Home Tree Atlas: Home Decor Ideas and Mood Boards

Decor Style: Vintage Living Room Ideas

Looking to stylise your living room? Here are vintage living room ideas that will transform your space.

Vintage Coffee Table Ideas

In most living rooms the coffee table area is the focal point – where the eye goes to first. This is because everything is arranged around it – the seating, the TV, and area rugs. So this would be a good place to focus your styling efforts.

For the coffee table itself, some vintage ideas include going with a French style one like in picture (2) or a lane coffee table. Chipped painted tables look good too, in white or mint (3). A great DIY project would be to turn a reclaimed glass and wooden window into a coffee table seen here. Another good idea would be to have a vintage trunk coffee table (4) – which can also be used for storage.

Some ways of decorating the coffee table would be to use painted candle stands and a doily table runner (5). There are a ton more decor ideas in the Decor Accessories section below. A pastel colored, and or chevron patterned area rug placed under the table will help frame the table in the room.

The Seating Area

Another focal area of the living room is the seating area. The go to choice here would be a French style couch just like in picture (6). Or an upholstered couch with a nice vtinage style fabric. If getting a new couch is not an option, then other ways of decorating the couch in a vintage style include: having throw blankets with floral vintage motifs, or pillows with a vintage style fabric or DIY graphic transfer.

Another Dimension – Lighting

Barn lighting (pancake dishes) looks good for hanging pendant lights. So do pastel colored paper lanterns, and how about a wrought iron chandelier? On the walls, a goose neck lamp fits into the style just right. And when it comes to table lighting – you’ll want to go with a traditional cone shaped lamp shade.

Good Looking Storage Ideas

The storage containers you use will also style the room. Especially if you display them out on open shelving or on a side table or coffee table. Here are some great looking storage ideas:

Wicker or Wire Baskets, and Galvanised Buckets: These can be used to hold magazines, store kid’s toys, throw blankets and pillows in (7), store fire logs, or as planters (8).

Vintage Glass Bottles: Ideas include using the glass bottles as elegant planters, candle holders or mugs. Look at my post here for more ideas Home Decor Ideas: Using Vintage Glass Bottles.

Other small vintage storage ideas for the living room include using enamel containers, copper bowls, and French style hat boxes.

When it comes to the cabinets, the shabby chic style of pastel colors and chipped (or not chipped) paint would be the style to go for. Another style would be more raw wooden cabinets – depending on the vintage style you are going for.

Wooden Crates: These make for great modern vintage DIY storage. They can be stacked to create your own shelving. For more ideas have a look at my post here: Creative DIY Ideas for Living Room Shelves.

For some added table space – take a look at old vintage TV trays just like in picture (9).

Decorating Ideas for The Walls

When it comes to the colors of the walls, white is always a classic choice. Then there are light pastel shades like mint that would look good for a vintage inspired living room. Or if you want to get more decorative then opt for a patterned wallpaper – like using anaglyptic paper seen in picture (10). For more vintage style wallpaper ideas have a look at my mood board here.

Curtains also help decorate the walls. Materials and styles to use include frilly fluffy curtains, lace (11), or white curtains with a vintage pastel colored print. A great way to tieback those curtains is to use vintage door knobs seen in picture (12).

Vintage Living Room Decor Accessories

Once you have the main areas of the living room figured out and styled just the way you want it, then comes the time to add in those vintage decor accent pieces for the finishing touch. Here are some ideas:

A clock with an antique face
Bird cages – these can be used to house plants, candles, or store books. Check out my post here for more ideas on using bird cages as decor pieces: Home Decor Ideas: Using Bird Cages.
Black and white or sepia photos
Use vintage style clothes pegs to hang up photos on string
An antique looking globe
A watering can
Old books – the ones with the simple elegant covers
A French style mirror – this will also make your living room feel larger
Skeleton keys in a shadow box frame
Wall Art Ideas: French signs, subway signs, metal wall letters, vintage maps, and botanical prints
Mason jars can be used for a number of things like candle lanterns, planters, or photo frames. Look at my post here for images and more ideas: Home Decor Ideas: Using Mason Jars.

For more vintage home ideas check out the vintage section on my Mood Board Styles Collection page. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

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January 4, 2014 in Living Room

Stress Free: Minimalist Living Room Ideas

I believe you have to be careful when it comes to minimalist living room ideas and interior design. It can be hit or miss. You can easily end up with a bare living room that feels empty, and that’s not the goal. It needs to be a relaxing and clutter free space. It still needs to have style. You can have a rustic living room (seen in pictures (2) and (3)) or go with an industrial style and still keep in minimalist. For me it really boils down to A) being clutter free and B) color management.

