How Can I Decorate My Home in Retro Fifties Style?

Lais Williams - Want your house to look really retro? Try out a design book that was published during the era of the aesthetic you're trying to achieve. I found this 1955 Home Decorator and How-to-Paint Book, published by Sherwin-Williams, on Etsy. 

I agree that "Applikay Crystal Green over Super Kem-Tone Caprice Yellow make the living room gay."

I wonder if you can still get an "Applikay." I've done a brief Web search and turned up nothing but
more of these books and ads from the '50s. I really like the one just below with the random cross-
hatching. (They call it "the Birchwork Design.") It also seems like the pattern least likely to look
screwed up if you got the alignment wrong. I bet these things were a nightmare to use, and that's
probably why you can't buy them anymore...

Found in Luola's shop on Etsy. If you want to see some more of these pictures, check out Scanning around with Gene.

Visit Lais' VintageousBK blog, covering her vintage finds, including design, fashion, jewelry, photos, and other things that tickle her eclectic fancy.