Give Your Home a Vintage Look With These 6 Tips

When opening this article you had an exact idea of what you were expecting to see. However, when doing my research to try to define the term vintage in home decor context, I have to admit that what I found was inconclusive, to say the least. I will try to round it up by saying that vintage belongs to the period from 1920’s to 1950’s, western country home meets French province. However, we are not here to define but to look for its charm. The following tips will help you achieve that.

The art of decoupage

You cannot embark on the vintage journey without first getting familiar with a technique called decoupage. The basis of it is pasting paper cut-outs onto u a surface and coating it in lacquer or varnish. It is wildly used for restoring vintage furniture as well as making wooden objects such as jewelry boxes, picture frames, coat racks etc. look vintage. It is often combined with pokerwork.

Vintage collectibles

A vintage object is meant to depict the era it was made in. Even if they do not turn their entire home into a vintage showcase, people like collecting charming items which tell a story and have a unique spirit. How better to explain an era than by showing where the humanity was at the time? This is why among the valued collectibles we have different vintage devices that are now obsolete such as old cameras, phones, gramophones, radios etc.

Art and decorative items

There is a number of things you can use under this category to accentuate your home. If you have an old wall mirror you can display it in your hallway or in your living room. Search your grandma’s home for old pictures and photo frames, or turn to decoupage and either make or buy some photo frames. Old china and figurines will look well on your shelves, as well as brass candelabras, plates, and bowls. In recent years, people found pin-up ads incredibly fun and thus they became an inevitable piece of vintage decor, particularly when painted on metal signs.

Furniture

Again, your grandparents’ and your great grandparents’ home is your go-to place for decorating your home. They probably have pieces of their old furniture stashed away somewhere: a linen chest, a wardrobe, a cupboard, kitchen cupboards etc…. if not, again, you can find them on flea markets, garage sales and auctions. Depending on which direction you choose, you can have a country house kitchen or the 1950’s one with the appliance designed to look like they are from the decade. Looking at the entire house, you can implement geometrical shapes of art deco or the romantic charm of French provincial style.

Most people tend to have a mixture of various styles depending on what pieces they come across. Heavy wooden furniture is a must.

Doors and windows

In order to show dedication, you need to work on all aspects of your home including doors, and windows. A vintage curb appeal works best on houses with a wooden exterior and wooden porches, however, adding a few details here an there, an old bicycle decorated and made into a flowerpot holder, a wicker chair etc. can help you do the magic. A wooden front door with a vintage knob and knocker or a front door with stained glass and metalwork are the right choice. Replace the doorknobs in your home for the brass vintage ones. Sand and repaint your windows white or a dark, contrasting brown color. A store selling plantation shutters in Parramatta reports that many people buy these looking to give their homes an old charm.

Materials, colors, and patterns

You have probably noticed by now that a vintage home is very big on wood. When it comes to upholstery and the fabrics used, again, not a rule but generally, it used fabrics such as velvet, plush, leather and silk. The patterns include a lot of flowers, polka dots, stripes and, later on, geometry. The floors of vintage homes are usually made out of dark hard wooden floorboards with rough finishes. I personally find it quite charming when you can see wooden beams in a house. The walls were mostly white if not covered in wallpaper. You can follow the current trends and accentuate a wall with the use of vintage wallpaper or any other color you find fit. The furniture is generally light, a lot of white, light blue, blush and green.

Related resource : Wood burning tips and techniques

Decorating a home is all about making it stylish, tasteful and comfortable. The limits of “vintage” are very vague so use that to choose what works best for you.