Blast From the Past: 10 Vintage Bedroom Ideas for Retro Fans

by | Aug 17, 2020 | How To | 0 comments

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Are you looking to add a retro feel to your bedroom? Deciding how, when, and why to redesign your bedroom and what look you’re going for can be super difficult. And that’s without considering the cost, which can range from around two thousand dollars to more than ten thousand dollars!

But, never fear! We’ve got all the best retro feeling vibes so you can redesign your bedroom efficiently and in a way you’ll love.

These are the best vintage bedroom ideas that you’ll love. For more guides on how to fill the rest of your perfect retro home I recommend RetroGeekery for inspiration.

1. Add Antique and Vintage Furniture

The best way to add a retro feel to your bedroom is to find antique and vintage furniture items and decorations to add authenticity. It doesn’t take a lot of different pieces to totally transform the look and feel of your bedroom into something truly old-timey.

If you plan to keep your own bed, adding a great antique headboard can totally change the feel of your room. If you’re looking for a nice accent piece, try a nice vintage armchair, like a wingback chair.

The right painting or tapestry, framed correctly and placed on the right part of the wall, can bring your entire design to incredibly new heights.

2. Mix It Up

Using clashing fabrics, different types of woods and other unexpected additions are a wonderful part of a vintage style bedroom. Mixing and matching will bring even more of a real feeling to your new vintage redesign. Dark wood and light wood can look super cool and old school in the right context, and so can wood and cool old-school plastic jewelry.

Using different types of fabrics and other materials can also really help with pulling a new look together. You can also try mixing traditionally feminine feeling patterns and designs, like floral prints, to contrast with more traditionally masculine patterns and designs. Try experimenting with a lot of different combinations to find the optimal construction of material contrasts that you’ll love looking at.

3. Repurposing Your Items

Adding vintage items in unexpected ways is another cool way to save time and money while adding to your bedroom’s aesthetic. Plus, it can help save the environment by being a sustainable thing to do!

For example, vintage suitcases stacked on top of each other can make for great side tables for your bedroom. Use a vintage dresser as a cool standing desk. You can purpose fancy old containers to hold your pens, school supplies, or makeup.

Vintage plates, bowls, and cups can be made into a beautiful and stylish jewelry stand so you can display all of your great vintage finds! Turn your cute little teacups into planters so that you can give back to the planet. Turn fancy old wine bottles or cans into classy old-school looking candle holders to give your room a spooky and scary vibe.

Vintage utensils can become hooks for your jackets, old ladders or other wooden items can become shelving, road signs can become great wall art — the possibilities are endless!

These are just a few of the many different options you have when it comes to repurposing things you already own into your vintage redesign. Basically anything you have that’s in good shape could be used!

4. Floral Prints Forever

Flowers are an integral part of adding to a vintage redesign of your bedroom. They may be a little girly, but they’ll automatically signal a vintage and retro feel to everyone who enters the space.

If you want something super feminine, try large prints in pinks, whites, reds, and pastels. If you’re looking for something a little more neutral, try more intricate floral patterns in darker and cooler colors. If you want something a little more unusual, why not try a fun orange floral print, something in black or white, or florals with contrasting filters!

Look into lots of different options so that you can be sure you found the perfect prints for your new redesign.

5. Pastels on Pastels on Pastels

Sticking with a pastel color scheme can help set the mood and tone in any room in your house, let alone your bedroom. Here are some great pastel colors you may want to incorporate into your newly redesigned room:

  • Mint green
  • Peach
  • Lavender
  • Light grey
  • Sage
  • Sunny yellow
  • Lilac
  • Baby blue

These are just a few of the many, many amazing pastel colors you can try out. Make sure that you experiment so that you can find the right colors that fit your color scheme and the general feel of what you’re going for in your redesign!

6. Hang on The Walls

Filling up your walls with vintage prints and statement pieces can also help class up the joint in your newly redesigned room.

Prints from old government posters, for example, can completely change the look and feel of the room and add a lot of authenticities that it may not otherwise have! Reproductions of some of your favorite classical paintings can add even more antique vibes to your room.

What you choose totally depends on your specific tastes and interests, but it’s important to know what your options are going in so that you know what you’re looking for.

