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Luxurious looks in high demand

Consider it retro richness — an over-the-top, excessive sensibility that appears amazingly like the mind-set of the look-at-me 1980s.

It's as if a time machine has transported us back to those high-glitz days when the Reagans were in the White House, the nighttime soap "Dallas" was No. 1 and real-life Gordon Gekkos believed greed was good.

Roll out the red carpet. Luxury is back — in everything from fashion to home design. And it's spelled with a capital "L."

Late last year, Robin Leach returned to TV with "Luxury," an inside look at the rich and famous. Like the old days, he showed us butlers hand-warming sheets, Sharon Osbourne bragging about her $350,000 plastic surgery and Donald Trump showing off his "gilt"-ridden condo.

And last month, the buzz words at fall Fashion Week in New York were luxury and opulence. Fashion designers, who typically set the tone for home furnishings, featured show-off details such as beading, lace trim and embroidery. Shimmery metals — gold, bronze and platinum — were de rigueur.

Even designers, who cater to wealthy clients, are noticing a demand for luxury design from the middle class.

"Today's buyer is more sophisticated," says Theresa Bartolo of Theresa Russell Interiors in Boca Raton, Fla. "They are not afraid to copy the rich. They say, 'We can afford it, too.' A method that designers use is to ask clients to cut out what they like from magazines. I no longer have to tell them to do this. They have a pile of pictures. They expect you to give them as close as possible to what they want and stay within a respectable budget."

Champagne taste on a beer budget Just because you don't have the portfolio of the McMansion crowd doesn't mean you can't have a home that looks like you're one of them. Their tiebacks may be silk and yours may be polyester, but you still can get the look without the price. Here are tips on putting together the luxury look on a budget: • Carving: One of the ways to say opulent is with large-scaled, carved furniture. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune. For example, Broyhill, a midprice manufacturer, introduced "Vintage World" at the International Home Furnishings Market last fall. The collection, based on the furniture of royalty and the newly prosperous merchant class in the 16th and 17th centuries, features elaborate carving, bead inlays and talon feet. • Chintz/florals: Florals, especially chintz, can make the inside of your home look like a garden. Make sure the patterns are large. Look for a new phase of vintage, not dusty, nostalgic but with a stronger contrast and color. You can find them in all price ranges, from $100-$300 retail from design sources to $13-$27 a yard at fabric stores. • Gilt furniture and mirrors: If you have the budget, there's plenty of gilt to be found at designer showrooms and antique stores. But if you're on a budget, check out consignment shops. Or buy gold paint in a craft shop and create your own faux gilt details. • Ottomans: These comfortable foot rests are more popular than ever. The new look may have fringe and tassels, but don't overdo it. This time around they won't be layered on top of each other. Buy a simple one and add the trim yourself with a hot glue gun. • Painted furniture: The more detail, the better. Look for more reasonably priced new pieces by companies such as Hooker and Butler Specialty. Or, if you have the talent, find a chest of drawers or a bombe chest in a used-furniture store and paint it yourself. • Texture: Nothing says luxury like soft texture. If a cashmere throw is beyond your budget, try a soft chenille or a chenille and linen blend. The look is instantly opulent. • Trim: This is the icing on the cake, the ultimate way to finish a room. You can decorate with fancy bouillon fringe or elaborate tiebacks if you wish, or you can simply add a satin trim or a bit of embroidery to spice up your window treatments. Crafters can add hand-beading on pillows and drapes. Or find crystals from old chandeliers in a thrift or consignment shop and sew them on your draperies. Some of the best places to find discounted trim are fabric shops. • Window coverings: Wave goodbye to blinds and shades as solo window treatments. Add curtains that hang straight from fancy rods with carved wood finials. If you can't afford silk taffeta, substitute the polyester that looks like taffeta. Sources: Michele Lamb of The Trend Curve, Jamie Drake of Drake Design in New York, Brooke Stoddard of House & Garden. — South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Are all these things an aberration, or are the '80s really back?

"Yes, they're back and they are going to get back more before the decade is out," says Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. "We could have seen it from a mile away, or better yet, 20 years away. America has settled into a 20-year nostalgia recycling. You knew that when the millennium turned that Mr. T, Alf and Air Supply records wouldn't be far behind."

Although some aspects of the '80s may be back, they are part of a bigger mix. These days, we love to pick from a menu of nostalgic items. Thompson says the 1970s was the last decade that could be defined by a definite style.

We certainly have a melange of styles in home design, but trend trackers say they are seeing a definite return to a "more is more" philosophy.

"I think it's pretty peculiar," says Michelle Lamb, publisher of The Trend Curve. "As bad as the economy has been, it also spawned a return of tradition and formality. We have been involved with minimalism for so long that there's nothing more to strip out. When you take something as far as it can go, how can you freshen it?"

You freshen it with detailing. You freshen it with color. You go from silver back to gold. You add furniture with carved details. You dress windows like they were going out for a night on the town. Whew. Can you say opulence?

Lamb says we are moving back to this look because we can. The McMansion owners don't flinch at paying $10,000 for an ornately carved bed, but now other folks can get similar looks for less than $2,000. Many of the American companies are now manufacturing their goods in Asia, where labor is cheaper.

"We can go back to some detail and decoration that was not available when furniture was all produced here," she says. "It takes fine-quality workmanship for minimalism to look right. If you have a lot of decoration, you may forgive some inconsistencies."

Not only is furniture more elaborate, so are the window coverings. Michael Kirkland of J. Nelson, a showroom in the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach, Fla., says the sales of trim have boomed in the past six to seven months.

"The more elaborate, the better," Kirkland says.

Not only are the details back, so is chintz. The cover of House & Garden's February issue was dedicated to "The Charm of Chintz." These glazed cotton florals have faded from view since the '80s obsession with English country. They're back, but they're not the same as they were 20 years ago.

Brooke Stoddard, the magazine's style editor, says the editors were inspired by the amazing chintzes with new colorations that they saw at Decorex International, a trade exhibition of interior design products in London. The darker background colors and bigger scale made the chintzes look new.

"We were thinking this is not your grandmother's chintz," Stoddard says. "We loved the play on traditional. Homes are larger and the fabrics are catching up. The blown-up florals look like they were on Miracle-Gro. That's exciting, that's great and more contemporary."

Luxury also has been on the minds of the magazine's editors. In January, House & Garden hosted "The Well-Lived Life: The Next Chapter," a breakfast for 100 at the Four Seasons in New York City. A panel discussion included Michael Silverstein, co-author of the new book "Trading Up: The New American Luxury," (Portfolio, $26.95); Chris Ray, CEO of The Ramey Agency, an advertising and marketing firm best known for its work on Viking ranges; and New York designer Jamie Drake.

One of the luxury triggers Drake's clients are responding to is customization. They want embroidery, handmade lampshades with soutache (braided silk) trim, hand-blocked wallpaper and embossed and gauffraged fabrics such as those by Sabina Fay Braxton. Gauffrage is an expensive medieval embossing technique that uses hand-carved wooden blocks, which are inked and gold leafed to hot-press an intricate pattern into velvet.

"I think the trend toward luxury tends to last longer than a trend toward plainness," Drake says. "I think that everyone looks for a comfort zone, a safe haven. What could be more luxurious than a feathered, tasseled and silk nest?"

Where to find the furniture • Broyhill, call 800-327-6944 or visit www.broyhillfurn.com for dealers and information. • Butler Specialty, call 800-799-2857 or visit www.butlerspecialty.net for dealers and information. • Hooker Furniture, call 276-656-3335 or visit www.hookerfurniture.com for dealers and information.