Vintage design with a twist - blending different eras

Choosing a vintage theme for your home allows you to create a living space filled with nostalgia, creativity and style. When it comes to vintage decor, it can even be about telling a story through a home plastered with character. What kind of life did the furniture have before making its way to you? What era is the furniture design taken from? Maybe an ancient heirloom can finally take a pride position amongst the vintage disposition your home now holds.

Vintage design has been and is still a dominating choice for our nation�s taste in home decor. Executed well, it really can look fabulous and is relatively easy to achieve. However, it�s important you make sure not to get carried away cluttering as it�s also an easy task to blunder, especially when you want to give your home continuity. Granted, at times, vintage pieces can look perfect together if they all attain unique characteristics that don�t particularly keep the same theme. But you have to make sure your retro pieces compliment one another or come from the same era, otherwise your home may end up looking like a very unflattering storage space.

More recently, It�s not uncommon for homeowners to disregard just sticking with a particular style throughout. But mixing and matching successfully takes real artistry. Many homes nowadays feature both decor and furniture that�s a compelling blend between opposing styles and periods. Why is it a success? Because it�s taken time, heart and guts to commit to the risk, in order to make the blend a beautiful one. 

How do I achieve blends oppose to clashes? Try following these simple, tried-and-tested guidelines to get you on your way. 

First, you need to decide on some colour schemes, as these are what will act as your blending palette. Essentially, the colour schemes will be key components for your vintage home�s backdrop, so it�s crucial you get the mix right and most importantly YOU love the colours. Neutral tones are always a popular choice, keeping it simple through incorporating creamy beiges, subtle greys, smokey ash, browns, even pastel colours such a lilac, teal and peach will suffice as a backdrop rather than a focal point. 

Smart furnishing 

Now that your backdrop�s set, you�re ready to blend! Whether you�ve inherited heirlooms, have been running wild through vintage fares or have saved up the money to splash out of highbrow pieces, the mixing of furniture needs to be well thought out and of course, stay tasteful.

Encompassing the myriad decorative designs of the 20th century, whether art deco ceramics or mid-century modern sofas, vintage �is the antidote to brown furniture - the standard Georgian or Victorian designs that have graced the home for decades�, says antiques expert Judith Miller. It�s time to acquire and transform our vintage through a contemporary manner.

If you�re designing a grand Victorian-style kitchen, you could complement it with real solid oak flooring and an antique cast iron radiator to match with the same style as the oven. However, please then don�t go and choose something as absurd as art deco ceiling lights or a 1950s fridge-freezer, as this then becomes a disastrous overload of styles.

Blending inherited furnishings or hand-me-downs and the occasional impulse buy are where your decorating skills really take action. Classy can soon turn to clutter if you�re not strict enough. Alas, you can't have it all, but you can have some of it. Getting the mix right can create rooms that feel cohesive instead of fussy.

Some styles just don't mix. For example, the Victorian decor is all about ornate excess, while Arts and Crafts favour simplicity. Therefore, Victorian decor marries well with Edwardian, Asian, formal English and French furniture. Stick by the rules and beauty will ensue. 

How can I add period character to a basic living space? 

Exposed brickwork will offer a toasty and rustic feel to any plain room, as well as a sense of history. It can follow on from a brickwork fireplace or just a chosen part of a feature wall. It�s a look that blends particularly well in a country-style kitchen or dining room.

Brickwork can usually be revealed by stripping down the wall and providing the surface with a little TLC. If it�s not in great condition, however, you can try to restore parts with a high-quality filler, and then give it a lick of paint so the texture of the wall is still visible.

Whether it�s mixing old and new architecture, incorporating an inherited family heirloom, weaving in pieces from trips abroad or simply contrasting colours, it�s rare not to find some form of experimentation in people�s homes nowadays. Get designing, be thrifty and happy vintaging!

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