Back to the future

The craze for retro wares has been around for many years, but it's been given a huge boost by the Mad Men series, says antiques and collectables expert Judith Miller.

"I'm not surprised, because bland has had its day in decor and there's a sexiness about this look. Unfussy, curved lines and a playful use of colour and pattern are ideal ways to bring character and personality to rooms."

Judith, whose new book, Costume Jewellery (Miller's, 25) features eye-candy pieces from the Fifties and Sixties, says: "Both decades were such creative, fun eras because it was post-war and people were craving fresh new styles and were willing to experiment. It was the ideal time for creative designers to be able to emerge and there came a wealth of appealing British and Scandinavian pieces whose dimensions and style are perfectly suited today's homes." Whether you want to flirt with the Fifties or swing back to the Sixties, retro looks are the way forward. Take a look (Martini in hand, of course) at reviving retro in your rooms... and then the only missing ingredient will be handsome ladies' man Don Draper.

Patterned wallpaper is a shortcut to creating a retro atmosphere in a room. From the Fifties through to the Seventies, boldly coloured graphic prints were in vogue.

"Perhaps the simplest way of using pattern, and a good way of dipping your toe in the water, is to restrict patterned elements to relatively small scale applications such as cushion covers and throws, lampshades or bath linen," suggests Irish designer Orla Kiely, whose new book,

Pattern, is full of inspiring ideas for retro homes.

She draws inspiration from the Sixties and Seventies for her iconic print designs for clothing and homeware. "A large patterned rug, a sofa upholstered in a bold print, or a wall papered in a large-scale design are ways of turning pattern into a strong visual statement," she says. "If you want to play with colours, simply paint walls so they're a backdrop to vintage statement furniture pieces."

You can conjure the Fifties with red, black, yellow or lime green walls, or if that's too harsh opt for softer shades of pistachio green, pink and pale blues. Typical Sixties colours included bright red and purple, and rebellious clashing colours such as tangerine and fuchsia pink.

Curtain and soft furnishing specialist Montgomery offers funky Fifties fabric collections sporting bright leaf prints and floral patterns. With ranges widely available in stores, its Rococo 06 fabric in red/tangerine, 29 a metre, will perfectly create that retro look. Create a feature wall in a bedroom by papering with Sixties-inspired Superfresco Easy Trippy Terracotta Geometric wallpaper, 17.98 a roll, from B&Q, and make it more authentic with a centrepiece, such as a Retro bed, with angled legs and a tapered headboard from The Sleep Room, from 745 for a double.

Slim legs and elegant curves – also displayed by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Holloway – are coincidentally striking features shared by Fifties and early Sixties furniture. Fancy trim and ornamentation were out of style after the Second World War and contemporary was cool, with most mass-produced pieces looking spare rather than over-stuffed. The Sixties saw the emergence of even more streamlining, with futuristic pieces and transparent blow-up furniture.

"People are looking to styles of the past for interior inspiration," says Andrew Cochrane, managing director of Nathan Furniture, whose Citadel 21 collection was inspired by its original 1963 range. "There's increasing confidence about combining vintage with contemporary to create a modern look that is very 21st century, rather than simply an exercise in nostalgia.

"In my opinion, good design and style will always return and a tough climate could well be the catalyst for that return, when people find comfort in the familiar, and look back to perceived better times."

You can turn retro detective and try to seek out original design pieces at auctions and antiques fairs which, depending on their condition, may be a wise investment. But if you can't wait to join in the retro revival, there's no shortage of vintage style copycats on the high street.

John Lewis has a splendid Revival furniture collection in oak, celebrating mid-century design with authentic features such as splayed spindled legs, Scandinavian curves and plump upholstery. If I had to pick one star piece, it would be its space-age style white lacquer Twist stem oval dining table, 479, so reminiscent of a Sixties' sculptural design. Those who love to designer name-drop need look no further than Heal's which has a wealth of covetable retro pieces in its Vitra collection featuring the work of design luminaries such as Charles and Ray Eames who produced sleek leather, plywood and plastic furniture. Or bag a copy of a classic design. Bhs has its own version of the cocooning Egg chair by designer Arne Jacobsen, for 729.

There's no need to turn your home into a shrine to retro with shag pile carpet and psychedelic wallpaper – simply pay homage to yesteryear by adding a few eye-catching pieces. Before mobiles were born, landline telephones ruled, and displaying one of these is one of easiest ways to "brring" in the style. Oliver Bonas's chunky Fifties-style desk phone, 49.50, could have come straight from an old film set.

Quackers or kitsch? You can decide, after you've displayed a set of three coloured flying ducks from HunkyDory Home, 12.75. Domestic divas will find it hard to resist bright-coloured storage tins and mugs decorated with Fifties' advertising slogans from Make International. A mug is 8 and a set of three tins 25.

Rewind the Sixties, starts Monday, BBC1 daily at 9.15pm. Mad Men is on BBC4 at 10pm every Wednesday.

WHERE TO FIND THE STYLE OF FIFTIES AND SIXTIES

CafePress: www.cafepress.co.uk

Oliver Bonas: 0208 974 0110/www.oliverbonas.com

B&Q: 0845 850 0175/www.diy.com

Dotcomgiftshop: 020 8746 2473/www.dotcomgiftshop.com

Dwell: 0845 675 9090/www.dwell.co.uk

Getting Personal: 0845 217 6382/www.GettingPersonal.co.uk

Heal's: 0870 024 0780/www.heals.co.uk

Hunkydory Home: 0191 645 4004/www.hunkydoryhome.co.uk

John Lewis: 0845 604 9049/www.johnlewis.com

Make International: 0845 686 0960/www.makeinternational.com

Montgomery: 0808 202 6213/www.montgomery.co.uk

Nathan Furniture: 0115 946 2111/www.nathanfurniture.co.uk

The Sleep Room: 0845 459 9937/www.thesleeproom.com

Waring Products: 0870 060 4260/www.waringproducts.co.uk