5 Old-School Design Elements Making a Comeback

You can’t beat a bit of nostalgia! Increasingly, designers are looking to the past for inspiration, reworking classic elements and repurposing them for the modern age.

2016 is only a few weeks old, but already it is looking to be the year that old school design elements make serious inroads back into homes across Australia. We took a look at five of the best examples, and explain how you can incorporate them into your home this year.

The White Picket Fence

The white picket fence – that symbol of suburban affluence and optimism for a bright future of opportunity – has long been consigned to history, right? Well, not entirely. This iconic and idyllic piece of exterior design is making a comeback.

Practical and innately stylish, a white picket fence could be the design element that really sets your home off in 2016. And for the modern age, the white picket fence has come a long way. Gone are the days of having to re-paint timber pickets every year – opt for our aluminium white picket fencing over the traditional white painted wood, to allow for easy cleaning and maintenance while retaining the stylish effect, and give your home’s exterior a retro twist this year.

Vintage Stoves

In the age of microwave ovens and take-out food, it’s easy to forget that the kitchen was once the focal point and engine room of the home. Make your kitchen feel loved once again in 2016, by adding a vintage stove.

Increasing numbers of people are eschewing the sleek modernism of chrome in favour of something more classic, and retro brands such as Sweden’s AGA are making major comebacks. The chunky, cast iron effect of an AGA stove provides an altogether warmer and more homely effect in your kitchen, without compromising on its retro style credentials.

Rose Gold

Unless you’re a member of Australia’s financial elite, you probably won’t want to splash large amounts of cash on gold fittings for your home. Instead, installing rose gold-effect pieces are a great way to inject some retro style into your interior spaces.

Popular during the interior style explosion that was the Swinging Sixties, this beautiful, copper-hued metal is experiencing a major resurgence. Rose gold-finish chairs, tables, kitchen appliances and more are beginning to reappear in homes across the country, as design-savvy Australians once again embrace the charms of this great material.

Bohemian Throws

While the uptight – but undeniably stylish – ad execs of the hit TV show Mad Men poured scorn on the scruffy hipsters of the BoHo movement, the flower power generation certainly had some classic design tricks up their sleeve. One which is growing in popularity as we move into 2016 is the bohemian throw.

Compliment the design elements of your home by adding an eye-catching throw rug, either by draping the throw over a sofa, utilising it as a classic fire-side rug or even by hanging it on a feature wall. The only limits are those of your own imagination.

Panelled Windows

An example of a necessity that slowly evolved into an iconic design element, retro panelled windows are making a serious comeback in homes across Australia. Harking back to a time when plate glass was simply too expensive to install on a large scale, panelled windows went out of fashion in the early twentieth century, as glassmaking methods become more sophisticated. But style – like history – repeats itself, and old school panelled windows are back in the ascendency.

Modern technology gives you the means to enjoy this retro design element without sacrificing comfort and security. Easy clean UPVC fittings, double-glazed panels and sophisticated locking mechanisms make these windows a warm, safe and incredibly stylish addition to any modern home.