If you want your home and furniture to look vintage but you don’t want to spend a fortune in vintage shops and antique stores to achieve it, then why not go for a vintage homeware look, rather than going for actual vintage.
Creating vintage looking furniture from existing items is a great way to support sustainability and help the environment as well; perhaps by upcycling old furniture or buying items from charity furniture shops which just need a little love and attention to bring them back to life.
For this post we our friends from Such & Such and they gave us these tips for achieving a vintage homeware look without the expensive price tag:
- Go to charity furniture stores
Many charities offer larger furniture stores which sell a wide range of bargains so scour these for the type of piece you are looking for. Household clearances are often carried out by these charity stores so you never know what kind of vintage feel items you could find.
- Try car boot sales
Another great source of vintage-style furniture pieces or homeware items is car boot sales. Look for old china tea sets or tableware which people are trying to get rid of and you could end up with a real bargain which will make your dining table took amazing.
- Buy pieces you can upcycle
You need to go to these places with your imagination intact; think about what you can make the piece into with some paint, re-upholstery or a little love and attention. Don’t buy things which are completely broken or unrepairable but keep an open mind when looking and try to imagine what you could create from it.
- Make sure it goes with your decor
Don’t just buy a piece because you like it, make sure it’s something you actually need and that will fit in with your décor as well. If all your rooms are in a 1970s style, don’t buy a piece that is very clearly Art Deco as it won’t fit in.
- Re-use items in different ways
Think about different ways of using vintage-looking pieces, you can upcycle an old step ladder to become a stand for pot plants or an old bookshelf. For instance, if your old ancestral place has furniture, see if it can be re-used with the help of personal property damage restoration services durham or one near you. Old, refined items are excellent for decorative purposes.
- Don’t be afraid to use paint
Try using different coloured paint to upcycle pieces and to give them a vintage feel. You can use pastel colours to make items look older than they are, or try changing the handles on drawers and cupboards with older style handles to make them look more vintage.
- Be creative
You can take inspiration from magazines or books about particular vintage eras, but don’t forget to be creative and have fun, you can create your own unique look and feel with your homewares and if you want to use a mixture of styles and decades then why not.
- Use outdoor space
You love spending time in your backyard. But you do not like the nosy neighbors, don’t you? This must be why you have not yet thought about transforming your outdoor space into a vintage and aesthetically pleasing area. If this is true, then you would be happy to know that you can use a laser-cut metal outdoor privacy screen to achieve complete privacy while adding personality and visual interest to your outdoor space. To spruce up the space more, you can add some Boho-styled decor accessories and vintage finds with painted metal lawn chairs and an antique iron table. Pretty decorations with a rustic appeal are the key to creating an eye-pleasing vintage space.
- Don’t forget textiles
You can use vintage-looking textiles to add to the atmosphere in your home so do some research on the types of materials, patterns, and colours that would have been popular in your chosen era. Then opt for curtains, rugs, and cushions in those styles to bring instant vintage into any room. Look for lacy table clothes or doilies to put under table lamps, for example.
- Think about decorative elements
When going for vintage you need to look at everything in the room, so you need to go for vintage-style ornaments, lampshades and all the other small decorative items you might have in your home. Change up the light fittings and the artwork on the walls; otherwise your overall vintage look might be ruined by the placement of one modern lamp, or out of place photo frame.
Creating a vintage look with your homeware needn’t be expensive but it will take time and energy to get it right. From deciding which era you want to go for, or creating a mash-up of different looks, to then spending time scouring second hand shops for the perfect pieces, it takes time and planning.
Thinking about all the small elements which you need to change up to vintage to complete the look is another area which will take time, but with the right textiles, china, artwork and lighting in place you can have your home feeling and looking completely vintage at a fraction of the price it would have cost to buy all original features.