Vintage Design

Styling Your Space: Vintage Bedroom Furniture Ideas

There are only a few pieces of furniture that are standard in a bedroom. In this post I’ll be focusing on ideas for 5 vintage bedroom furniture pieces, 1) the bed, 2) the dresser, 3) a side table, 4) a bedside bench, and 5) the closets.

1. The Different Vintage Bed Styles

For me, the go to choice here would be a farmhouse style one, just like in picture (1) – and you can get one here. Some other ideas include going with a four post bed, or a wrought iron bed. Look for French inspired designs, like the curved headboard in the bedroom in picture (2).

Don’t forget that bedsheets can really style a bedroom since they take up a lot of visual space. Choices here include white, offwhite, lace (3), quilts, and light pastel colored sheets.

2. Choosing a Vintage Dresser

In the mood board you can see the:

Stylized wooden dresser in picture (4)
The mint painted dresser (5) that will nicely add a pop of color in any bedroom. And then the more traditional French style dresser – with decorative trim, and curvy legs with the claw feet (6)

3. A Vintage Style Side Table

Here are some ideas on the kind of side table to get:

A trunk
A small round table with tapered legs
Or a small metal one
Or make your own vintage inspired side table with hairpin legs (7).

4. Add Some Storage and Seating

A trunk at the foot of your bed can be used for storage and as a seat. This can be a solid wooden trunk, a metal one, or a wicker hamper.

And if you have space for a freestanding closet, then get one that looks like the one in picture (8). If you have built in closet, then the next idea is for you.

5. Give Your Closet a Vintage Makeover

The look of your closet doors can really set the style and feel of your bedroom. Why not check out my post here (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover) to see more closet makeovers like the one in picture (9)

Here are some more vintage mood board posts to get ideas from:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

March 24, 2016 in Bedroom, Vintage Design

Shopping Guide: Vintage Door Knobs and Hardware

1. Egg and Dart Plate || 2. Rope Rosette Crystal Privacy Door Knob
3. Victorian Nickel Door Knob Set || 4. Vintage Glass Cabinet Knobs
5. Ceramic Cabinet Door Handles || 6. Fleur De Lis Brass Pull Handle
7. Vintage Ceramic Door Handle Set

Here are some great looking vintage door knobs that can be used to replace the existing ones you have on your doors. Or give your closet and cabinet doors a makeover with some decorative vintage style handles (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover).

Here are some more vintage posts:

March 24, 2016 in Decor, Vintage Design

Vintage Kitchen Lighting Ideas: From School House Lights to Chandeliers

It’s all in the details. When it comes to designing a room, it’s crazy how much you need to plan and how pretty much every piece in the room needs to be hand selected to set the style you want to go for.

There are quite a few options when it comes to vintage kitchen lighting ideas. In this post I have broken I’ve broken it down into different sections, to make it easier to select the right light fixtures for your vintage kitchen.

The Different Vintage Light Fixture Styles

There is the pancake style light fixture, seen in the kitchens in pictures (1) and (2).
There is the more industrial style lights (3). Search for nautical light fixtures or industrial guard. These can be found as hanging ceiling lights or wall lights.
There are also the traditional school house light fixtures, seen in picture (4). You can get more colorful decorative bands – like mint, or baby blue, creating a more vintage style in the kitchen.
Gooseneck lights are ideal if you need to hang up wall lights. You can find these in the pancake style, seen in picture (5). Or there are more industrial, barn style gooseneck light fixtures.
And if you want to create a bit more of a refined vintage look in your kitchen, then use more modern light fixtures. Just look for ones with brass fittings.

Framing Your Lights

Ceiling medallions use to be a symbol of secrecy. These days they are used to decorate the ceilings of rooms. They can be used to frame chandeliers, pendant lights, or even modern recessed lights. Have a look at my post for ideas and pictures of them being in use: Design Ideas for Decorative Ceiling Medallions.

Decorating the Kitchen With Hanging Lights

Pendant lights are used to bring light closer down from the ceiling onto countertops and work areas – making it easier to see what you are doing. Some of these areas include:

Kitchen island lighting
Over a kitchen table (Style Guide: 10 Vintage Kitchen Table Ideas and Designs).
Over countertops, a cooker, or a sink.

Some go to styles here include pancake pendant lights, or school house lighting.

Or how about hanging up an iron chandelier, or a glass crystal one – just like the chandelier in the kitchen in picture (6).

Adding A Table Lamp: A table lamp can be useful on a countertop or kitchen island to add light closer to the work surfaces. Go with a pastel lampshade, or a more traditional curved lamp shade. Have a look at my post here for some examples and ideas: Style Guide: Vintage Lighting Ideas.

Here are some more vintage mood board posts where you can find more ideas and inspiration:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6

March 24, 2016 in Kitchen, Lighting, Vintage Design

Design Choices: Vintage Kitchen Sinks

The Porcelain Tub

The best vintage kitchen sink design to go for is a porcelain tub. Just with this alone, you have a lot of different design choices:

There is the single tub (just like in picture (1))
You have the longer sinks, that are one single piece with a backsplash (2)
There are porcelain sinks that are divided into sections. Two separate sinks or a kitchen sink with a drainboard.
You can even get decorative porcelain (3)
An alternative to all of this porcelain talk is a hand hammered copper sink tub, seen in picture (4)

Free Standing vs Built In

You didn’t use to have all of these built in, space saving kitchen designs. Old kitchens would have free standing sinks (just like in picture (5)). A great look. But if you are tight on space, then it would be best to have a countertop with storage space underneath (6).

Countertops

The pictures in the mood board above show a few different ideas on how to build in the porcelain sink. You have built in marble and granite countertops. There are countertops that let the front of the sink stick out a bit. And then there is the more vintage farmhouse kitchen style of having a wooden countertop (7).

Vintage Kitchen Sink Faucets and Taps

Most people will go for more modern stainless steel pieces. But if you want to keep with the vintage style, then use brass pieces – just like the vintage sink design in photograph (8).

Backsplashes

There are an endless amount of ideas when it comes to backsplash designs. The sleekest option would be a porcelain sink with a backsplash. Another route would be to use tiles. Using subway tiles creates a sleek stylish design in the space.

For more backsplash ideas, check out my post here: