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A vintage aesthetic can be made in the home you own or created in an apartment. It is important to note that vintage simply means a style from an era in the past. If you love the Victorian era, your vintage choices will be different from someone who loves the kitsch tied to old black and white movies from the flapper era.
1. Focus on Fabrics
Fans of the Victorian era would do well to keep an eye out for
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ivory silks, satins, and charmeuse
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off white lace
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large floral patterns
If you live in an apartment that gets chilly in the winter, consider putting up heavy drapes over your north windows. Even a plain black thermal drape can be dressed up with a pretty floral scarf, or you can fold a floral tablecloth and drape it over a curtain rod to add a pop of Victorian style.
2. Define Your Yard
Nothing says vintage like wrought iron. However, you can get a wrought iron look without the weight and corrosion risk if you install aluminum fence panels around your yard. Finish up your fence design with a tall gate or a lovely arch and train roses to grow up along the outside of the arch.
While working in your yard, consider adding gravel paths. If you are trying to hearken back to a time before electricity, use white rocks on your paths and look for black solar light fixtures with golden yellow light to look like an old-fashioned gas lamp.
3. Keep Things Small
It is important to remember that, unless you are interested in a castle or manor house, folks in the past lived in much smaller homes than we do now. For a proper vintage aesthetic, aim to make things exquisite and buy with great care and consideration.
For example, your living room may have a couple of chairs, a sofa, and an entertainment center. Instead of focusing all the seating so everyone is looking at the television, consider creating a spot for reading or crafting.
Add a wingback chair. Check out hurricane lamps for light, and make room for a wooden craft box near the chair. Make sure there is a small table near the chair for a book, and drape the chair with a crocheted lap throw or a small quilt. One chair, many activities, lots of comfort and warmth even during the chilliest evening.
4. Functionality is Key
If you love 1950s kitsch, you may have noticed that a lot of the products from that time
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marketed constantly, such as the Coca Cola trays and glasses
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displayed an idealized vision, such as the covers on cookbooks
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coordinated easily
The colors from the 1950s were bold and clean. If you want to copy the look with what you have now, do not buy decorative items for display only. Instead, make your decorative pieces fill a requirement. A teal plate may have a 1950s feel, but a teal plate loaded with shiny red apples and bright oranges will create a vintage aesthetic.
5. Update Your Trim
If you own your own house, look for ways to update the trim on
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doorways
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cabinets
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bookcases
To turn a 1980s home into a vintage farmhouse, trim and paint can make a huge difference.
6. Consider Using Floorcloths
One of the most memorable things about decor styles of the past was how often floors came into play. If you have ever seen an old-fashioned vinyl floor decorated with huge cabbage roses, you come to realize that such a field of color may be enough. The rest of the room can actually be quite simple with the right flooring.
If you are renting and want to boost the vintage factor of your home, consider making yourself a floorcloth. These colorful, cheery items function like a rug, are easy to create and can last for years.
Not everything vintage needs to be new or castle-appropriate. In fact, an old quilt or piece of faded fabric can offer a wonderful old-world feel just draped over a chair or hung over a window as a sunshade. Thrift shops can help you find great pieces for very little money.