My 6 Favourite Vintage Decor Essentials

So you want to incorporate vintage decor into your home but are overwhelmed by the choices? If you’re beginning to collect pieces for your home I have a few vintage decor essentials I simply cannot be without. I have to have these items in my home for their personality, versatility, and vintage charm.

Everyone knows how much I love decorating with vintage and antique pieces. Old things are filled with charm. They create a cosy, collected feel to our home that can be personalised to fit a look you love. Your home becomes individual, not a clone of everyone in the street. Not only that, but when you decorate with antique and vintage furniture you are giving something old a new life. You are saving it from being dumped or shoved in the back of a garage somewhere. You’re doing a small bit to save the planet. Best of all, old furniture is built to last and way cheaper to buy than newer ‘on trend’ items. And who doesn’t want to save money?

1. Well-loved, well-built furniture

Whether your style is mid-century, eclectic or Georgian, a couple of pre-loved, well-made pieces go a long way to establishing the basis of any vintage scheme. Sure, you can trawl the internet and find hundreds of knock-offs but nothing can replace a piece that’s stood the test of time. If it’s survived a hundred years already, it’s going to keep on keeping on. New ‘vintage style’ pieces are often stapled and glued, some are not even made of real wood, so it’s worth waiting for that one piece you really love rather than filling your home with crap for the sake of it.

Our couch is over one hundred years old and still has the original cushions! it’s been recovered to update its look but the overall shape is timeless and will never go out of style.

Tip: When shopping for vintage solid wood furniture, check two things: the joinery and screws. If the joints are dovetail or finger joints the piece is most likely old. Anything with a flat-head screw means it predates the ’30s; anything with a Phillips screw is almost guaranteed to be mid–20th century or later.

2. Gilt Mirrors

I think I may have a slight addiction to large ornate mirrors. A gilt mirror would be almost at the top of my list of vintage decor essentials. Why? Mirrors add light to dark spaces and bring the outdoors in. They provide a function. A decorative mirror, especially a gilt one, is a vintage decor essential in my book. The intricate nature of the gilt frame adds texture to otherwise plain rooms. A gilt mirror fits many decorating styles from cottage style to French Provincial. So if your style evolves over the years, you do not have to sell your mirrors.

Another reason I love a vintage or antique mirror is that it will often be more affordable than a new one. An old frame has more charm given it’s often more ornate and a bit banged up. An old mirror looks less sterile than a new one; the cloudiness that an older mirror has lends some romance to a living room or over a fireplace.

TIP: Antique Gold Spray Paint by Rustoleum has a built-in primer. It’s a pretty faded gold that looks perfect on mirrors. I know. I have transformed our french style white mirror to gold and you’d never know it’s spray painted!

3. Old and Rustic Textiles

Linen or vintage tablecloths, runners, and napkins, are vintage decor essentials I can’t go past. You can pick them up at antique shops, garage sales, on Etsy, or Marketplace. Use these textiles on the table or at a window as a simple curtain. Stack them in an open armoire or wire basket as decor. And, of course, use them as intended. There is nothing prettier than a colourful serving cloth from the 50s on your table A dainty embroidered cloth like my grandma used to put over the table to protect the food creates the perfect cottage-style vibe. There’s no reason not to resurrect them and use them.

TIP: To brighten old napkins and linen, start by rubbing lemon juice and salt on them and hanging them outside to dry. Once dry, rinse them with warm, clean water and air dry one more time. Your linens won’t look new, but they’ll be whiter than before.

4. China

Whether it be dainty florals, blue willow, jadeite, or white porcelain, there’s nothing that screams vintage decor essentials more than china. Overstuff a dresser in the same color for maximum effect, put a collection of plates on the wall in an unexpected place, or use vintage teacups as vases. I love blue and white china but a stack of gilt-edged floral plates on a farm table creates a vignette I adore. If you’re a mid-century kind of girl, there are plenty of options to fit your style too. Just display them in a simpler fashion in a fitting teak or painted cabinet. Using any of these ideas will guarantee you bring the vintage into your space. And when the display threatens to overtake your dresser or you find another set you can’t do without? Sell one and buy a new one.

TIP: Don’t forgo buying that dinner set you love just because a few pieces are missing. You can buy three vintage sets for the price of one and mix and match them on your table for a new look every time you have guests.

5. Trunks

And not the sort you swim in. I’m talking timber or leather-covered tin trunks, the type people used to store clothes in when they traveled to the mother country. A trunk is a versatile piece. It can be a TV stand, or a coffee table, serve as storage for winter bedding at the end of the bed, or hold logs for the fire. You can transform a room simply with the type of trunk you choose.

TIP: Trunks are not popular in contemporary schemes and thus are a steal at auction. Antique shops sell them for almost nothing too. To keep your trunk looking good wax a timber one every now and then or apply a leather conditioner to your leather-covered trunk. I use hemp oil on mine.

6. BOOKS ARE DEFINITELY A VINTAGE DECOR ESSENTIAL

Nothing sends me into paroxysms of joy more than a stack of vintage books. I have a collection handed down through my family of books in almost every colour of the rainbow plus black (which just happens to be perfect for pops of colour almost anywhere!) I love using them to decorate so much, I wrote an entire post about it! And it makes the decor all the sweeter if you have actually read the books!

TIP: Accumulated dust can lead to mold or mildew growth and encourages bug infestation in your books. The easiest way to keep dust off older books is to…regularly dust them. Be gentle, and don’t use chemical cleaners. Store your books in lidded crates if you don’t have them on display.