JOIN USAdopting the vintage style has been quite a trend, but it should not be confused with a shabby chic style.
Vintage decorating is fun and easy. Whether you want a vintage feel to your entire home or one room first, it can be accomplished easily and inexpensively by shopping in flea markets.
Decorating a kitchen in the vintage style is a lot of fun. You will need to visit antique stores and flea markets to get vintage objects. Look for things like blue-speckled enamelware, blue willow china, coloured depression glass, pottery, etc for your kitchen.
Kitchens usually have blue or red and white enamel ware and canister sets. Don’t forget iron frying pans. Vintage egg beaters, salt and pepper shakers, tin bread boxes, milk bottles, vintage mixers and antique cookbooks can all be used. Use coloured or clear canning jars for storing pulses, etc and add a lid cover made of calico and tie some ribbons. You can put tin signs or display a collection of vintage pans, plates or aprons on your kitchen walls. For the living room, a variety of knick knacks and things like lace doilies, lamps and vases were usually found in vintage living room. An inexpensive way to decorate walls is with framed art prints in a vintage theme.
Tips for using vintage furniture
Vintage style gives you an opportunity to unleash your creativity. It is less expensive than buying a new stuff. It is one of the greenest ways of furnishing your home, as you are saving furniture from the land fills.
Explore different vintage furniture stores. Look for furniture with good bones. For instance, drawers should slide out easily and upholstered pieces should have good sturdy frames. Just because it is old furniture does not mean that the quality is great. Avoid furniture made with inferior materials and with poor workmanship. Every era has its share of well-made or poorly-made furniture. Vintage furniture is no exception. Surface scratches can be fixed.
Don’t let minor scratches scare you. You can professionally get it refurnished. Unusual furniture in unexpected places will give your place its own district style. For example you can use a small table for a nightstand.
When decorating with finds, it can be challenging to make appealing displays that don’t look too cluttered, but are charming and add to the ambience of your home.
A great background colour in the shelving makes what could be a boring display so much interesting. A neutral background can make your artefacts look bright. You can’t go wrong with classic colour combinations like blue and white. While deciding to collect multiple antiques, it is good to group things together according to attributes such as colours. This ensures that everything is organised and lends a charming look at the same time. A bright yellow colour and a decorative wooden trim can make a pantry look cheerful and fun. The use of clear canning jars and baskets make for a vintage pantry that works in a modern-day kitchen.
Open shelving and storage is a quick way to add vintage style to your kitchen. This works perfectly well for objects that you use every day and looks good when kept in a unifying colour scheme.
Grouping similar items together in an organised display makes a huge impact and a great statement about you and your home. Choosing shutters as a vintage style can work doubly well.
The large stack makes a dramatic statement and fills any corner of your home. Plates are a great example of a classic decorating item. They can be gathered in similar colours. It is always fun to see a variety of shapes and sizes together. An all-white palette is also a good way to keep an area from looking less cluttered and easy on the eye.
Mismatched tea cups can also be decorated in colours and patterns to suit your current theme, displayed on shelves, windowsills, etc.
Even if you do not wish to change your entire home interiors, but still long for a new look to your décor, add a few pieces of vintage furniture, wall accents and get a vintage look to your modern, simple or clean interiors. A vintage look can be blended well with a modern, contemporary home too.
(The author is an interior designer.)