Tag Archives: vintage

Reviving Retro: How to Give Vintage Items New Life in Your Home

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Buying vintage has become one of the most popular trends of 2023, and not just among the climate-conscious. For those who crave antique collectibles that can’t be found anywhere and for those who want something that makes a statement, vintage is the way to go. But giving life to a vintage piece can be like inflating a deflated tire; it requires patience, perseverance, and the right arsenal.

Reviving vintage items in your home is more than a design choice; it’s a celebration of history and a nod to sustainability. Being aware of how to transform vintage items for home purposes is essential. It might not require an extensive renovation, but little changes that aid significantly. It might be something as simple as DIY stain glass lamps or something as complicated as replacing hardware and refinishing old furniture. Here’s your simple guide on giving vintage items a new lease of life.

Refurbish and Refinish

Thrift stores are a goldmine for those who know how to look, and when you’ve found the right items, from mid-century furniture to quirky accessories, there are many dated pieces you can revive with the right refurbishing. If you’ve found worn-out or damaged items, there is a chance that you can fix them through a bit of refurbishing. This can include reupholstering old sofas, armchairs, and even headboards.

Use wood polish, wood paint, and clear sealants to revive wooden furniture. You can highlight the natural grain by refinishing it, and any chips or scratches on the wood can be fixed with wood glue or filler.

Repurpose Items

While items and furniture are made for a specific purpose, there’s no reason that you have to use them the way they’re intended. For example, vintage record crates can be repurposed to be unique side tables or even shelving units for other items like books. Unplayable vinyl records can be repurposed to be decorative bowls with a bit of heat molding. Depending on the vintage item you have, there is a variety of choices when it comes to repurposing.

You can repurpose old lamps to be planters, especially if they are not functional. Other examples include repurposing wine corks to be a bed headboard, and vintage clothes can become a blanket or a throw. The easiest repurposing projects can be turning vintage items into decor. Changing a vintage bicycle to become outdoor decor doesn’t require much. Just paint it again, and you’re done!

You can also go on a hunt for vintage suitcases and upcycle them to be side tables (providing both aesthetic value and storage). Old suitcases can also make for ideal shelves for any home. You can also paint over them to ensure that they fit your home’s interior design.

Invest in Quality Equipment

If you want to have functional vintage decor in your home, you need to purchase tools that can help revive them. It can include items like a vinyl record cleaner to ensure that any vinyl records you purchase end up being usable. It can guarantee that your vinyls are always in peak condition, and this is vital if you use them frequently or plan on selling them later on.

Investing in basic items like cleaning supplies is essential when you’re planning to purchase vintage items. Rust cleaning solutions, abrasive scrubs, leather cleaners, cleaning gloves, and so on are vital for vintage items. All vintage items will require a good clean once they arrive in your home, and you need to have a good cleaning routine down to ensure that they look well taken care of once they’re in your home. For wooden items, you may need some type of sanding machine and experience in handling wood-cutting equipment.

Consider Layering

Creating a thoughtful and well-decorated home means guaranteeing that you have a good combination of vintage and modern elements. Combining these two elements will help you highlight the vintage items where needed and ensure your home still feels current and relevant. It could be something as easy as designating one vintage item per room to be the focal point, whether it’s a retro dining table or a vintage chandelier. Let that be the central piece for the room, and build the rest of the decor around it.

Another way you can layer vintage items throughout your home is through the thoughtful use of textiles. Rugs, carpets, tapestries, throw pillows, and curtains make for great layering pieces in any room. Layer these textures alongside modern furniture to create an elegant and sophisticated place that remains functional.

Making Your Home a Vintage Haven

Vintage items, whether they’re passed down in your family or have been found elsewhere, all contain their own stories. It could be in the craftsmanship of a bygone era or the sentimentality with which they were passed down. Knowing how to revive them and accommodate them in your home can take considerable thought and hard work. If you’re determined to make the most of vintage items in your home, it has to be through careful placement, refinishing, and upcycling. Once you have the basics down, there’s nothing stopping you from making your home a true vintage haven!

4 Interior Design Trends to Follow This Year

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Everyone has their own unique preferences when designing their living spaces, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t common trends that come and go from year to year. Over the past few years, as many have found themselves spending more time at home than usual, creating a welcoming environment has become even more of a focus. Let’s take a look at four interior design trends you may want to consider as you update your home’s decor.

1. Bold Colors and Patterns

These days, many homeowners are replacing neutral tones and minimalist designs with more visually stimulating colors and patterns. Primary colors—red, blue, and yellow— are certainly having a moment, as well as green, often in the form of plaids, checks, stripes, florals, and other playful patterns. Retro-inspired designs provide a sense of comfort and familiarity, and these bigger colors and patterns offer a mood-enhancing aesthetic.

Especially worthy of note, Pantone’s color of the year, Very Peri, is quite a versatile shade, combining the boldness of blue with the softness of periwinkle, and can be used equally well as an accent or focal point. From subtle decor like throw pillows and lighting fixtures to main pieces like furniture and bedspreads, this lovely shade can both excite the eye and calm the mind—two key elements in maintaining a healthy home.

Another simple yet effective way to add a splash of color to any room (with windows) is to apply diffraction rainbow decal stickers to windows. When the light shines through, it creates a gorgeous pop of rainbow colors akin to a prism, only with more exciting patterns. The combination of natural light with morphing rays of color is truly a magnificent feast for the eyes!

2. Vintage and Antique Pieces

This year, designers and homeowners are enjoying the comforting allure of vintage and antique decor. Besides looking beautiful, many well-aged pieces are also functional. For example, a vintage record player complete with your favorite albums and vinyl accessories can provide entertainment while looking quite dashing to boot.

