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Vintage Dining Room Design Ideas

Vintage Dining Room Design Ideas

The table, chairs, and lighting. Those 3 things are really all you need to create a vintage dining room. So let’s focus on these design areas the most.

The Seating: Vintage Dining Room Chairs

Here are some design ideas for vintage dining chairs:

  • Leather Chesterfield banquette booth seen in picture (1)
  • Reclaimed, repainted wooden chairs like the ones in picture (2)
  • Upholstered tufted bench (3)
  • Industrial metal dining chairs (4)
  • Fold up metal chairs, repainted (5)
  • Leather chairs (6) (in natural brown, or deep blue or green)
  • A wooden bench
  • French iron cafe chairs (7)

Style Ideas: Vintage Dining Room Tables

When it comes to finding a vintage dining table, some design ideas include:

  • An old wooden dining room table
  • Long family style barn table
  • Carved (4) and/or tapered wooden legs. The round dining table in picture (8) is available from Urban Outfitters here.
  • If you can’t get your hands on a vintage dining table, then an alternative would be to use a vintage style table cloth just like in picture (2) (the table cloth can be lace, floral or antique patterned, or a pastel shade). You could also use a doily table runner to add some style to your furniture.
  • For centerpiece ideas have a look at my post here.

Setting the Mood: The Lighting

Pendant lights hanging over the dining table would be the best way to light up and style the dining room. Use fixtures that are styled after barn lights – these are metal enamel lights like the ones in picture (1). You can find out where to buy these kind of lights on my Deli page.

Another lighting option is to use a mini chandelier, decorated with a ceiling rose medallion (3 Unique Vintage Ceiling Design Ideas). For more vintage lighting pictures and ideas have a look at my mood board post here: Style Guide: Vintage Lighting Ideas.

Extra Vintage Styling

Those would be the 3 main areas I would focus on styling first – the table, chairs and lighting. If you get those parts right and well styled you don’t really need to do anything else. But if you want more ideas here are some that will work well:

image credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

For more vintage mood boards, have a look at my Vintage Collection Page

July 23, 2014 in Design Styles

Garage Storage Ideas: Use Your Walls and the Ceiling

Garage Storage Ideas

When it comes to garage storage ideas, the main goal should be to try and keep the floor free of items. This means trying to hang as much up as possible up. By using the walls and even the ceiling, you can create a lot of valuable storage space.

Finding the Best Ideas for Your Garage

  • Plastic tubs with lids are an important storage item in the garage. They help keep items dry, and dirt free. They can be used to store old clothes, winter clothes, extra linens, and old paper work. If you use a number of these plastic containers, see if you can buy matching ones to create a more uniform look in the garage. These are usually stackable, or you can put them on shelves to make them easier to access.
  • Pegboards can be used to create custom storage solution designs. They can be used to hang up small hand tools and cords. Shelves can be made by putting a plank of wood over two pegs. You could create an entire pegboard wall, and paint over different section to help you stay organized (1).
  • Wall hooks, brackets, and railings can be used to hang up garden tools like rakes, hoses, shovels, a ladder, or a bike

Garage Storage Racks

Monkey bars, racks, hooks, and brackets make for simple DIY garage storage

  • If you do work on a car, or any shop work – then a rolling tool draw unit would be handy
  • There are also free standing garage lockers and storage cabinets
  • You can get garage storage systems. These are usually metal brackets that attach to the wall. All the shelves and parts can be moved around to suit your storage need. I like the wall draws with removable containers seen in the storage system in picture (2). These storage systems can be bought at The Container Store here – along with simple free standing storage shelves
  • Check out the simple and cheap DIY storage design in picture (3).  Shallow wall storage has been created between the stud work – and there is also the unique way of storing sports balls just like they do in shops.

Looking Up – Overhead Storage Ideas

Making use of your garage ceiling can add a lot of storage space. Here are some overhead garage storage ideas:

You can add beams to your ceiling to create rafters that can be used to slide light weight storage tubs into. For an example, check out picture 6 on my mood board here: Budget Friendly, Clever and Creative Storage Ideas: From Lazy Susan Towers to Room Dividers.

