Creating the Totally Cool ’80s Retro Room: Part II

The TLC Book Design and Totally Cool ’80s office.

Beginning in the summer of 2021, I began transforming my home office into a retro haven. It will always be a work in progress, but I love it so far! See that shirt? We used to go to the T-shirt shop at the mall before school started each year to get a custom-made shirt. Remember that place?

Check out the totally awesome movie and TV show license plates.
You can get them from the nice people at Celebrity Machines!

Retro Room window with mascots, Bandit and Kai.
Can you guess where their names came from?

I finally found curtains! Some say they’re obnoxious, but I think they’re perfect in here.
Might need to have a black backing added so they’re not so sheer. What do you think?

My Retro Room is full of toys, posters, concert tickets, my new keyboard, and more goodies.

See the touch lamp? I gleefully got that for $10 at Goodwill. The clock radio is one of my favorite items. It feels like an old friend—especially since I don’t have to get up early to its alarm anymore! That was a fun eBay find.

Alas, I can’t seem to get a good photo of my Ghostbusters poster. The plastic always reflects the curtains. That Ghostbusters sign lights up! You can get one from the great guy at Glow Up Lights.

This is my new work station. It was a relief to sell my monstrous (yet beloved) hutch desk and move to this super-cool red table. It did create some storage problems, though. I got an old Caboodle to replace a drawer and have a couple of teal canvas bins to hold th rest.

That boombox is the first one I ever had. I remember getting it for Christmas in high school. :) You’ll see there’s room under the Top Gun poster for more movie poster tins. Which ones should I get? What should I put to the right?

I created the cassette coffee table and am offering this model or customized tops for sale. (Email or comment below if you’re interested.) That’s a TV Guide from Feb. 18–24, 1978 on the table.

I want to hear what you think! Leave a message, share your favorite items. Do you have a retro room? If not, what would you put in yours if you did?

Blessings,
Tami