Additionally, the prospect of hunting down and acquiring these types of goods is a fun and rewarding hobby in and of itself. Scouring the internet and local shops for the perfect piece is a modern treasure hunt, and you’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor for many years to come. You can even turn the hobby into a business if you play your cards right!

3. Personalized Spaces

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As people spend more time at home, they gain a new appreciation for surroundings that tell their stories. For example, while everyone has their own preferences when selecting types of art prints, many designers and homeowners are choosing to support their favorite artists by purchasing or commission artwork that speaks to them, rather than picking up mass-produced art from big-box stores. Showcasing a collection—be it art, knick-knacks, musical instruments, or anything else that ignites joy— is a fantastic way to surround oneself with meaningful beauty.

Besides displaying collections, there are plenty of other ways to truly turn a house into a home that represents its inhabitants. Framed family photos, or even painted portraits, are a great choice, and they serve as a reminder of what’s truly important in life. Similarly, decor with inspirational quotes and images can serve as reminders of one’s beliefs and goals.

4. Elevated Home Offices

As working from home becomes increasingly common, many homeowners are choosing to upgrade their home offices. In the past, many home offices were used rarely—often only on sick days— so a simple desk, chair, and computer did the trick. As people find themselves spending more time in these spaces, they’re naturally gravitating towards better decor and equipment.

Even those who don’t have rooms solely dedicated to their home offices may find that upgrading their bedroom, basement, living room, or other auxiliary room with hybrid furnishings is a great way to differentiate between time spent on and off the clock. For example, a laptop table with wheels can be rolled out when it’s time to clock in, or a lift-top coffee table can be converted to a desk.

Beyond functionality, decorating a home office makes working that much more appealing. While some homeowners prefer a cohesive aesthetic throughout the home, some remote workers enjoy treating their home offices like an entirely different place, helping to replicate the feeling of waking up and going to the office—even if that office is just a few feet away!

Beauty Is In the Eye of the Beholder

Whether you’re just incorporating a few interior design trends or completely renovating your home, this year looks to be all about comfort and personality. Consider thinking outside the box as you shop for new decor. You might be surprised by how a subtle or drastic change can really add excitement to your living space, and in turn, your life.

At the same time, if you prefer minimalist, clinical, and utilitarian design, there’s certainly nothing wrong with that! It all comes down to your preferences, so go ahead and embrace your inner designer, regardless of what the latest trends may look like. It’s your home, and only you know which interior design choices will bring the most joy.

Author Bio:

Carolyn Mitchell is a freelance writer and content strategist with a passion for home décor. She can often be found re-painting and updating the furnishings in her home, and she is also a dedicated cat mom to two adorable kitties.

Proper Way Of Using Vintage Finds In Decoration By Diana Smith

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Even though early 2000s and 2010s are the era about which many greatest Sci-Fi authors wrote about, when it comes to decoration, vintage and steampunk are all the rage. One of the reasons behind such popularity of this style is that it is extremely versatile. For example, if you were to decorate your home in a contemporary manner, you would have to get your hands on some purpose specific items like tech gadgets, and furniture mostly made from plastic and glass. On the other hand, vintage allows you to decorate with things you find on an attic or buy at a garage sale. With this in mind, here are a few ways of using vintage finds in decoration.

Shabby Chic and Rustic Home

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One of the greatest aspects of the vintage style is the idea of shabby chic. What this essentially means is that when buying an antique furniture, you should be concerned with it looking authentic rather than it looking undamaged. This led people to stop painting old nightstands, while some took it even one step further. Rather than buying genuine vintage items, some people started painting furniture to look more antique on purpose. Others, however, decided to take a different approach. As soon as they get enough shabby chic items in their home, they start adjusting the rest of the household to this style. This usually included painting other wooden surfaces like doors, window frames and even floorboards white.

All About That Lace

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If a vintage army ever had uniforms, it would definitely be made of lace. In fact, lace is the only thing you just cannot add too much in a vintage setting. There are so many awe inspiring ideas, like making pendant lighting from lace or even decorating your candleholders with it. Of course, making small lace ornaments and adding them to pillows, walls and lamp shades also goes, but don’t forget about your persona as well. Like a fashionista chameleon, try to fit in this vintage shrine of yours and reintroduce lace into your own armoire. Those who take a bit more out-of-the-box approach are even known to make lace jewelry such as earrings and necklaces.

French Country or Vintage Glam

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Saying that you want a vintage style in your home is pretty much like saying that you want it to have walls- it really doesn’t reveal much. How tall? How many? What kind? Sure, you may want your home to appear like from another century, but do you want it to look like a French countryside manor or a Victorian villa. For the first impression, shabby chic in combination with natural hues like lavender, burnt rust and hunters green will do you just fine. On the other hand, vintage glam takes a bit more effort. Here, you will have to exploit all that shimmering metallic color palette has to offer. Your closest two allies are pale gold and cream, while satin is your weapon of choice.

Let There Be Light

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Finally, no matter what you do with the rest of the home, proper lighting fixtures can make or break the entire impression. This is why going with modern lamps or contemporary downlights simply won’t do. The safest choice you have is to go with elegant yet subtle led wall lights. When buying, however, try to avoid looking at them as a separate items and try to focus on what they will look like in your household. In fact, this advice is something you should take in general, not just when buying lights.

Whenever you encounter a perfect vintage item, you need to ask yourself two questions. The first one is  ‘does it fit with your home’. If the answer is no, then you need to ask the following- ‘can I make it fit?’ Some finds are just so perfect that it can be worth your while to redecorate your entire place just to integrate them.