Blending Decorative Antique Style with Contemporary Living
Introducing a decorative antique look to your home is a trend poised to gain popularity this year as homeowners are starting to tire of more clinical and minimalist styles. Incorporating an antique style in your home is more attainable than you might think and it can create a beautiful, individual and opulent look without great expense. Antiques and collectables are well-made, beautifully designed and often have a story to tell. Whether your home is a large mansion or a compact and cozy haven, including them in your décor is easy and can enhance any style.
Grand Design for Smaller Rooms
Even if you don't live in an impressive stately home, you can still find ways to incorporate some of the extravagance that makes a home stand out from the ordinary. In a very small apartment, it’s easy to swap basic, modern light fittings and everyday wall art for ornate chandeliers and classic prints in elegant frames without taking up any extra space. Instead of being overbearing, very large and ornate mirrors can add light and space to an apartment as well as contributing to a sense of elegant opulence.
Finding a Place for Heirlooms
It can sometimes be difficult to know what to do with furniture or ornaments that have been passed down from family. They are often pieces you may not have chosen for yourself and may clash with your usual style. If you have inherited some heirloom items, rather than trying to hide them away, why not build your home décor around them. You can use a piece to inspire a colour scheme or whole theme for a room, celebrating its qualities instead of dismissing it for being different. If a piece is very unusual and hard to blend with your other furnishings, simply let it stand alone as the provocative focus of a room. Here it becomes a talking point, evoking memories and a sense of history.
Embracing Classic Styles
It’s possible to find practical yet beautiful pieces of antique furniture that serve exactly the same purpose as more modern pieces, so if you love a particular antique era, why not embrace all it has to offer and use it as inspiration throughout your home. As an example, the colonial style includes classic Victorian pieces but with a lighter, more romantic touch, and furniture such as screens and rattan chairs are easy to find in secondhand shops. As the style was already a blend of new and old, reupholstering chairs in contemporary fabrics or repurposing travel trunks as coffee tables will breathe new life into vintage pieces
The timeless quality of beautiful antiques cannot fail to add style to your décor, whether you fill your home with vintage furniture and statement accessories or simply add one or two cherished heirlooms. Well-designed antique pieces and striking ornaments not only provide a talking point but also add a sense of history to a room.
