We're going to take a look at Vintage Interior Design Style.
If you like a cozy, elegant, romantic feeling then Vintage is for you. It can be incorporated in an apartment, house, office or shop to create an atmosphere of elegance and antiquity as if it's been there for a long time.
Vintage interior designers have a great aptitude for versatility, creativity, and imagination. They create absolute masterpieces that always tell a story and seem to have a rich history.
For you and DIY - you can mix Vintage with Industrial, Shabby Chic, Farmhouse, English Country, Bohemian or Modern. Different themes include British Vintage or Modern Vintage.
HOW DID IT START
This style originated quite spontaneously first in the arts (music) and fashion, and then in the field of interior design. Vintage entered the fashion in 90s of XX century and immediately captured America and majority of European countries.
The essence of this style is to appeal to the original thing of the past years, which reflects the fashion trends of that period, is recognizable. Vintage interior style does not have any clear rules of space arrangement. It’s more the stylistic direction than style: vintage interior style aims to demonstrate the special charm of the previous era and create a cozy atmosphere, combining antique, aged and modern furniture and decor.
WHAT ARE THE KEY ELEMENTS?
Old fashioned and elegant look
Low key elegant colours or mix of strong colours - intense green, blue, orange, red, yellow and aquamarine
Not cluttered
Romantic: soft, flowing lines, lovingly selected furniture and decor, as if inherited from grandparents – not junk, but the legacy.
Natural materials & fabrics
Plaster or stucco ceilings
Wooden or carpeted flooring and ornate rugs
Antique or light fixtures with metal finishes
Wallpaper
Large draped curtains
Floral patterns
COLOURS
Low-key colors: primary colors – beige, gray, sand, cream. Some shades of light pink, pale blue, pale lilac will be appropriate. Vintage interior welcomes the creation of a single color gamma – bright, noble, calm.
You'll find a mix of bright colours in a more modern Vintage design look
DESIGN FEATURES
Wall decorating can be of two types: plain low-key tone wallpaper or wallpaper with catchy enough floral pattern.The ceiling may be white (plaster) with subtle roughness or wood with cracks and scratches. Stucco will look quite organic at the stucco ceiling. Wooden floor is preferable. Linoleum must be necessarily hidden under a big carpet to match the wallpaper. Walls can be decorated with black and white photographs. Ornamentations and paintings in the Vintage style in elegant wooden carved frames would suffice.
For example a bedroom iin vintage interior style – it’s comfort and luxury, elegance and bright shades. Massive bed (possibly with a canopy), dressing table with mirror, decorative pillows, ceramic vases, figurines, crystal vases and perfume bottles, candle holders, jewelry boxes and cosmetics. Vintage bedroom design is a competent combination of old-fashioned luxury and modern comfort, elegance and unobtrusive simplicity.
MATERIALS
Vintage welcomes natural materials: wood, more rarely stone and forged elements, natural fabrics. Worn leather, aged metals, distressed wood. The interior should look as if it was designed several decades ago. It should reflect the fashion trends of the past decades.
Curtains in vintage style are long, gracefully draped. They can be decorated with cords or corresponding clips. They can be quite bright or subdued, depending on the overall interior design: plain walls – bright curtains and vice versa. Curtains can be decorated by a floral design or be monophonic as well.
Decorative lace napkins or doileys will look organic on the table and bedside tables.
Upholstery either fits the background, or is a little brighter. Furniture with floral upholstery is quite appropriate in a room with shadeless walls.
Interior is harmoniously complemented by the decorative pillows with floral pattern and discreet carpet.
FURNITURE
The term vintage furniture is used to describe a piece between 30 to 100 years old—at 100 years or older, a furniture piece becomes classified as an antique.
Furniture in Vintage style is furniture with history. Really old antique or simulated, it must meet several criteria:
Only natural materials: wood and upholstery fabrics
Texture is important: there is no need to grind wood pieces to complete smoothness
Scrapes, scratches, cracks will work organically
Forged elements, wood carving, bronze or brass fittings are also relevant
Vintage furniture – a wardrobe, bedside tables and coffee tables with drawers and carved handles. It is soft chairs and sofa with wooden frame and rounded carved legs. It is a high-backed chair and a massive dining table; a massive bed with carved or forged back.
DECOR ACCESSORIES
Decoration in Vintage style is impossible without flowers (both as a pattern, and natural). They can be disposed in the rooms in ceramic or glass vases. Potted plants will be appropriate too.The vintage stuff (music boxes, antique clocks, old-fashioned lamps and chandeliers, hair combs, candlesticks, vases, books, frames, figurines) will help to create the special atmosphere. All this can be bought at a flea market, antique shop or found at elderly relatives or friends.
Boxes, book covers, and even drawers or cabinet doors can be decorated with decoupage in Vintage style – light, delicate, black-and-white or light brown pictures (flowers, dragonflies, animals, children) or newspaper clippings, labels, badges with traces of wear, cracks.
A large mirror in a massive, elaborated frame will complement and refresh any room. It can be placed on the pier-glass in the bedroom, on the mantel in the living room, above the sink in the bathroom, on the wall in the kitchen.
Walls can be decorated with black and white photographs. Ornamentations and paintings in the Vintage style in elegant wooden carved frames would suffice.
Old suitcases can be used as tables, side tables or features.
LIGHTING
Old fashioned lamps - table and floor
Chandeliers
Candles
THE RESULT
Room design in Vintage style looks simple (it does not have the classic chic styles, exotic oriental beauty catchy or modern) and gracefully at the same time. Abrasion, cracks, chips give atmosphere and comfortable lived-in look, creating an atmosphere of peace, relaxation and nostalgia. This style combines old and modern things. There are only “character” (with a special history, original, recognizable and unusual) things used for the creation of such interior.
Vintage interior for modern home design is for those who appreciate the elegant simplicity of old things from antique furniture to cute trinkets bought at the beginning of the last century. This is the charm of old-fashioned furniture and knick-knacks, harmony of the space and light, clever design, because the apartment, house or room should be beautiful and stylish, but not overloaded and cluttered.
EXPERT ADVICE
“The best way to create an inviting home is to mix new furniture with vintage pieces. This is the most effective way to soften the look of a room. The perfect way to incorporate a vintage style is to look at the rooms initial colour palette and add something extra. It's best not to use similar materials and finishes but be bold and have something totally different and unique. A vintage piece should never blend in the room but should be a stand-out feature of the room that has the wow factor.
Maurizio Pellizone, Interior Designer.
AND TO FINISH
Thanks to the following for use of images/text:
That's the end of Number 2 in the Interior Design Style Series. We'll take a look at another style soon. In the meantime I'd love to hear your feedback or how you're getting on with your own personal style. Message me if you're getting stuck.
You can always book an appointment with us here
Beth