Vintage For The Home
Posted 01-02-2016 at 03:24 PM by SEValleyAZGal
Webster’s definition of Vintage: …”dating from the past: old. Synonyms: Antique, Retro, Quant, Old-Fashioned. Antonyms: Modern, Contemporary, Current.”
When designing and decorating your Home – what does Vintage mean?
How does one define Vintage? If the synonym of Vintage is Antique, then I personally have loved and appreciated it since childhood. Is Vintage lots of whites, creams, linens, chippy old furniture mixed with chandeliers? (Such as, Rachel Ashwell of “Shabby Chic”). Or is it collections of old milk bottles, mason jars and ironstone found at flea market? Is it weathered bottles, rusty metals and furniture with old patinas? Is it items from Paris, Provence, Tuscany, London or in the countryside of Pennsylvania? Is it old pieces painted and repurposed? Is it a myriad of all of the above?
Many years ago, I recall a friend of mine, an artist, decorating her adorable Tudor home in the “Vintage shabby chic” style – although, we didn’t call it that back then. She called it, “French Country”. She installed a lovely antique chandelier right in the middle of her kitchen ceiling, she painted her cabinets white, took off cabinet doors and put linen slipcovers on her sofas, she collected blues & whites… (never mind that the chandi hung so low that even I had to duck or go around it – and I’m small).
When you think of Vintage, do you think of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Coca Cola, tin canisters or rounded corners?
Before I met my husband, I owned a home in a historic district. It was a charming, little doll house; two bedrooms and 1 bath (albeit with severe plumbing issues). Everything in the home, built in 1942, was original. The floors were original Parquet Wood floors.
When I moved into the home, the kitchen had yellow painted cabinets with these wonderful bright yellow ceramic cabinet knobs. At the time, I did not appreciate these knobs and removed them. I painted the cabinets white and installed wood cabinet pulls – which I painted a creamy brown. When I sold the home, I left the original yellow knobs in a box in the pantry for the new owners. Oh, how I wish I had them now… BUT, they belonged to that house.
The previous owner of my doll house was a Caterer. She did all of her cooking and baking on the 1940s stove.
My BFF, “Feller”, has been into Vintage for years… She’s been collecting and collecting for a long time and has many wonderful pieces. The pictures below are some of her Vintage Agua Mason Jars with Zinc lids…. and look at her lovely cubbies, antique toolbox and old basket!
(Incidently, Feller and I call each other “Feller” – it’s our nicknames for one another; we never use our first names when referring to the other… even my husband refers to her as “Feller”.) Feller has an amazing eye for design and she’s very knowledgable about antiques and vintage… occasionally I defer to her for advice.
So what do you think of when you think of Vintage… mix-matched items? Cozy & Quant? Collections? …something old – painted and repurposed? Or all of the above?
From my other blog: The Eclectic Estate
When designing and decorating your Home – what does Vintage mean?
How does one define Vintage? If the synonym of Vintage is Antique, then I personally have loved and appreciated it since childhood. Is Vintage lots of whites, creams, linens, chippy old furniture mixed with chandeliers? (Such as, Rachel Ashwell of “Shabby Chic”). Or is it collections of old milk bottles, mason jars and ironstone found at flea market? Is it weathered bottles, rusty metals and furniture with old patinas? Is it items from Paris, Provence, Tuscany, London or in the countryside of Pennsylvania? Is it old pieces painted and repurposed? Is it a myriad of all of the above?
Many years ago, I recall a friend of mine, an artist, decorating her adorable Tudor home in the “Vintage shabby chic” style – although, we didn’t call it that back then. She called it, “French Country”. She installed a lovely antique chandelier right in the middle of her kitchen ceiling, she painted her cabinets white, took off cabinet doors and put linen slipcovers on her sofas, she collected blues & whites… (never mind that the chandi hung so low that even I had to duck or go around it – and I’m small).
When you think of Vintage, do you think of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, Coca Cola, tin canisters or rounded corners?
Before I met my husband, I owned a home in a historic district. It was a charming, little doll house; two bedrooms and 1 bath (albeit with severe plumbing issues). Everything in the home, built in 1942, was original. The floors were original Parquet Wood floors.
When I moved into the home, the kitchen had yellow painted cabinets with these wonderful bright yellow ceramic cabinet knobs. At the time, I did not appreciate these knobs and removed them. I painted the cabinets white and installed wood cabinet pulls – which I painted a creamy brown. When I sold the home, I left the original yellow knobs in a box in the pantry for the new owners. Oh, how I wish I had them now… BUT, they belonged to that house.
The previous owner of my doll house was a Caterer. She did all of her cooking and baking on the 1940s stove.
My BFF, “Feller”, has been into Vintage for years… She’s been collecting and collecting for a long time and has many wonderful pieces. The pictures below are some of her Vintage Agua Mason Jars with Zinc lids…. and look at her lovely cubbies, antique toolbox and old basket!
(Incidently, Feller and I call each other “Feller” – it’s our nicknames for one another; we never use our first names when referring to the other… even my husband refers to her as “Feller”.) Feller has an amazing eye for design and she’s very knowledgable about antiques and vintage… occasionally I defer to her for advice.
So what do you think of when you think of Vintage… mix-matched items? Cozy & Quant? Collections? …something old – painted and repurposed? Or all of the above?
From my other blog: The Eclectic Estate
