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Table Decor: Vintage Centerpiece Ideas

Table Decor: Vintage Centerpiece Ideas

I found that the best place to look for stylish vintage centerpiece ideas is by looking through wedding photographs. There are a few wedding ideas below along with some normal home decor styling tips.

My favourite ideas are the ones where you don’t even need a centerpiece item, like the doily table runner idea.

Simple and Clutter Free

I like simplicity and avoiding using many decor pieces as this just clutters up a space.

Some simple ideas for a vintage centerpiece include a vintage style bottle used as a vase for flowers just like in picture (1). For some mood lighting use vintage style bottles, jars, or a bowl to hold candle sticks (2) or floating candles.

Other ways to house plants and flowers to create table centerpieces include using vintage tins (3), a vintage mini birdcage, or antique mercury style vessels/cake displays (4),

Some other simple ideas for vintage centerpieces include using:

  • Lanterns
  • Vintage tin candles
  • Wire baskets
  • Vintage bounded coffee books like an old atlas

Focusing on Design Details Instead of a Centerpiece Item

A doily table runner, like the one in picture (5) can help style a coffee table or dining table.

While an elegant vintage tray (galvanized, wicker, wooden, enamel) can help group clutter items (remotes, keys, coasters) together for a cleaner look on the table.

The Coffee Table Itself

If you were to get a statement piece of a coffee table, this could be enough to style the space and you wouldn’t need a centerpiece on the table. Some ideas for a vintage inspired coffee table include:

  • A gallery coffee table as seen in picture (6)
  • A reclaimed window DIY
  • An old trunk
  • Letterpress draws (7)

More vintage mood board posts:

February 26, 2016 in Design Styles, Dining Room

Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas

Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas

Visually a window and it’s curtains takes up a lot of space in a room. This means that they play an important role in styling the space. When it comes to transforming a room into a rustic space, I believe the more simple you do it the better. Just focus one or two key statement pieces in the room, like having exposed beams or a wooden furniture piece that is the focal point in the space. Below are some simple curtain ideas and rustic window treatments.

The Simple Way

My favourite rustic window treatment design is to go with traditional white wooden window frames. This way, if you have any wooden features in the room, and a neutral color scheme, these wooden features are able to stand out. Picture (1) gives you an example of that.

Or if you have little or no wooden features in the room, use wooden barn shutters. Have the rest of the room neutral, as in white walls, and these rustic window shutters will stand out – just like the ones in the bedroom in picture (2).

Looking Out

Here are some rustic window design ideas:

  • Use reclaimed wood to create imbedded valances just like in picture (3)
  • Or use reclaimed wood to create rustic window trim (4)
  • Simply use reclaimed windows
  • Create your own stylized sliding window barn door (5)

Curtain Treatment Ideas

With the curtains I would keep the window treatment as simple as possible. One idea is to use a wooden curtain rod as seen in picture (6), along with a decorative white curtain. Another idea is to use a cast iron curtain rod and or hook brackets.

Picture (7) shows plain white, light weight fabric being used as a curtain. Nothing rustic there. But they just casually hang from the rustic makeshift curtain beam above.

Curtain Fabric: Go with a neutral color like white or off white, and use a heavy thick fabric such as a heavy linen.

Rustic Curtain Tie Backs: Use leather strips (8)

More rustic mood board posts:

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


February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Windows

Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas

Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas

Rustic Style Lighting

The general style for rustic lighting fixtures, indoor or outdoor, would be wrought iron lights with cream/tan glass work just like in pictures (1) and (2).

You could go with the general rustic wrought iron lights, or there is the more stylized Mission lighting design. Mission lighting uses rustic dark woods blended with patterned colored glass. You’ll know it from the clean lines and angles – the kitchen in picture (3) is using Mission pendant lights over the kitchen island. One name brand for Mission style lighting is Franklin Iron Works – you can see some of their lights below along with some other rustic lighting ideas.


Putting the Rustic Charm on Display

Recessed light or downlights can be pointed towards and highlight any textured walls you have (stone wall, wooden walls) – this is called accent lighting (4).

You can even get uplights that point up towards the ceiling, highlighting any woodwork going on up there. Check out the cove lighting in picture (5), that creates a soft glow on the ceiling and in the room (The Beauty of Using Cove Lighting: Design and Ideas).

