Versatility of Vintage
Vintage has been part of my vocabulary since I was a girl. My mom instilled in me a love of things from the past. I love incorporating vintage items into a new design. It creates a sense of time that makes the room or piece feel richer and more layered. For my wedding my ‘old’ was my mom’s veil that my wedding dress designer turned into the skirt of my dress. In our reno, we tried to keep the feel of the old house by reusing what we could. I loved the drawer pulls in the old bathroom and the nooks in the hallway where we kept our keys so we restored and reused them
Our old entryway had shelves by the door and the living room had a wood wall so we used these elements as inspiration, with an update of course. We loved the ceiling in the living room with its plaster medallion and we’re so happy we were able to preserve this beautiful piece of the original house.
The original door bell chime was still intact so we incorporated it and wired it to the Nest. We got the character of vintage with modern convenience - best of both worlds. While some of our furniture needed to be replaced, we tried to repurpose as many items as possible. Using found items from your existing furniture also helps with cost. Replacing all your furniture on top of the cost of the renovation can be prohibitive.
We wanted to keep the feeling of the wood panel wall and Cado shelves was a way to do that without making the room feel dark and heavy. Cado shelving units were popular in the 1960’s and similarly styled ones have made a comeback recently. The original design is so versatile - we’ve reorganized ours many times already.
Using vintage is also a great way to incorporate some sustainability into the design. There’s virtually no packaging and you’re reusing something that clearly has already lasted several decades. Another bonus - no assembly required! Buying vintage, reusing and upcycling also help to avoid the massive furniture shipping delays that are currently happening.
Keeping vintage items where we could and incorporating others that were “new to us” into the design helped our house to feel warm, lived in and familiar, despite all the new construction. We were able to preserve some of our home’s history while also making it more beautiful and functional.
