's style steel retro patio furniture. Easy to maintain and very durable, it creates a very warm and fun vintage feel. This type normally comes in a set of tables and chairs which can be further decorated with period-type cushions. This can further enhance the character that you wish to instill in your outdoor area by choosing funky type patterns true to the style of the 50's and 60's.
 
Retro patio furniture is not everyone's taste. It's something that strangely appeals to a diverse audience. Perhaps you grew up in the 60's and want some of your childhood memories, or perhaps you're from a younger generation and just simply have a liking to that era. Whatever the case may be, retro is back, and it's back in full force. Chances are with the current trend that it will remain in vogue for years to come.

Annabelle have been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his blogs more often for tips and advice that helps people with the interest for cheap modern furniture and great passion and knowledge for retro modern furniture and all the different options & providers available in the market today. Find out for more info also here rexkelly.com

Why the Retro Coffee Table is So Popular Today

The retro coffee table is the table in which the design comes from the era of the 50s to the 70s. Yes a retro coffee table may look like furniture of the past but it is still popular today because many tables from this era have designs that go well with modern interior design themes.

The word 'retro' comes from the word 'restrospect' where we essentially look back to the past to get a glimpse of how the people of the past lived, their lifestyle, fashion, down to their taste in home design and furnishings. In furniture 'retrospect' we try to apply their furniture designs to add a focal point to our traditional or contemporary home design theme.

It may be a 'blast from the past' of sorts but don't make the mistake of thinking that when you buy retro furniture you're buying antique furniture because not every retro coffee table that is sold these days is a true 60s or 70s table but is truly wonderful reproduction faithful to the original retro concepts. If you're aiming to buy a retro coffee table pay attention to the details for you to truly get the best furniture that is truly retro.

    * Buy furniture that comes from the period and an example of that are chairs with vinyl seating, or a retro coffee table.
    * Bear in mind that retro coffee or cocktail tables had legs that were either wood or chrome that were tapered. Popular furniture of this period was the Noguchi coffee table exclusively manufactured by the Herman Miller Furniture Company and the G-Plan Furniture collection.
    * The popular furniture colors in the 50s were the combination of pink and gray and then in the 60s the color theme became psychedelic thanks to the flower power, love, peace-sign generation. In the 70s the popular shape for cocktail tables was round or oval.
    * Coffee tables in the 60s were low long teak tables that had Scandinavian influence however there were also retro tables that had Formica or wood-and-glass tops.

Since retro is the in-thing these days, many people dream of achieving this in their home décor but this is a somewhat tricky task. Many designers caution against overdoing your retro theme by putting as many retro furniture pieces you can collect from thrift stores, vintage shops, used furniture stores, garage sales, and online shops.

The tendency with doing such is that you risk making your house look old-fashioned but when you use retro furniture pieces sparingly on existing modern, traditional, or contemporary interior design theme, the pieces will balance out your existing design. Hence you end up with a truly original room that has class and elegance not cliché or boring and this is one of the reasons why a retro cocktail table is still popular these days.

Another reason why retro furniture is still popular today is the fact that they are defined by clean lines as opposed to the ornate designs of Victorian period furniture with functionality infused into the piece. Therefore when it comes to this type of table, you will be able to buy pieces that will easily match all the other furniture as well as have a product that you can use for other purposes than as a table as in the case of buying a retro coffee table with compartments to hold vintage magazines to complete the desired retro-style.

Elizabeth have been writing articles for nearly 2 years. Come visit his blogs more often for tips and advice that helps people with the interest for cheap modern furniture and great passion and knowledge for retro modern furniture and all the different options & providers available in the market today. Find out for more info also here rexkelly.com