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Retro living means that you take your passion for the past just that little step further. Wearing old fashioned clothing, going to the occasional Swing dance or being a re-enactor just isn't good enough! You want to LIVE the past, you want to know what it was really like! One way of getting closer to our ancestors is living just like them. Many people give their house a period feel, they have a 1950's bar, or a 1960's kitchen. It is fun and original to have that old fashioned feeling to your house, you can go as far as you want! I personally want to live in a 1930's/1940's style house, I love the art-design, the style, the smell, the atmosphere, everything! So I have decided to slowly replace my 1990's furniture, my nice Ikea desk, my hyper-modern heater and even my lovely computer with antiques, a massive wooden 1920's desk, a wood-burner and some books! Soon my house will look like a museum! On this page you will see images of historical interiors and I will give you some information on how to throw your house trough the time-warp! Nice pictures ey? A lovely Dutch 1930's house, click on them to view a larger version.

Make-up Corner This is my make-up table, everything you see is from the 1930's or 1940's. Under the table you see a 'lampetkan', people used this to wash with when they didn't have running water in their homes. I must admit the mirror is modern but I will replace it as soon as possible! Also this table is a bit messy for a 30 year old woman living in the 1930s, it would fit a younger girl better, especially with all the pictures of movie stars! Well when I get a proper makeup table this will all change, I promise. Some of the nice details for you to spot; authentic prewar stockings, gentlemen's socks, gentlemen's collars, Hair curler and pink silk underwear... Everything on the table is 1930s, it is a mess but it is a authentic mess! Click on the photos to view a larger version

The radio, the centre of the prewar household! This radio is from 1934, they would get smaller in the late thirties. This radio is actually just a shell, there were no mechanics inside when I bought it. But I build a tuner in there myself, connected it to the dials at the front and to my MP3 player! So now I can adjust the sound with a dial and listen to some genuine 1930s and 1940s music or even some radio program's from that era! I have made some CDs that sound just like radio broadcasts from the 1930s and 1940s, music, speeches, newsflashes and a lot of static! It is truly amazing to listen to the music I love in this way, its feels so real! Imagine yourself sitting in the big armchair besides that radio, you're humming along with your favourite song while reading a 1930s newspaper, having a nice cup of tea and listening to the rain outside while the stove is glowing. That's how I spend my evenings when I am not behind this computer! Underneath the radio you can see my gramophone and some records, it is brilliant to listen to old records this way, especially during a 1930s style picnic! Above the radio you will find a wartime map of Europe that somebody used to track the progress of the Allies on. Many people in Holland did this, they listened to the BBC (illegal!) and then kept record of the Allied forces liberating Europe. This map has been updated till september 1944, the Allies are around Arnhem. Of course most people in Holland had to hand in their radios to the Germans, so you will be happy to know that my licence if hanging on he left side of the radio, its that white piece of paper. It has the correct stamps and is handed out in my name! Click on the photo to see a larger version. The 1935 Philips Radio above has been changed in such a way that I can use it to listen to real 30's radio broadcasts prerecorded on MP3. Move your mouse cursor over the picture to see how it works.

	Modern Electric(k)s A typical Retro's problem... You have a nice old lamp but the wire is just too modern! Here is a nice little trick I discovered that can help you transform those ugly plastic wires into the old fashioned cloth wrapped wires we all know and love! STEP 1 Remove the plug. STEP 2 Use tape to cover the electric wire or it will get stuck inside the shoelace. Cut off the ends of the shoelace. STEP 3 Now carefully slide the shoelace over the original plastic wire cover. STEP 4 Attach the plug and Voila! Doesn't that look better?