Original, exclusive, valued… Bringing vintage furniture and objects into your home is a success. Better, if you do it in small doses. But what are those pieces that should not be missing? Discover them here!
1. DESIGNS FROM ANOTHER ERA
If neither of these two options convinces you to decorate your hall, here is a third. Search auctioneers and traces of vintage furniture with history, like this once dark brown Elizabetha’s dresser. Now it has a new look in white, even on the handles and fittings! To decorate it, transparent glass objects are perfect.
2. PIECES WITH CHARACTER
Do you want your living room to breathe vintage style on all four sides? Nothing better than opting for a classic: a real brown leather Chester sofa, like the one in the picture. Did you know that it was created in the 18th century by the 4th Earl of Chesterfield to improve the posture of his servants? Its robust design, with its elegant quilting and its leather worn by the passage of time, gives it that touch of lived furniture that you like so much. You can accompany it with a bookcase or a recovered dresser that you can restore, or not.
3. AGED FRAMES
Use aged wooden frames in pictures and mirrors as basic accessories to decorate vintage living rooms, as has been done in this image. It could have been restored, but don’t you think it exudes even more charm like that with its chips? See how good it looks leaning against the wall behind the dining room table.
4. NEUTRAL AND PASTEL KITCHENS
What colors are the most appropriate in vintage kitchens? If you bet on neutrals (white, gray, beige…) and pastel tones (pink, blue, turquoise…) you will hit the mark. Another success will be to combine white furniture with natural wood countertops, as in the image. And for decoration, write down these ideas: shell moldings and handles on drawers, tin cans, and boxes, siphons, an old scale.
5. COMBINE THE OLD AND THE NEW
The success of vintage decoration is knowing how to find a balance between the old and the new. Thinking of including an antique cupboard or wall-mounted silversmith in your kitchen to display your crockery? Or leave the tile floor worn because it adds charm? Deluxe! But that does not prevent you from introducing modern elements such as coffee makers, kettles, or retro refrigerators – that is, of current manufacture but inspired by bygone eras.
6. AN ORIGINAL DESK
The best way to add a vintage touch to your workspace, whether in the bedroom or living room, is to accommodate a reclaimed desk. It would be nice to get an individual wooden desk with a drawer and a folding seat! Or some of the kind that opened and closed with a shutter door! This one in the picture has been created with a bacon table and two antique nightstands. It couldn’t be more original!
7. REAL VINTAGE OBJECTS
If you are a regular at street markets or vintage stores, look for those objects so characteristic of the 50s, 60s, and 70s that marked an entire era. They will come in handy when decorating your home! Advertising posters, movie posters, metal plates, old telephones, typewriters, Lomography cameras, colored glass pieces, globes, cages, metal showers, demijohns … Of course, make sure they are original. True vintage deco does not accept imitations.
8. PRINTS, A VINTAGE MUST
Large flowers, geometric motifs… Prints cannot be missing in a vintage decoration, whether in cushions, upholstery, curtains, bedding, or wallpaper. But beware! Use them in moderation if you don’t want to overload the environment.
