Maureen Whitemore
F Looking forward and back… Cumbria Life’s interiors expert on retro style
or those who remember the Sixties, memories of orange and turquoise patterns, Hornsea-style
ceramics and teak furniture are both reassuring and scary – can it really be 50 years ago? Alongside shabby chic and vintage fashions, retro is very much on trend for interiors and there is lots of potential for taking the style and adapting it for a modern home.
The furniture that springs to mind is made from pale beech wood and has clean, almost Japanese lines and a strong Scandinavian influence. G Plan and Ercol are the famous names. They are both still designing and making furniture today while, at the same time, their classic designs fetch significant sums online and at auction. Contemporary design companies such as Channels are developing the look using new materials and colours.
I am currently designing a room scheme around a client’s favourite G Plan sofa and incorporating a very useful Ercol sideboard. These styles have lasted because of their quality, simplicity and consis- tency of style – new Ercol works well alongside the Fifties pieces. A bonus with these styles is
Natasha Marshall successfully captures retro in her colour combinations and designs
Modern Ercol designs are just as clean and simple as the originals
Problem solved
Modern wallpapers help to create stunning bathrooms but there’s always that challenge of finding tiles to add the practicality without diluting the impact. I have used glass splash backs for many years and I love the way these are now used in modern kitchen design.
In this bathroom the edges of a toughened glass panel were smoothed after professional glass cutting and it was then fixed with chrome head screws. To be honest, it could easily have been fixed to the wall with a narrow bead of silicon sealant around the edge but that’s perhaps a bit risky for an amateur if you are using expensive wallpaper. Practical, easy to clean and all without hiding the Lewis & Wood wallpaper.
that they don’t require a huge amount of fabric to reupholster so you can splash out on a good fabric for sofas and chairs.
Retro works really well in very light, pale schemes. Add a dash of strong pattern or bright colour however and then contrast with a dramatic darker wall and it can look stunning and most definitely not old-fashioned. There are lots of wallpapers and fabric collec- tions that match the retro furniture style and one of my favourites is by Natasha Marshall. Her prints have an obvious heritage from the Fifties and Sixties but modern colour combinations and, of course, the benefits of modern
fibre mixes, printing and finish. I’m not a big fan of
upcycling, especially if the furniture being adapted has a patina and richness from age, but I must admit that some retro styles, especially chests of drawers and similar items, look great with a chalk paint finish. My compromise would be to limit the paint jobs to items of furniture that are already damaged so that you are rescuing rather than just painting them.
The retro trend works well for anyone on a budget. You can use bright colours, combine old and new items in a consistent scheme and then have fun accessorising with second hand
(or pre-loved) lamps, mirrors, ceramics and glass. Interior design should be fun and retro has a great sense of humour – I only draw the line at lava lamps!
Maureen Whitemore runs Whitemore & Thwaytes interi- ors in Penrith. She has been in the interiors design trade for nearly 50 years and is on the Board of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers. See Maureen’s blog at maureenwhitemore.co.uk.
CUMBRIA LIFE / OCTOBER 2017 / 81
ALLEGRE COLLECTION
ERCOL TREVISO DESK AND BUTTERFLY CHAIR