Look for Less: "Rooms to Inspire" Modern Retro Dining Room

What I love about retro modern design is that the style is so completely distinctive. There is no gray area; no "the decorating is sort of modern yet feminine but traditional with a floral mod flair." With retro design, you know where you're going (and where you've been).

With this room, I'm drawn to the playfulness of sitting in sturdy plastic chairs balanced on slender champagne stems. The abundant whites aren't just white--they're shades of vanilla white punctuated with loads of texture like leather, shag and a fun stretchy spandex. The shag pillows add a soft element that almost makes retro cozy. However, this room would be completely different--and not as amazing in my opinion--without the light fixture. Its size, unusual shape and the fact that it's a standalone object pull the whole look together.

Find this room in the decorating book Rooms to Inspire: Decorating with America's Best Designers by Annie Kelly. Take a peek at the "Look for Less" gallery below, and perhaps start a retro room of your own.