Vintage furniture and décor are having a moment. The authentic, grounded appeal of vintage items suit a range of popular design aesthetics, and it’s also a sustainable choice.
Benjamin Moore colour and design expert Sharon Grech shares three tips to help you bring out the beauty of vintage pieces in your home.
Paint a complementary backdrop for vintage furniture
For wooden pieces, Grech suggests walls painted in cooler hues such as Yarmouth Blue HC-150 or even Bold Blue 2064-10 to bring out the beauty in naturally warm wood and let the nuances and patina of vintage furniture shine.”
If you have vintage furniture in a modern esthetic, Grech says “consider a deep hue like Mink 2112-10 or a bold red like Flamenco CSP-1195 that will make a statement and complement the strong lines of modern furniture.”
Consider styling with “Shelfies”
If you do not own vintage furniture but love a vintage vibe, consider a couple of accent pieces to help create styled vignettes or “Shelfies”. Style tips include using a bust as a bookend, or a collection of glass bottles on top of a stack of books to style a coffee table.
Don’t replace, repaint
Breathe new life into vintage pieces that don’t fit your current décor by repainting them with Advance interior paint. For a weathered or aged look, consider a whitewash effect on clean, sanded wood furniture. This can be done with a white wood stain or by thinning down paint with glaze or water, using both a brush and rags to apply and then remove excess to achieve the desired effect. Don’t forget to protect the surface after with an acrylic urethane such as Stays Clear.