A stylish blast from the past – in the form of retro design - has come to Dursley.

Wyke House, the antique shop on Silver Street, has temporarily put away its stock of Georgian, Victorian and later antiques in order to showcase the interior design styles of the 1950s to 1980s.

For the next few weeks, the independent business, which set up in Dursley last July, has been wholly given over to a selling exhibition entitled Mid-century to Modern.

The shop has been transformed into a series of spaces showing what British home interiors were like in the second-half of the 20th century.

The stock even extends to the 1990s – with items on display that evoke the style and atmosphere of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and which could become the antiques of the future.

One of the co-owners, Simon, who has previously worked as a curator at The Museum of the Home in London, has been forming this collection for over 30 years.

He said: “The design styles of interiors, particularly in the 20th century, has always been a fascination for me.

"As a child I was reading books on how to decorate your 1970s home and began collecting as a young teenager, but it was in the 1990s, while starting my museum career, I began collecting in earnest, looking around vintage shops in London and buying pieces which appealed to me.

"The first museum display I set up on my own (in my early twenties) was a 1950s home, so creating these shop displays has brought back lots of memories.”

He added: “Although these aren’t antiques yet, as they’re under 100 years old, many items of vintage homeware of this period have been recognised as design classics for many years."

The items evoke nostalgia for some, but they also reflect a fascinating period in design history.

In the post-Second World War era, household design probably changed more rapidly than in any preceding period.

The rationing of the war years, which included furniture and textiles, led to a boom in household redecoration in the 1950s – bright colours and clean lines were in favour, and the influence of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the space age were reflected in homes.

During the 1960s, modernism and Scandinavian design was more prevalent and the 1970s looked back to the Victorian age with a craft revival and darker colours, whereas the 1980s became hi-tech and black, grey, red and ‘electric’ colour combinations were preferred.

The displays include classic ceramics such as Portmeirion, Midwinter, Denby and Hornsea, as well as art glass, furniture, textiles and art of the period too.

"We’ve got some great original paintings and drawings, but without doubt the items that have caused the most interest so far has been our Tretchikoff's Green Lady prints.

"They were very cheap at the time, but became the icons of 1960s homes,” said Emma, shop co-owner, whose background is in design.

Reproduced from paintings by Vladimir Tretchikoff, they were considered valueless until around 30 years ago, but prices have shot up in recent years.

Wyke House antiques shop is in Silver Street, Dursley, and is open Wednesday to Sunday. See: wykehouse.co.uk