Styles: 10 Ways to Give Your Living Room a Vintage Vibe
Love vintage style but not sure how to work it in your home? Try these 10 easy steps for nailing the lived-in look in your living room
Lara Sargent
15 June 2015
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience writing for national magazines, newspapers and websites.
Houzz UK contributor. Freelance interiors journalist with over 20 years' experience... More
If you’re a follower of my other posts on Houzz, you’ll know I’m a big fan of all things vintage – faded floral cushions, delicate lace panels and distressed furniture for every area of the home. If you like the look, too, but haven’t yet taken the plunge, check out these 10 easy style ideas that will help you to create a vintage mood in your living room in no time.
Dabble with distressed
Wooden furniture and frames can be transformed with varying degrees of ‘distressing’ to nail the vintage vibe with ease. If you fancy shaking up the colour palette, layer your whites with dove grey, duck-egg blue and palest pink, too.
And, of course, there’s nothing like a decadent glass chandelier to add a glittering touch to your vintage look.
Wooden furniture and frames can be transformed with varying degrees of ‘distressing’ to nail the vintage vibe with ease. If you fancy shaking up the colour palette, layer your whites with dove grey, duck-egg blue and palest pink, too.
And, of course, there’s nothing like a decadent glass chandelier to add a glittering touch to your vintage look.
Display your stuff
If you’re a collector of vintage knick-knacks and curios, it’s design sacrilege to shut them away out of sight. Invest in a sizeable, glass-fronted cabinet – a vintage one, of course – and line up old-fashioned teacups, candlesticks and pretty glass bowls.
And why not jazz up the inside of the cupboard with some vibrant paint (I adore this zesty lime green) to add a modern note to the mix?
Browse more ideas for displaying your cool collections
If you’re a collector of vintage knick-knacks and curios, it’s design sacrilege to shut them away out of sight. Invest in a sizeable, glass-fronted cabinet – a vintage one, of course – and line up old-fashioned teacups, candlesticks and pretty glass bowls.
And why not jazz up the inside of the cupboard with some vibrant paint (I adore this zesty lime green) to add a modern note to the mix?
Browse more ideas for displaying your cool collections
Love old leather
Well-worn leather armchairs are a byword for all things vintage in the living room. Leather gets better and softer with use and can be prettied up with a blend of floral and striped cushions in faded, feel-good linen.
Pair with bleached-out walls and floorboards and a painted fire surround – and that’s how to do vintage in three easy steps.
Well-worn leather armchairs are a byword for all things vintage in the living room. Leather gets better and softer with use and can be prettied up with a blend of floral and striped cushions in faded, feel-good linen.
Pair with bleached-out walls and floorboards and a painted fire surround – and that’s how to do vintage in three easy steps.
White it out
Vintage purists will agree there’s nothing like a lick of white paint to create the perfect backdrop for a vintage vibe. With a few tins of white emulsion and eggshell, you can instantly cover up worn floorboards, grubby walls and tired skirting boards for a blank canvas with serious design potential.
For a modern vintage mood, furnish sparsely with a statement sofa and a few considered accessories.
Vintage purists will agree there’s nothing like a lick of white paint to create the perfect backdrop for a vintage vibe. With a few tins of white emulsion and eggshell, you can instantly cover up worn floorboards, grubby walls and tired skirting boards for a blank canvas with serious design potential.
For a modern vintage mood, furnish sparsely with a statement sofa and a few considered accessories.
Call on kitsch
Lovers of vintage kitsch stop right there, as you’re sure to fall head over heels in love with this living room. The heady concoction of flamboyant florals, metallic pouffes and retro armchairs creates a laid-back, ever-evolving space that can be added to over the months and years ahead.
Lovers of vintage kitsch stop right there, as you’re sure to fall head over heels in love with this living room. The heady concoction of flamboyant florals, metallic pouffes and retro armchairs creates a laid-back, ever-evolving space that can be added to over the months and years ahead.
Do your own thing
There are so many style rules to be picked up from this charming living room, the first one being to furnish your home with things you love.
