When it comes to home design, your style is unique to you. You can get a million tips from people, but if you are not designing your home based on your likes and interests it will never truly feel like your oasis. For me personally, I like a mix of vintage and modern and I am here to share a few vintage home decor ideas. If this is something you’re also interested in then join me as we go through these 8 tips!
I have always been interested in interior design. Flipping through magazines or books and seeing how other people decorate their homes is always so inspiring. I’ve always loved that little peek into someone else’s life because believe it or not, a home really tells a lot about a person.
My journey to find my personal style has been a long one! To be honest, I am someone that literally loves everything! But I have learned that I can love something for someone else or in someone else’s space and know that it is not right for my style. I started getting some clarity on what my personal style was as I got older and I figured out how much I love vintage.
Personally, I am not someone that likes a perfect house or perfect pieces. I like the story. Who used this dresser before me? Where did that ding come from? What is the history? For me personally, I like a mix of vintage with some scandinavian elements, rustic tones, a touch of modern… see it’s still a little all over the place, but it’s more a feeling I get knowing if my space is styled the right way.
Enough about me though! Let’s get into the tips I have to help you create a beautiful vintage home style with these vintage home decor ideas.
Vintage Home Decor Ideas
Tips to help you easily incorporate vintage decor into your home
Establish A Color Palette
My first tip to you is to establish a color scheme. For me, I like warm white walls to let my pieces be the focal point. Another reason being that most of the items that I gravitate towards are in the neutral color scheme.
If you collect items that are blue, think about colors that compliment that color and work from there. Remember, you don’t want to have too many colors going on. I think having one main color (60%), one compliment (30%) and one accent (10%) is a good way to go.
I also have a post about my favorite cozy paint colors. All of these would be WONDERFUL in working with vintage home decor.
A Collected Look
Carefully curating pieces for your space can be overwhelming and it really is something you learn as you go. Do you like vintage mid century modern? Do you like victorian? Art Deco? You want it to look effortless, but let’s be honest… it takes a lot of effort to get that effortless look to look just right. If you’re like me you will probably move things around a million times until you find the perfect home for it. And that’s ok!
My advice is to first figure out what you’re drawn to. For me, I love texture, patina, textiles and natural elements. I once bought a stick at an estate sale – I was just drawn to it! Chairish.com is a great place to find vintage pieces online. 1stdibs.com is also really great, too! Once you start to figure out what you like, it’ll start to make sense and your curated pieces will start to tell YOUR story of YOUR style. What a beautiful thing. And you can mix and match styles, too… which brings me to my next point…
Mix & Match
This is an absolute MUST. When you are designing your space you need to mix and match styles. If you go all vintage or all modern or all farmhouse or contemporary, it will lack depth. That juxtaposition of styles is what is going to make your space interesting and give your pieces breathing room to shine. Have a shiny surface? Put an old Patinaed vessel on top. A rustic table? Add a chair with clean lines. I have a french farmhouse dining table paired with clear, modern dining chairs. Because they are SO opposite, it works! If I had matching farmhouse chairs, there would be no visual interest. Ya feel me? The same can be said for antiques – mixing your different styles is what is going to make your house shine and be uniquely you.
Vintage Architecture
If you are lucky enough to live in an older home and have built in architecture – I envy you. If you’re like me and live in a newer home (ours was built in the 90s) – No worries! There are definitely ways to add character into a home.
I love going to antique stores, salvage yards, thrift stores even, to try to find old pieces of vintage architecture. Old doors, Corbels, beams, glass… There are so many ways to incorporate these things into your home to instantly make it feel cozier and give it more of a soul.
Swap out new interior doors for vintage ones or get a track for a barn door and put an old vintage door on it. Add old beams to your ceiling. I used old beams in my kitchen by our range. How about some reclaimed wood on the wall or some corbels to add interest? There are so many options and adding something like this instantly gives your home character!
Vintage Textiles & Rugs
Just like vintage architecture, vintage textiles and rugs really add something special. Now they can definitely be pricey (especially rugs), but they add such warmth to a space as many have variations and slight imperfections that add character and charm.
Vintage textiles look great thrown on the back of a couch. Or if you find a smaller piece, frame it up on the wall. There is so much beauty in these pieces!
There are different rug stores that sell new rugs that try to replicate the look of vintage, but there ain’t nothing like the real thing.
Wood
I wholeheartedly believe that everyone needs to have elements of wood in their home. There are so many beautiful old wood pieces that have the most amazing patina. It is just something that you cannot recreate. I am not saying that you need to have wood everywhere in your home but wood tones add SO much warmth, dimension, and cozy vibes that I had to give it its own section to talk about it.
For instance, I have an old coffee table that is easily from the early 1900s. It has so many dents and dings but that is the beauty of it! Knowing that the look of the wood is a result of 100 years of use and wear to me is stunning. It cannot be replicated. That stain from when Billy Bob spilled his drink or little joey dropped his hammer… it’s special. The story is special.
Repurpose
This is super important and not something that everyone does, but something that I highly recommend. Think outside of the box! Have an old suitcase? Turn it into a nightstand! An old trunk? Now its a coffee table! How about the top of a hutch? Repurpose it into shelving for your kitchen! How beautiful would that be?! Using your imagination to reinvent the purpose of something can take your house to the next level.
Old Lighting
Finding old lighting that is still in good shape is like hitting the jackpot. There are so many old light fixtures that are stunning and a great way to incorporate a vintage touch. Beautiful stained glass, milk glass or an industrial pendant are just a couple of fixtures that could create a beautiful look.
Be a Magpie
Collections are cool. Being a collector of the same thing is an easy way to create visual interest in your home by putting your collection on display. I’ve always wanted to be a collector of something but I haven’t figured out what my thing is yet. So for now, I’m just an admirer. Do you collect anything? Tell me in the comments!
That wraps up my 8 vintage home decor ideas. I hope these were helpful. I hope to have more posts like this coming soon!
Other posts you may like:
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