Say hello to a new era in home furnishings. Hollywood Regency, in it’s hey-day, was all about making your guests feel as comfortable as possible in your home. That’s why certain elements of this design aesthetic channel 1930’s and 40’s hotel rooms. The look is a bit more staged than comfortable – i.e. your living room organized according to entertaining, serving, and conversation, rather than all pieces of furniture in full focus of the television.

Editing is key in this aesthetic; it’s way too easy to get carried away with all of the tufted furniture, crystals, and gold detailing. Try not to jump at every formal piece of vintage furniture you see – go for cotton twill upholstery over velour, and blown glass over multi-faceted crystals. Modernizing Hollywood Regency can happen in a lot of ways, too. You can make it fresh and youthful with a bold, graphic print area rug in a coordinating hue, or soft and traditional with natural elements like coral and distressed wood.  One of my favorite, and widely conveyed themes in regency is that of chinoiserie (meaning chinese-esque in French).  This can come in the form of greek key print fabric, vintage oriental print China, and faux bamboo furniture.

Last but not least, one should ideally aim for only one piece of the quintessential Hollywood Regency mirrored furniture in each room - before it starts looking like Vegas.

Pottery Barn Chinoiserie Drapes $69+

Williams-Sonoma Home Chippendale Bamboo Chair $562 (30% off!)

Target Sunburst Mirror $69.99

Inside Avenue Greek Key Bench $715

West Elm Safari Rug $99+

Uptown Modern is a vintage/antique store in North Austin, situated in a treasure trove of vintage and discount clothing & furniture venues on Burnet. There are two buildings, separated by an outdoor patio with beautiful wrought iron furniture (very New Orleans) and looks like something out of Great Expectations. When you walk into the first building, best described by the owner – you feel like you’re in an ice rink. It has a very heavy 70’s vibe – disco balls, foil Christmas trees, white patent leather couches, it’s like a scene out of Blow. Deco lucite chandeliers hang, psychedelic print pillows, and eclectic mid-century chachkies pull you into the twilight zone. Unlike most vintage and antique stores I’m familiar with in New York, everything was in great condition and priced exactly right – there wasn’t a ridiculous markup and everything was very within reach (arm chairs ranging from $150 to $250 depending on upholstery). The owner clearly has a trained eye when it comes to retro antiques, I’ve never seen a selection of 70’s furniture that was so easily translated into today’s living room.

Uptown Modern is also very well known for their vintage jewelry archives – which I could have browsed for days on end – and are definitely a little more pricey in terms of perceived value than the furniture (I saw a Chanel cuff), but exquisite eye candy regardless. I actually ended up picking up a glossy wooden log of a clock in the back building (which is a sea of turq), which was listed as only $35 – and the owner actually ended up giving me a 10% discount because it was dusty. That’s the thing about Austin, people really appreciate your business, rather than expect it. To me – Uptown Modern has become a kind of go to source for inspiration – I plan on taking my best friend when she visits, I know she’ll die – it’s a lot more than a store, it’s like time travel.

Visit Uptown Modern - 5453 Burnet Road, Austin, TX - or www.UptownModernAustin.com