7. Focus on the Details

Using tiny details can make all the difference in making or breaking your redesign. For example, incorporating the right kinds of candles and candle holders can totally pull together your new vintage bedroom.

Trying out large vintage wooden frames, with or without a painting or photo in them, can also add some more vintage love into your bedroom redesign. Basically, you just need to keep an eye on every single thing that you want to be added to your new setup, to make sure that every single tiny detail flows together in the best possible way!

8. Mixing Eras

Using styles and designs from different vintage eras can add even more of an eclectic and cozy feel for your room. Try out some buttoned-up 1950s, peace and love 1960s, bohemian 1970s, popping and colorful 1980s, or the grungy 1990s.

It’s a new century, after all, and you don’t have to stick with just one boring era instead of picking and choosing what you like best from all of these super cool years of the past!

9. Get the Best Bed

Getting a great vintage or antique bedframe is the best way to make sure your new vintage design works. Learn more here about how to choose good double or Single Bed Frames. Of course, you’ll still need a modern mattress for your new frame! Learn more here about how to choose good double or Single Bed Frames. Of course, you’ll still need a modern mattress for your new frame!

And, you’ll still need to make sure your new bed fits in your room, so make sure to measure in advance to find out if you should stick with a twin bed, full-sized mattress, queen, king, or California king size bed in your new bedroom.

You’ll also need to consider what you need in a mattress when you buy a new mattress as well! Make sure that it still supports your back in the way that you need so you’ll still be living your best life in your fabulous new redesigned vintage style bedroom!

If you’re worried about questions like, “how much does a mattress cost?” make sure to do your research to find the best mattress and frame for your room before you start throwing money down.

10. Wallpaper your Walls

Instead of painting your walls, using wallpaper to cover your walls can add a great vintage feel along with a great pop of color! Here are some amazing types of wallpaper you may want to incorporate into your redesign:

  • Floral
  • Damask
  • Countryside
  • Toile
  • Distressed tiles
  • Nautical or wildlife prints
  • Art deco prints
  • 1980s geometrics
  • Plaid on plaid on plaid
  • Mid-century modern
  • Art nouveau
  • Gothic prints
  • Baroque and rococo

Of course, there are many other wallpaper types you may want to use. You can even try border wallpaper if you would like a little bit of a fancier design but you aren’t interested in totally going overboard. Just make sure you get the border wallpaper lined up correctly!

Or, you may want to stick with painting the walls, particularly if you happen to be a renter. That’s totally okay too! You can use less permanent ways to add a vintage and retro touch to your bedroom.

Vintage Bedroom Ideas That Fit Your Budget

Clearly, any of the above vintage bedroom ideas would be a great fit for your style needs. Just make sure you stick within your budget and adapt the idea to suit your home and lifestyle.

Are you interested in reading more home redesign tips or other information? Check out some of our other articles today!

In Columbia, Maryland, there’s a former grocery store that has been transformed into a department store for mythical creatures, time travelers, and intergalactic tourists.

It’s called DoodleHATCH.

You can groom a unicorn, visit an intergalactic space station, climb onto a giant’s bed, meet guinea pigs, explore an artist’s studio, and discover approximately a million other things that somebody actually sat down and made.

It’s a nonprofit interactive art museum, a community project, an educational resource, and one of my favorite places I’ve ever discovered.

And it could be demolished as part of a proposed redevelopment of the Long Reach Village Center.

But there’s still an opportunity to help.

You don’t need to donate money. You don’t need to live in Maryland. And you don’t need to know anything about zoning laws.

You can start by writing an email.

🚨 Here's what's happening

Developer Columbia Concepts has proposed redeveloping the Long Reach Village Center in Columbia, Maryland.

The proposal would replace existing buildings with new housing, recreational facilities, and other development.

Unfortunately, that puts a whole collection of existing community resources at risk of being demolished, including:

  • DoodleHATCH Interactive Art Museum
  • Maryland Fashion Institute
  • A makerspace used for community education
  • Local restaurants, shops, and service businesses
  • Early childhood education and community programs
  • A 140-foot-long mural created by approximately 100 community members

This isn’t just about losing a fabulous museum. It’s about losing an entire collection of places that people have built, supported, and relied on.

And there’s another possibility!

