Interior Design in Vintage Style

Vintage style perfectly conveys history and the spirit of bygone times. It fills the house with comfort, warmth, and harmony even in small details. No wonder vintage has many followers. Designers from all over the world, inspired by it, annually add new solutions to this style.

History of the Style

French people call expensive wine kept in a cellar the word "vintage". The vintage style characterizes rare and antique items and accessories from the 19th and 20th centuries. It is a kind of stylization to the appearance of past times. 

The history of the emergence of this direction is quite amusing. It is known that a young architect from the USA – Patrick Willis was preparing for an exhibition. His creation – a house in the shape of an ellipse was almost at the final stage. Whether due to lack of funds or desire to add a unique touch to his creation, Mr. Willis found himself at a flea market. Many items seemed to him unique and worthy of attention. 

Mr. Willis came up with the idea of restoring and cleaning items. He decorated his object with them. The project was well received. Critics noted the novelty of the idea and the ambition of the young American. This is where mass interior decoration in vintage style began.

Studio Rodellee Bas

Main Direction

The concept of vintage style involves placing furniture, interior details, and accessories that have gone out of fashion in a home. Designers make, specially age, and add wear to items. Lacquers, appliqués, paints, sponges, and sanding materials are used here. 

Vintage and antiques differ. In the first case, it is restored furniture, whereas in the second case, it is very expensive and antique items older than the 19th century. There is another addition to explaining the idea of vintage style: all these items were previously in use and stood in one stylistic ensemble. 

Later, over time, the interior changed, and items took their place in the attic, basement, or storage room. In vintage interiors, just one item can be useful. It combines with modern wardrobes, dressers, and tables.

Vintage Room Design Depending on Purpose

• Bedroom
  

A vintage bedroom implies a room setting with furniture that imitates antiques. A bed with a canopy and carved legs looks great. A console table and chair, a dresser in wood tone or worn white color will complete the interior. A mirror in an unusual frame, a lamp with a shade, and a velvet chair, crystal chandeliers, bedside tables, boxes, and vases will fit perfectly.

• Living Room
  

A living room in vintage style is decorated with items from a specific period of the past century. When planning, it is necessary to decide immediately which period will be used. These unique items will become the foundation of the living room. For example, a rare sofa. The entire picture can be completed with modern items and accessories. Upholstered chairs, armchairs, photographs, paintings, textiles will create a luxurious setting.

• Hallway
  

A vintage hallway will decorate any apartment. Today, the market is full of furniture, and choosing suitable items is not difficult. A small dresser or console table with worn edges, an elegant pouf will be a decoration of the hall. Instead of built-in wardrobe, you can install a hanger with elements of forging. Vintage decor is a chest with cracks and a mirror framed in wood, adding color to the interior.

• Bathroom
  

A vintage bathroom always causes admiration. The bathtub becomes the main item. Usually, it is classic in form, light-colored, with smooth lines and edges. The legs are slightly aged. Main placement is in the center of the room. For lovers of vintage style, a small area here is not an obstacle. Walls and tiles in such a bathroom are decorated with wear. Taps and showerheads are in bronze color. The sink and mirror are in wooden frames. You can hang the same shelves on the walls. It will create a beautiful interior, like from a movie.

• Kitchen
  

The principle of choosing furniture for a vintage kitchen is: a wooden-featured buffet with patina, decorated with carving and new accessories. Along the walls, you place kitchen utensils and items that were in use in previous years. There is a cozy atmosphere and calmness in the air, home setting. Floors made of tiles and wood can be dark in color, while all other vintage decor is light: milk, peach, pale green, and pale blue tones.

Kitchen in Portland (USA)

Color Palette for Decorating

The vintage style in interior design implies an abundance of floral prints, interwoven with patterns, plants, and trees, creating a special atmosphere in the home. Wallpapers and textiles with Chinese and Japanese patterns work well: birds, butterflies, plant branches. The color palette is composed of calm, muted tones. In addition to milk and beige shades, pale gray, pale lilac, and pale pink colors are often present. Professionals recommend making a bright accent either on furniture or walls. The vintage interior style is mainly white or light shades.

Vintage Apartment Interior Design

Thanks to this direction, a vintage-style apartment can become a cozy nest.

Principles of Using Vintage Style:

1. No artificiality. Vintage accepts only natural materials;
   
2. Vintage style in interior design is bound by a specific color palette and time frames;
   
3. The direction is characterized by the presence of items made "as a rarity";
   
4. There is an abundance of accessories, items, and distinctive textiles;
   
5. Simplicity and conciseness in details;
   

It is important that a vintage-style apartment does not look like a dump of forgotten items, so the main rule is: do not overload.

Finishing Materials and Textiles

For decorating in vintage style, you need to approach it very carefully, especially the choice of materials for finishing the apartment. The main idea is to choose natural and organic materials. Artificial materials are not present. Wood, natural and decorative stone, bronze, copper, ceramics fit well.

