Collecting vintage or antique furniture or elements of decorations to create a beautiful home is a marathon, not a sprint!

Mixing old and new pieces of furniture or elements of decoration is all rage nowadays. It’s a trend that follows the pandemic, a counter reaction to minimalism or maybe to the all beige aesthetic. Understandably people want their homes to feel like a home, they want to fill it with cherished and interesting objects. They want to show their personality by having a style that is their own. And so they turn to antique and vintage pieces to do this.

Rejecting current mass produced furniture is mostly a good idea, in my opinion. Although I also think some things are better new. Some well crafted modern pieces, if well maintained, will become next century cherished possessions after all.

While this trend starts with the best intentions, it seems to be spiralling. Now, since it is often the case with social media and internet, I could be totally wrong. Maybe it’s just that I have too often looked at a certain type of reels or clicked too often on certain articles and this is what I get served now.

Anyway, biases or not, there seems to be trends emerging which should be avoided!

Like making new things look old and even worst making old things look new! Buying cheap copies. Painting over gorgeous hardwood! Yes, I’m a hater! Making permanent and irreversible alteration to unique antique pieces…

So you want to add vintage or antique touches to your home?

If you want to decorate your interior differently and want to incorporate vintage pieces or even antique ones, then here are my recommendations.

Consider this as an opportunity to learn

Don’t get me wrong, you are totally allowed to just fall in love with a piece of furniture or object without knowing anything about it!

However, if you wish to start purchasing vintage or antique pieces, it is a great opportunity to learn new things! Learn about the different styles and periods, the designers, the makers, the craftsmanship that went into the pieces you like. Learn to recognise original pieces, learn how they were built and what TLC they need. If repairs are required, why not learn to do them yourself?! You’ll cherish the piece even more.

Refine your style

There are plenty of old furniture and objects out there, waiting to be loved again. You get to decide what style or styles you love, but when looking for something specific, it clearly makes it easier to know the period and the name of the piece you are looking for. So this point circles back to the previous one: Learn everything you can! With time it will help you refine your style.

But hey, it is absolutely fine to love different styles and different periods, or even like certain objects from certain period and prefer other types of objects from a different period. For example, I love the brass and wood tools from the 1920’s, but I’m not that found of certain pieces of furniture from that period. I think that’s fine!

You do you!

Be patient

Being patient may be the hardest recommendation to follow in this day and age of instant gratification.

But when looking for the perfect piece, you will probably need to. The truth is, you might not even know what the perfect piece is, until it’s right there.

A beautiful home is rarely furnished in the blink of an eye. What is the pleasure in that anyway? Going to flea markets, antique shops, finding something online… that’s where the joy lives!

Refuse to adhere to trends

Home decor and fashion are similar – They are cyclical. Today mid century furniture is all rage, tomorrow, it will be something else.

Maybe you truly love this mid century bar cart, but then again, maybe you’re already tired of dusting it and can’t believe you went with the trend.

The point here is: Do you! Not trends!

Couldn’t not show my sewing machine!

Refuse to pay extravagant amounts of money

This point is linked to the above. When in fashion, prices go way too high. When the trend is gone, prices fall back down to peanuts.

I’m not saying you should buy furniture for their resale value. But then again, some pieces are truly investment pieces and you may want to consider them as such.

So just be very careful to the prices you pay.

Don’t buy useless!

The Marie Kondo effect is still a thing! Vintage, antique or not, don’t fill your house with decorative items with no purpose, or just because you want an instagram worthy corner.

Personally I love the idea of having a cabinet of curiosity but I refrain myself as much as I can. The only exception I make is antique travel souvenirs! That’s just me, a girl has to have an excuse to shop sometimes.

This brass compass isn’t the most useful tool but is a great souvenir!

Think of your house and maybe your next one

As you’ve probably heard before, one should not buy art for a specific place but because one loves it.

I think it’s the same with vintage and antique pieces. Don’t buy things specifically for the place you currently live in. Especially if you know it isn’t your forever home.

Maybe it won’t fit perfectly where you are now. Maybe it will look slightly odd. But when you move, it may suddenly make sense and you’ll be blown away.

Don’t sweat it!

If you like it, you like it. If it’s within your budget then go for it.

It may not look perfect right now, but down the road, you may find a way to make it better. I’m absolutely not saying you should paint it though! 😉

I bought this 19th century carriage lantern and haven’t managed yet to find the right place for it but I know it will come and it will be glorious.