Vintage Chic decorating is all about creating elegance with time-worn, well-loved vintage items. The look is soft, comforting, luxurious, and hella stylish. Here are some quick tips to help you find the right balance between the soft comforts of your vintage goods, and sharp sophistication.
Stay Off Center
Intentionally place items away from the center-line. This asymetry will give an edge to your design. Instead of looking like a stale room in your grandmother’s home, the decor will feel fashionable and sharp.
Go Easy On The Paint
It is soooo tempting to coat second hand items with many, many layers of paint. It feels satisfying to cover up scratches, dings, and chipping layers. But before you slap on that sixth coat, stop and think. Consider giving your furniture a distressed look instead. This will give the peice a charming, warm look which can really transform a room.
Mix Functionality and Design
If you have vintage items that you are proud of, don’t shy away from showing them off! This can be done in a tasteful way by hanging them up in an organized manner. If you have items that are all different sizes, like in the picture above, make sure to line them up in an orderly way.
Color coordinating might be another way to give the arrangement a purposeful look. When you display items out in the open, you are presenting them as art work. At the same time, they serve a purpose — you could easily reach for the pie tin, collandar, or antique shaving set.
Everything Is Art
My little sister and her husband recently bought a home. For wall art, they found a great Audubon bird book at a flea market and framed the illustrations. You could also do this with old family recipes in the kitchen, vintage post cards in the entry way, or framed book pages for a library.
Pair Rustic with Luxury
A great rule of thumb to keep in mind is that for every rustic, dated item you use in your home, you should also include an item of luxury. For example, if you find beautiful barn doors to re-purpose for your bathroom closet, make sure you balance them with a draping, soft, feminine shower curtain. In the picture above, the antique iron chair is softened with a stack of cozy, thick towels.
Keep It Simple Silly (K.I.S.S.)
Keep it simple, silly! KISS is a great concept to keep in mind when you’re tempted to jam pack a room with all of your vintage finds. Elegance is all about simplicity. Try streamlining your space, and then adding in only a few key vintage touches, where they will really count. In the white, spacious kitchen above, the vintage rug stands out as a focal point.
Balance Fresh With Well-Worn
You don’t want your rooms to feel stale or stuffy. Bring life to old items by matching them with fresh flowers, colorful artwork, or a stack of playful books.
Vintage Chic decorating is a source of never-ending entertainment. The minute you get tired of one look, you can hit the tag sales and find new items to display. Or, you might find that you have a few pieces you cherish, and will never replace. Use these DIY tips to help you dial in your vintage chic look, and be sure to tell us how it goes in the comments below!