You would never guess that a crimson sofa (bedecked in a kitsch throw) would look so adorable against a 1950s sugar pink table and chairs. This is eclectic vintage at its best – channel the style by grouping mirrors en masse, using colours with confidence and displaying your treasures with pride.
There are so many style rules to be picked up from this charming living room, the first one being to furnish your home with things you love.
You would never guess that a crimson sofa (bedecked in a kitsch throw) would look so adorable against a 1950s sugar pink table and chairs. This is eclectic vintage at its best – channel the style by grouping mirrors en masse, using colours with confidence and displaying your treasures with pride.
Make it midcentury
You don’t have to be a fan of sail-white surfaces and ditzy floral prints to work the vintage look. If you prefer fuss-free lines and organic curves, a midcentury take on ‘vintage’ will suit you down to the ground.
The earthy hues of this living room marry well with the considered selection of vintage furniture: a gondola-style sofa, walnut table and 1950s Danish teak lamp.
True vintage pieces are serious collector’s items these days, but if you don’t have the budget, seek out good reproductions old or new.
You don’t have to be a fan of sail-white surfaces and ditzy floral prints to work the vintage look. If you prefer fuss-free lines and organic curves, a midcentury take on ‘vintage’ will suit you down to the ground.
The earthy hues of this living room marry well with the considered selection of vintage furniture: a gondola-style sofa, walnut table and 1950s Danish teak lamp.
True vintage pieces are serious collector’s items these days, but if you don’t have the budget, seek out good reproductions old or new.
Create contrasts
Antiques needn’t be stuffy or overbearing if paired with the right colours and accessories. I love the mood of this beautiful, vintage-style living room, where dark wood furniture makes a striking contrast against the lofty, off-white walls and painted fireplace.
The finish is rustic and imperfect, but light-filled, inviting and uplifting to say the least.
See more ideas for mixing and matching your seating
Antiques needn’t be stuffy or overbearing if paired with the right colours and accessories. I love the mood of this beautiful, vintage-style living room, where dark wood furniture makes a striking contrast against the lofty, off-white walls and painted fireplace.
The finish is rustic and imperfect, but light-filled, inviting and uplifting to say the least.
See more ideas for mixing and matching your seating
Get a floral fix
Nothing says vintage like faded florals, so this flower-strewn space is a dream for vintage fans like me. Seek out fabric offcuts and vintage samples in a palette of whispery lilac, delicate rose and muted sage in a combination of spriggy prints and blowsy blooms.
Don’t keep florals for the boudoir – set about revamping old-fashioned chairs and tired bolster cushions for the prettiest living room imaginable. Finish with posies of fresh flowers and long lengths of white cotton lace for a dreamy vibe.
Nothing says vintage like faded florals, so this flower-strewn space is a dream for vintage fans like me. Seek out fabric offcuts and vintage samples in a palette of whispery lilac, delicate rose and muted sage in a combination of spriggy prints and blowsy blooms.
Don’t keep florals for the boudoir – set about revamping old-fashioned chairs and tired bolster cushions for the prettiest living room imaginable. Finish with posies of fresh flowers and long lengths of white cotton lace for a dreamy vibe.
Work into a modern space
This fabulous loft space proves vintage-style interiors aren’t just for period homes. The angular lines and all-white surfaces have been teamed with an eclectic mix of furniture picked up in vintage shops and flea markets to create a highly liveable, one-off look.
And you can never go wrong with a vintage chesterfield sofa – so if you see one, grab it quick!
Check out 10 ways to work a chesterfield into your home
TELL US…
Do you have a vintage living room you adore? Please share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
This fabulous loft space proves vintage-style interiors aren’t just for period homes. The angular lines and all-white surfaces have been teamed with an eclectic mix of furniture picked up in vintage shops and flea markets to create a highly liveable, one-off look.
And you can never go wrong with a vintage chesterfield sofa – so if you see one, grab it quick!
Check out 10 ways to work a chesterfield into your home
TELL US…
Do you have a vintage living room you adore? Please share your tips and photos in the Comments below.
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