🌈 Meet The REALM

Lee Andersen, the founder of DoodleHATCH, and her nonprofit ManneqART want to preserve the existing community resources and transform the village center into an arts and culture destination called The REALM.

Imagine a place where artists have studios, children have room to explore, students can learn creative skills, people can attend performances, and local businesses continue serving their neighbors.

There are plans for a performing arts space, more opportunities for artists, and a Witches Kitchen that might serve you a horrible-disgusting breakfast.

Which, personally, I think sounds promising.

The people behind DoodleHATCH are gathering support to oppose the developer’s zoning proposal and advocate for The REALM.

And they’d love your help.

💌 How to help in about two minutes

If you live in Howard County, Maryland

If you’re 18 or older, DoodleHATCH is asking eligible county residents to visit the museum and sign their petition in person.

📍DoodleHATCH Interactive Art Museum

8775 Cloudleap Court, Unit 101
Columbia, MD 21045

⏱️ Museum hours: Friday–Sunday, 10 AM–5 PM.

And while you’re there, I highly recommend exploring the museum. Bring someone who needs a reminder that being an adult doesn’t mean you have to stop enjoying ridiculous things.

If you don't live in Howard County

You can still help!

DoodleHATCH is collecting emails from people who oppose the proposed Columbia Concepts redevelopment and support preserving the existing arts and community resources through The REALM.

Send your email to: Lilou@DoodleHATCH.com

Suggested subject: Support The REALM | Oppose Columbia Concepts Zoning Proposal ZB 1132M

You can write your own message or use one of the templates below.

You don’t need to write an essay. A short, genuine message explaining what you support and why is enough to participate in this email campaign.

✍️ What should your email say?

To make your position clear, include these three things:

1. Say what you’re opposing.

State that you oppose the proposed Columbia Concepts redevelopment and zoning amendment for the Long Reach Village Center, case ZB 1132M.

2. Say what you’re supporting.

Express your support for preserving DoodleHATCH, the Maryland Fashion Institute, existing community resources, and the proposed arts and culture center called The REALM.

3. Explain why you care.

This is the part that makes your email yours.

Maybe you’ve visited DoodleHATCH. Maybe you’re a parent who wants more creative places for children. Maybe you’re an artist, an educator, or someone who thinks it’s important to protect the few spaces where people can explore and make things without needing to buy something.

Maybe you live across the country and just learned that there’s a department store for mythical creatures in Maryland, and you think the world would be a little less interesting without it.

That’s a perfectly good reason to care.

Automatically Build Your Email!

💌 Email templates you can copy

Option 1: Short, simple, and effective

Subject: Support The REALM | Oppose ZB 1132M

Hello,

I’m writing to express my opposition to the proposed Columbia Concepts zoning amendment and redevelopment of the Long Reach Village Center (ZB 1132M).

I support preserving DoodleHATCH, the Maryland Fashion Institute, and the existing community services and small businesses, as well as the proposal to create The REALM arts and culture center.

Creative and educational spaces like these provide valuable opportunities for families, artists, students, and the wider community. I believe they deserve to be protected.

Please include my email with the messages of support being collected for DoodleHATCH and The REALM.

Thank you,

[Your Name]
[Your City/State]

Option 2: For artists, creatives, and fellow merriment makers

Subject: Please Protect DoodleHATCH and Support The REALM

Hello,

I’m writing in opposition to Columbia Concepts’ proposed redevelopment and zoning amendment for the Long Reach Village Center (ZB 1132M), and in support of The REALM.

I believe communities need places where creativity, imagination, and play are actively encouraged.

DoodleHATCH is an extraordinary example of what can happen when artists and community members are given room to create something that doesn’t fit into an ordinary commercial space.

Places like this are rare. They encourage people of all ages to experiment, learn, explore, and connect with one another.

I support preserving DoodleHATCH, the Maryland Fashion Institute, the existing community resources, and the vision for The REALM.

Thank you for collecting these messages and advocating for the creative community.

[Your Name]
[Your City/State]

Option 3: For people who've visited DoodleHATCH

Subject: Please Save DoodleHATCH | Oppose ZB 1132M

Hello,

I’m writing to express my opposition to the proposed Columbia Concepts redevelopment and zoning amendment for the Long Reach Village Center (ZB 1132M), and my support for The REALM.

