Regardless of your personal design style, there are plenty of ways to incorporate vintage home decorations. Trends repeat themselves over time in interior design, making certain elements – such as vintage accents – timeless.
Interested in adding some vintage flair to your indoor space? Here are some tips for decorating with vintage decor:
Keep it light with rattan
Rattan furniture and accessories are becoming more popular in interior design for the versatile, laid-back aesthetic they create. Vintage rattan chairs, accent tables, light fixtures and shelves are excellent ways to add a natural element to a space.
Because rattan is so durable, it makes for the perfect kind of vintage furniture to add to your space, regardless of its age and use.
Add luxury with velvet
Velvet is a surprisingly versatile material, and vintage velvet furnishings add instant luxury to any room. A velvet chair, stool or bench bought at an estate sale makes a great addition to a space no matter the design style.
If you can’t find any vintage furniture, you can try adding velvet into your design with more contemporary pieces and accessories.
Go for contrasting curves
A vast amount of modern decor uses clean lines and geometric shapes, so adding some vintage curves into a design can provide great contrast that pulls the room together. Much of the popular furniture from the 1960s and 1970s featured soft edges and more rounded shapes that work well alongside contemporary pieces with hard angles. Consider using accessories or wall art featuring curved shapes as a starting point.
These are just a few ways to bring vintage home decor into your space. Whether with furniture or smaller decorative accents, vintage items can work with a variety of design styles. Keep these tips in mind the next time you find yourself browsing an online antique store.
About the Author
Kyung Kim
Hi, I'm Kyung Kim. I immigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1968 when I was 7 years old. I have seen my mom struggle with the English language and work hard to raise her four kids by herself. Still to this day, I don't know how she pulled it off, but she bought her first home in 1979 for $70,000 and because of that decision, she was able to live without worrying about her financial future. I want that for everyone, to feel the pride of home ownership and to build their financial wealth using real estate as part of their financial portfolio. I feel so blessed to play a small role in helping others reach this goal.
I live in Beaverton with my husband, Richard. My mom, who lived with us for several years, passed away in our home in February 2022. Her first home purchase in 1979 made it possible for her to live to the very end, without worrying about her finances. As of August 2022 with a little downpayment assistance, our four children own their own homes. Being in real estate, I quickly realized that if they didn't buy now, they may be priced out of the market in the future. Whether that would have been the case, we will never know, but what we do know is that they are all realizing some good, healthy appreciation in their home values.
As passionate as I am about people owning their homes, I'm also passionate about giving back to our community. I support Compassion First, a non-profit organization that provides aftercare for sex trafficked girls in Indonesia. My husband and I also feel called to financially support social injustice organizations.
I'd love to assist you. Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my real estate experience to work for you.