Hanging ceiling shelves can be fitted to the ceiling, just like the one in picture (4).

To store bicycle up high, you can hoist it up with a simple pulley storage system.

If your garage has its own attic space above it in the roof, this can be turned into a storage space. You can even get a mini garage storage lift that carries items up into the space. Have a look at my mood board post here to see an example: Finished and Unfinished Attic Storage Ideas.

The Two Shelving Options

When it comes to shelving in the garage there are two options. You can go the built in route (build your own DIY storage shelves or use a shelving system) or there are free standing units that you can buy and put together.

The benefit of built it shelving is that they make the best use of your space. They will be built according to the layout of your garage, so they don’t waste any space. You can build all the way up to the ceiling, and make the most of the height of your garage. You can also build over any door ways.

Free standing storage units are easy and fast to set up in a garage, and are inexpensive as seen with the IKEA shelves in picture (5). Get some good looking containers like the wicker baskets and galvanised buckets in picture (6) to create a more stylized, less cluttered look.

Garage Organization Tips – From Safety to A Good Looking Space

Around the Garage: When storing items around the garage, ask yourself “where would be the most convenient place to store them?”. If you have a door going into your house from your garage, the this would be the best place to store common household items like dog food, and trash bags. Whereas your garden tools can be stored near the front of the garage.

High Up for Safety: Place hazardous materials and tools up high so that little ones can’t get to them.

Water: If there is any chance of water flooding into the garage, then go with floating storage units that are built onto the walls and are a few inches off of the ground.

Garage Tubs

A Good Looking Garage: If you are using a lot of storage containers, like plastic tubs or bins, try and buy matching ones (7). This helps create a less cluttered looking garage.

image credits: 1/2/3/4/6/7

More garage and storage mood board posts:

July 23, 2014 in Garage, Storage

The 5 Rules of Vintage Interior Design

The 5 Rules of Vintage Interior Design

There ares so many possible ideas when it comes to your home and the vintage style. I have a growing list of mood board posts that you can find here, that covers everything from vintage storage ideas, bathroom decor, to vintage ceiling designs.

I wrote this post to help you simplify the process of creating the vintage interior design style in your own home – to make it easy to know which ideas are best for your home. Because I believe that you don’t need a lot to create a beautiful vintage space. Following a few rules will help you become your own master interior designer.

1. The Rule of Materials

When you are looking for decor pieces or vintage furniture, think about the materials that were used back in the day. You would’t find plastic pieces. Instead there would be copper, wrought iron, porcelain, enamel, galvanised metal, glass, hard woods, and leather.

The materials you choose can really help set the tone and style of the room.

Take storage containers as an example. They would be made out of wood (like wooden crates or wicker baskets), or you would find wire baskets. Enamel containers would be used in the kitchen, along with glass jars. These types of materials would be considered premium materials today.

2. The Rule of Going Premium

I think the reason a lot of us like the vintage style is that we are tired of this throw away culture, where everything is cheap and mass produced. Vintage goods are meaningful pieces that are well thought out when bought. They are also legacy items – being well built and made out of quality materials means they can be passed down for generations.

With this in mind, look for items and furniture pieces that are well made and use high quality materials – as listed above. Avoid plastic.

Go for a few well thought out, meaningful, and well built items, vs a lot of cheaper items. These few items can be the focal pieces in the room (talked about below), and would be all that’s needed to style the space.

You can get inexpensive vintage goods, but you’ll need to go thrifting, go to flea markets, or upcycle old pieces.

3. The Rule of Focal Points

You don’t need much to set the style in a room. In each room there are focal points, areas that take up the most space and where the eye is drawn to first.

Here are some examples of focal point in rooms around the house:

  • Living Room – the seating area
  • Bedroom – the bed (bed frame, headboard, bedding) and the side tables
  • Bathroom – the vanity (the mirror and sink)
  • Kitchen – the dining table and kitchen island

These are the areas you want to invest and style with vintage goods. Another important area that needs to have the vintage style infused into it is the lighting – have a look at my mood board post for design ideas: Style Guide: Vintage Lighting Ideas. Focal pieces and lighting – that is all you should focus on when creating vintage room designs.