I’ve personally visited DoodleHATCH, and I want to share why I believe it’s worth preserving.

[Write two or three sentences about your experience. What did you see? Who did you bring? What surprised you? What made you want to return?]

DoodleHATCH is more than a collection of exhibits. It’s a place where creativity is something people can actively participate in, and I believe losing it would be a tremendous loss to the community.

I support preserving the museum, the Maryland Fashion Institute, and the other existing community resources through the proposed arts and culture center, The REALM.

Please include my email with the messages of support you’re collecting.

Thank you,

[Your Name]
[Your City/State]

A few tips before you hit send

Automatically Build Your Email!

DO:

  • Use your real name.

  • Include your city and state so organizers can understand where support is coming from.

  • Clearly identify the redevelopment proposal you’re opposing.

  • Specifically mention your support for The REALM.

  • Add a personal sentence or two if you can.

  • Be respectful, even if you’re frustrated.

  • Share this page with other people who might want to help.

DON’T:

  • Pretend to be a Howard County resident if you’re not.

  • Claim to have visited DoodleHATCH if you haven’t.

  • Make up experiences or information.

  • Send threatening, insulting, or harassing messages.

  • Assume your email is the same thing as signing the official petition.

  • Worry about making your message sound impressive. Clear and genuine is better than elaborate.

💌 The Save DoodleHATCH Email Machine

A few clicks, a little personality, and an email that helps support DoodleHATCH and The REALM. No account or signup required.

What's your connection to DoodleHATCH?
Why does protecting places like this matter to you?
✨ Your email preview
To: Lilou@DoodleHATCH.com
Subject: 


✉️ Open in My Email App




Your information stays in your browser until you choose to copy or open the message. The email does not send automatically. Emails support DoodleHATCH's advocacy campaign; they are not the same as official petition signatures or zoning testimony. Please review the message before sending.
 





			

			

				
				
				
				
			

				
				
			

				
				
				
				
				
				
				

				

				
				
				
				
				

				
				
				
				
				
🐹 Wait. What exactly is DoodleHATCH?

			

				
				
				
				
				
			

				
				
				
				
				
I’m so glad you asked.


DoodleHATCH is an interactive art museum in Columbia, Maryland, created by artist, designer, and professional generator of wildly ambitious ideas, Lee Andersen.


The museum is designed as a pretend department store for mythological creatures, time travelers, and galactic tourists.


There are dozens of installations, and unlike most museums, you’re encouraged to touch things, explore, and participate.


There’s also an artist’s studio full of fabric and handmade garments, workshops, special events, birthday parties, free books, and opportunities for local artists to share their work.


The museum welcomes families and children, but adults are absolutely allowed to enjoy themselves, too.


And the woman behind it has spent decades bringing creativity into the community through fashion, festivals, education, and public art.


I discovered DoodleHATCH in 2020 and loved it so much that I started volunteering.


I’ve been back multiple times, and there are still things I haven’t seen.


That’s part of what makes it special. You can keep discovering things because people keep creating them.

			

			

				
				
				
				
			

				

				
				
				
				
				

				
				
				
				
				
You don't have to live near DoodleHATCH to care about it.

			

				
				
				
				
				
There are Merriment Makers everywhere.


People turning empty buildings into art spaces. People organizing parades. People teaching kids how to sew, paint, dance, or build things. People putting enormous amounts of time into projects that make their communities more interesting.


Sometimes they’re running nonprofits. Sometimes they’re working out of their garages. Sometimes they’re making something weird in a strip mall that you might drive past a hundred times without realizing what’s inside.


I hope you’ll help protect DoodleHATCH.


And I hope you’ll look around your own community, too. Visit the strange little museum. Go to the local art show. Find the person who makes giant puppets or organizes an absurd annual festival. Spend your money at the independent shop with the handmade things.


There are people everywhere creating reasons for us to be curious about being alive.


I’d like them to be able to keep doing that.

			

				
				
				
				
				
			

				
				
				
				
				
Help save DoodleHATCH. Help protect The REALM. Help keep the world interesting.

			

				
				
				
				
				
💌 Email: Lilou@DoodleHATCH.com


🌈 Visit: DoodleHATCH.com


🦄 Share: Uncustomary.org/Doodle