Materials of the 50's; Plastic

When you think 50's, you automatically picture plastics....everything from squeeze ketchup bottles to plastic dinner plates. Maybe cutting edge from a scientific point of view, but hardly in design terms. You may be thinking plastic equals tacky and vulgar, hardly elements for stylish home today. Not so. If you look around, even the most current designs have plastics incorporated.

If you want to give your home a 50's look, incorporate some plastic. The trick is to decide which route you wish to follow. Colorful kitsch is the easiest and cheapest to achieve by scouting around hardware shops and discount stores. Look for crazily colored kitchenware, canary yellow is the preferred shade for washing-up bowls, with sky-blue trashcans and shocking pink scrubbing brushes for contract. Add melamine tableware, inflatable egg cups, and a PVC tablecloth, and suddenly your home is a brighter, cheerier place.

If, on the other hand, no color is more your color,stick to acrylics and polypropylene accessories in subtle colors and frosted finishes. Polypropylene seems to be the plastic of the millennium and is used by manufacturers everywhere for furniture and housewares. It can also be bought by the sheet from good art shops and bent, folded, or riveted fairly easily into a variety of products, such as lights, storage, and desk accessories. Acrylic is most commonly seen around the home as cutlery handles, clip-top storage jars and clear picture frames, the latter often simply fastened at each corner with metal prongs. All these items can give a "soft, modern" look to a home and look great when combined with classic 50's furniture and home-wares. So for an authentic retro look, pile on the plastic.

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