My favorite vintage inspired space is The Vintage House Daylesford:

Vintage Bedroom Studio

Vintage Bedroom Studio

Take a look at the White Bedroom in the pictures above. Only a few statement pieces are needed to style the room. There is one big vintage garage sign, an industrial side table decorated simply with a glass vase, wooden shutter doors, and vintage pendant lights.

Don’t’ over do it. Don’t clutter the room with small meaningless decor pieces and knick knacks. Invest in big focal pieces that set the style of the room. These will be authentic pieces which might be expensive, but worth it.

4. The Rule of Choice: Vintage Inspired Pieces vs. Authentic Found Items

When shopping for your vintage home pieces there are 2 ways you can go about it. There are shops that will sell vintage inspired pieces, or you can go hunting for authentic and antique vintage design items.

There are some items that would make sense to buy as vintage inspired – like a leather couch, the bed and bedding, or a sink. Some shops that sell well designed vintage inspired pieces include Pottery Barn and Urban Outfitters. You can find a selection of vintage inspired home goods on my Deli page.

Other items are worth going out for and hunting down authentic pieces, such as large wall decor pieces, or reclaimed wood to make furniture out of (like a dining table). These authentic items can be hard to hunt down, take a lot of time to find, and be expensive. But it will be worth it. Remember you don’t need much to decorate and style a room. One or two statement pieces can set the style for the space.

Mr-Cup is one store that sells one of kind vintage pieces such as maps and containers.

5. The Rule of Knowing Your Style

I see two main styles when it comes to vintage decor and interior design. You have the more industrial side, and then the more retro glamorous side.

  • The industrial style is made up of – dark woods, leather, and cast iron materials
  • The retro glam style is made up of pastel and mustard colors, thin tapered table legs, and shabby chic style fabric.

The most important things to remember when creating a vintage home style are:

  1. Set a clear picture of the style you want to create (find lots of amazing photos to get inspiration from – check out my vintage mood board collection here)
  2. Figure out where the focal points are in the room (as mentioned above)
  3. Invest in 1-2 premium pieces for those focal points, and vintage styled light fixtures
  4. Don’t’ clutter the space with small decor items.

More vintage mood board posts:

July 18, 2014 in Design Styles

3 Unique Vintage Ceiling Design Ideas

3 Unique Vintage Ceiling Design Ideas

Below are 3 ideas for create a vintage style ceiling. These ideas are ideal for rooms that are 1.5 or double height. They can be used for normal height rooms, but it might be a bit overwhelming and little in your face.

Anaglypta Wallpaper

Anaglypta is a textured and embossed wallpaper. What makes it so great, is that it adds a very subtle decor style to a room, much more subtle than normal patterned wallpaper.

You can get Anaglypta wallpaper in simple textured patterns. For a more vintage style use something more floral and antique, or a pattern that looks like tiles, like the one above in the mood board (1).

Anaglypta wallpapers can usually be painted over to match the color palette in your room. But for a vintage styled room, going with the classic white would be the best choice.

Vintage Anaglypta Wallpaper Designs

Vintage anaglypta wallpaper designs available here from Amazon

For an even more elaborate ceiling design, you can mix coffers (beams making a square pattern on the ceiling) with Anaglypta wallpaper.

Elaborate Crown Molding

The only crown molding you’ll see in most homes today are quite simple, having a few grooves in them. But there are crown molding designs that are more decorative, fitting in with the vintage style as seen in pictures (2) and (3).

A Ceiling Rose

The origins of the ceiling rose comes from the rose being a symbol of secrecy. Dating back to England’s Tudor King Henry VIII rule, a carved rose over a meeting table meant that you could speak freely.

You can have a ceiling rose on it’s own, decorating the ceiling and being a statement piece. Or your can place a ceiling rose at the base of a pendant light, chandelier (4), or vintage ceiling fan.

They are also known as ceiling medallions.

Vintage Ceiling Medallions

Vintage style ceiling rose medallions can be bought here on Amazon or here on Wayfair

image credits: 1/2/3/4

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July 17, 2014 in Design Styles