Blazing Beauty

A rustic home is a cozy home. You have the warmth of the wood and stone surrounding you. Then there are the crackling fireplaces. Other ways of adding some soft glowing flames include using table lanterns to protect candles. You could also fill up a bowl with water and use floating candles. You can also find flameless battery powered candles – some of them will even flicker, and can be turned on by a remote – get them here.

Lighting For Different Ceiling Heights

Since most rustic homes have heigh ceilings, you’ll find a lot of long hanging lights that bring the light closer down to the living area. You’ll see long rustic pendant lighting and chandeliers. You can also make use of wall lights to mix up the rustic light fixtures.

Mixing it Up: To create great lighting design in a room, you will want to mix up the type of rustic light fixtures used in the space. For example you don’t want to just have pendant lights everywhere in a room. Mix pendant lights along with table and wall lights. By mixing up the type of light fixtures you have in a room, you create different effects and layers – making the space look better.

More modern rustic homes will have recessed lights mixed in with the lighting of a room – just like in the bedroom in picture (6). These recessed lights would also work well in a bathroom.

More rustic mood board posts:

Image Credits: 1/2/3/4/5/6

February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Lighting

Rustic Living Room Ideas, Decor, and Furniture Designs

Rustic Living Room Ideas, Decor and Furniture Designs

The general feel in a rustic living room is a cozy vibe, with earth tones decorating the space. Here are the rustic living room ideas that will help transform your space.

Paint Colors and Wall Design Ideas

If you take a look at the pictures in the mood board, most of the rustic living rooms combine stone walls with more simple white/off white walls – just like the living room in picture (1). In my rustic paint post I talked about how white/off white walls are a modern choice for a rustic style room. This is because it is a great contrast and really shows off the the rustic pieces in the room, like exposed beams or a stone feature wall.

One way to create a well designed rustic space, is to make use of a feature wall. This is one wall in the room that has a rustic touch to it, say covered in stone, while all of the other walls are simply plastered and painted. This lets you create a rustic style, but it is toned down. In the living room, this feature wall could be the fire place chimney – as seen in picture (3).

For more ideas on paint colors and textured wall designs have a look at my mood board post here: Rustic Paint Colors and Textured Wall Designs.

Gathering Around the Coffee Table

The coffee table is one of the focal points in the living room (the other one is the seating area). Everything is usually centered around it, so the eye is drawn there first. The coffee table will really help create the style of the whole room.

Most of the living rooms in the mood board have pretty simple coffee tables, usually made out of wood, or are upholstered (with a dark fabric or with leather) and use a wooden tray as a flat surface.

If you need to create a more rustic style here are some other ideas for coffee tables:

  • Log tables
  • Reclaimed wood, or wooden chest

All of these ideas can also be used as side tables next to the couch. For more ideas check out my coffee table ideas mood board.

The Seating Area

Seats take up a lot of space in a living room. So the kind and style you get, will play a big role in the look of the room. For rustic living room furniture, the go to choice for seats are upholstered tan or brown ones, or leather sets (5).

The Windows and Ceiling

One good looking rustic design idea, ideal for a living room with white walls, is to use a wooden pole as a curtain rod with black iron brackets. The wooden pole will really stand out from the white walls. For curtain ideas, have a look at my post here: Rustic Window Treatments and Curtain Ideas.

There is not much to say about the ceiling, except that having exposed beams are the best design feature to have in a rustic living space.

Rustic Style Lighting

A rustic living room will have cozy warm lighting. Make use of fire with a fire pit or table lanterns and candles. Ceiling spot lights can be used to point down on any stone walls to highlight them. The style for most rustic light fixtures will be wrought iron. So use wrought iron chandeliers, wall lights, and side table lamps in the living room. For photos, ideas and a mood board, have a look here: Style Guide: Rustic Lighting Fixtures and Ideas.

Rustic Decor and Storage Items

Store firewood out in the open as the wood also acts as rustic living room decor. Some ways to do that include putting them in wicker baskets, wooden crates, or have a recessed wall in the living room where the wood can be stacked up (6).

Some ideas from my rustic storage ideas mood board included:

  • Wooden or metal ladders can lean against the wall and be used to hang up blankets or magazines
  • Wicker baskets make for great looking storage

For more rustic living room inspiration, check out my Tuscan Living Room Ideas

More rustic decor and design mood boards:

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


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February 18, 2016 in Design Styles, Living Room