For floor finishing, parquet or tiles are suitable. Carpet, linoleum, laminates with glossy reflections will not fit. Vintage style does not imply the presence of suspended ceiling constructions, heavy hanging elements. A vintage ceiling is characterized by small irregularities, small cracks, patina presence, and the absence of a perfectly smooth surface and white color. In wall decoration, wallpapers with tree, bird, or floral motifs can be used or they can be painted, adding bricklaying. In both variants, decorators insistently recommend skillfully combining colors close in tone. In antique style, this looks perfect.

A whole vintage interior is hard to imagine without distinctive textile blankets, throws, cushions thrown over the back of armchairs, hand-sewn tablecloths and covers, pillows, colored carpets. The same principle applies – naturalness. Floral prints are often used in textiles. This pattern should combine with other elements. In details, it is a blanket and curtains, wallpapers, and pillows, etc. For fabrics, cotton, linen, silk, satin, poplin, jacquard, wool are better to use. It is important not to overdo the vintage interior with patterns.

Design: TV Presenter and Designer Sarah Richardson

Vintage Furniture: What Makes It Special

For furniture, items from antiquity or skillfully decorated to look like them are suitable. Wear, cracks, and light coating must be present in the interior. All vintage decorative elements must belong to the same time period.

Furniture should be beautiful and not fall apart, supporting the wall edge. Wooden doors, antique dresser, chest of drawers, secretary, sideboard with carved details, forged and solid wardrobe, storage cabinet, buffet with artificially worn legs, rocking chair – all these attributes are good for a vintage interior. 

The principle of symmetry is another feature. All items are arranged in pairs. Tables with two chairs attached represent a clear picture of vintage style. The photo below clearly shows the features and details of furniture in vintage style.

Lighting in the Room

Vintage interiors should be complemented by expensive chandeliers with crystal hanging, fabric shades, wall sconces, torcheres with fringe, bronze table lamps, and lighting fixtures. Modern ceiling light fixtures do not suit. It is necessary to avoid harshly contrasted lighting. Vintage style in interior design blends well with soft, warm lighting that does not "cut" the eyes. Such an atmosphere creates peace, comfort, and tranquility in the living space.

Design: TV Presenter and Designer Sarah Richardson

Decorative Elements in Vintage Style

Finished picture to the interior will be provided by decorative accessories and elements. Vintage style is, first of all, harmonious correspondence between furniture and accessories. The following items will fit perfectly into a vintage style interior:

• antique table or wall clocks;

• boxes;

• porcelain or faience figurines;

• paintings in wooden frames or wall hangings;

• dishes, tableware, tea/coffee utensils;

• candlesticks;

• flowers and plants;

• decorative vases and wall plates;

• baskets decorated by hand;

• newspaper stands;

• mirror in a beautiful frame;

• vases

If there is fantasy and desire, you can make vintage-style accessories yourself from household materials.

• Vintage Box
  

Often unnecessary, used boxes and jars are thrown away for no reason. However, they can find a worthy use, literally making a unique, rare item. Wrapping decorative paper in tone with the interior, you can glue cut-out flowers and beads from colored paper.

• Wall Hanging from Glassware
  

Glass flasks and jars can be used in an interesting way. Wooden elements shaped like a shield are installed on the wall. Hooks are attached to them, into which glass jars are inserted. Instead of hooks for light clothing, vintage handles are screwed in. Jars replace miniature pots and small boxes where you can store various small things.

• Lace Vase Cover
  

You just need to knit or sew a cover and paint it in tone with the vintage interior. You should work on the top edge, remove unnecessary threads, and put it on the vase. The vintage-style cover is ready. The vase gets the needed motif in vintage style.

• Tea Set in Vintage Style
  

Simple, store-bought dishes can become a collection treasure in the house. You need a white ceramic or porcelain plate with a cup. Special paints for porcelain can be used to draw soft, light lines of a flower pattern in the idea of a flower. Lack of artistic talent is not a problem. Any creative fantasies and skills will work.

• Flower Pot with Watering Can
  

A metal watering can that gathered dust in the garden is painted white. The flower pattern is transferred to the sides using the decoupage technique. It looks great with lilac or daisies on such a watering can. Everything is secured with a transparent lacquer coating. A vintage-style watering can can be used for its intended purpose or as a vase for storing flowers and herbariums.

Today, many people are attracted to the vintage style, despite the great variety of other directions in interior decoration for both large homes and small apartments. Choosing this style in decor, you can diversify the interior using unlimited imagination of project authors. Retro style is not a set of old junk. It is, first and foremost, a balance of color palette, shape, proportion in the size of items, harmonization of the room, and atmosphere filled with comfort, tranquility, and fairy-tale mood.

By following recommendations and general rules for arranging furniture and household items, selecting appropriate finishing materials and colors, the vintage style in interior design creates a feeling of lightness, elegance, and cheerful mood. This pleasant state is transmitted to the people who are in such a room. Below are photos of vintage-style interiors.

Design: TV Presenter and Designer Sarah Richardson
Retro Kitchen Design

Video clearly shows variants of apartment decoration in vintage style.