When design hounds think of the midcentury-modern style, they instantly picture low, streamlined sofas and modular teak sideboards.

But now a new space at Westminster Quay is letting you go for the full Mad Men effect through ceramics, glassware, lighting, and pillows. MCM Home (810 Quayside Drive), an offshoot that sits across from the more furniture-based Mid-Century Modern Home, specializes in authentic finishing touches, all colour-coordinated for easy perusal in the River Market space.

Along one entire wall are the drippy volcano-glaze and brilliant-orange pieces of German pottery that were trendy during the 1960s and ’70s; another shelf is devoted to curvy tulip vases crafted from bubbled Swedish glass in shades of gold, green, or blue. And of course, there’s a section devoted to the cocktail hour, replete with 1950s-vintage glassware, decanters, and martini shakers.

“We’re all about bringing back cocktail time: stopping and appreciating the day by sitting down and having a drink,” says Mid-Century Modern Home owner Jenny Cashin, standing by a set of six little smoky-hued stemmed glasses ($48). In other words, you can live like it’s 1959, not just surround yourself with items from the era.

The opening of the retail space was a result of both demand from customers and the fact that the original shop was building up a sizable supply of hard-to-find midcentury homewares on top of its collection of refurbished teak furniture and reupholstered sofas.

“People are really enjoying picking vignettes, like three pieces in one colour to make a space,” says Cashin, pointing to a matching trio of kitschy blue glass pieces, one that looks like an ornately curlicuing ashtray, another an unidentifiable, crested, long-necked waterfowl. “Colour ideas are big, especially [to go] with neutral pieces, because people still prefer to keep midcentury furniture neutral, so the trend is a lot of grey for the upholstery. For me, the accent colour would be turquoise and teal, but orange and chartreuse are also popular.”

You’ll find hits of those colours in pop­ular Chalet glass produced by Canadian Art Glass, the scalloped, freeform sculptural pieces in vibrant orange, chartreuse, and blue ($80 to $200).

Sometimes colder, neutral furnishings—say, a super-contemporary sofa—need a little warmth. That’s where upping a room’s teak content comes into play, Cashin says. She points to a cool Danish teak ice bucket, with three-dimensional geometric raised features, that could sit out like a work of art ($375). There are also shelves of salt and pepper shakers, pepper grinders, and small statues made out of wood that could have been lifted right out of Rock Hudson’s swinging bachelor pad in 1959’s Pillow Talk ($28 to $300).

Another way to build a theme with vintage décor is to repeat a motif throughout a room. That could mean three extremely textured items to play off your other, sleeker furnishings, Cashin suggests. “So you could have a woolly, nubby rug, then a different-textured ceramic like the lava pottery, and for example a wall hanging.”

You can give a new couch that mod feel with some of the store’s vintage pillows; check out the atomic-themed print, or another in rougher bark cloth ($36 to $120). Or use some of the big geometric-patterned cushions, in lime greens, blues, or orange on white, to carry through colours you’ve brought in with glass or ceramic pieces.

Illuminate it all in style with one of the store’s showstopping, brushed-aluminum Vintage Rocket Booster chandeliers, an atomic-age marvel by Prescolite ($995): it extends from a circular hub into three hourglass-shaped metal shades with clustered, Milky Way–like pinholes that let the light out. Pure Jetsons. Or for a pop of colour, check out the vintage Danish ceiling pendant, an undulating piece of art glass in bright chartreuse ($365).

A completely different effect (“retro rumpus room chic”, anyone?) can be created by the store’s sizable collection of pottery table lamps, a bit of handmade, textured design to play off a room’s clean lines.

Whatever your taste, remember you don’t have to strive to reproduce that retro–Palm Springs vibe as authentically as possible. The key, says Cashin, is learning how to mix new and old. “It’s not like your granny’s living room,” she emphasizes. “Midcentury is totally interpretable into modern décor. A lot of contemporary design is cold; maybe you have a new glass dining table, and then you would put your vintage teak serving platter on it to warm up the look.

“The most successful décor is eclectic. That’s what makes it personal.”