Kept Clutter Free

You don’t have to be well organised and make sure every piece has it’s place to create a minimalist living room. Just hide it all away. Out of sight. For me that would be the first goal – shove all the clutter into a draw, get back to it later. Right now just focus on the things you can see in the living.

Coffee Tables

If you really want a minimalist living room then look to have very little on the coffee table. If that is not an option then have something like a wicker tray or good looking bowls to group items together, this helps create a cleaner look (check out my post here for pictures Creative Coffee Table Decor Ideas.

You can find minimalist coffee table designs that have draws underneath. This is good because you can store away items and keep them out of sight. The same can be done with ottomans – there are ones that open up to storage space.

Behind The Curtain

If you have open cabinets, look to close these off with doors or hang up a curtain. Curtains can also be used to divide up the living room. Say you want a home office or home gym, a curtain can be hung up and used to hide away the space when it is not in use.

Make It Count

If you have a hard time keeping your space clutter free, try buying an expensive piece for your living room, like a coffee table or elegant table decor piece. This way you’ll want to make sure everything around it is clean and clutter free so that one piece is able to shine.

Minimalist Furniture Style

If you look at the photos in the mood board, there is nothing really decorative about the furniture pieces. They are upholstered pieces with a very modern sleek design. Note how the colors of the couches are neutral – the color of the couch has a big impact on the look of the room.

Color Management

Apart from keeping your living room clutter free, the other key for a minimalist style is color management. All of the living rooms seen above have few to no color in them – they only use neutral toned pieces. But this doesn’t mean you can’t have a colourful room. Take a look at some of my color based living room posts like red or purple. But the same rule applies there. If you want a red colored living room, you need to take away other colors in the room. Because these pieces will stand out and kill the style you are going for. You need to pay attention to the colors in the room and remove pieces that are not inline with the design scheme you are going for.

Taking Inspiration

A good style to take inspiration from would be Scandinavian – just look at the living rooms in pictures (4) and (5). A lot of their design is heavy in white, while the wooden pieces they use add warmth and color to the space. Adding some plants will also bring in color (6).

Decor Pieces

Even in a minimalist living room you can still have decor pieces – it is recommended. And because you will only have 1-3 pieces, each piece will really stand out and showcase your style. Since you are only using a few pieces, make each piece meaningful and well thought out. Another way to decorate is through textures (like wicker, your pillows, wood grains (coffee table, bowls), and plants). Here are some ideas:

A minimalist art piece (like black and white).
Plants add warmth and color to the room, and the choice of the planter can add style to the room.
An accent wall can be a decor and focal piece. This is when you have one wall in the room that is different than the rest. Say you have all the walls painted in white, one wall can have a concrete texture, or a subtle linen paint effect on it (Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects).
One thing to take away from the pictures in the mood board is that pillows play a big role in a minimalist style living room. All living rooms need pillows. Make them blend in with the room by choosing the colors that fit your color scheme and have a simple (non-colorful) texture that adds to the decor of the space (7) .
Lighting is also another thing that is needed in every living room and can help in stylising the room. Check out the industrial looking wall lamp in picture (8). Choose simple looking fixtures that have a touch of style to them. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

Here are some more living room posts for more ideas:

January 4, 2014 in Living Room

Going Exotic: Moroccan Living Room Style Guide

The Color Pallet

A Moroccan color pallet is made up of mostly deep hues of orange, purples, and reds much like in picture (1). With splashes of yellow to brighten it up. So keep this in mind when you are looking for decor pieces. Try to remove pieces that clash and are outside of this color pallet.

Those are the sort of colors you’ll see in a Moroccan living room. But as you’ll see in the Keeping it Simple section below – there are people who have opted out of the color pallet and have instead gone with a neutral colored living room and used 1 or 2 main Moroccan styled furniture pieces.

Adding the Spice: Moroccan Decor Pieces and Ideas

In the Center

In a lot of living rooms the coffee table is the focal point. So look to infuse the Moroccan style here. Whether that is with a Moroccan coffee table or by having Moroccan style table lanterns as a centerpiece seen in picture (3).

On the Floor

The seating in Morocco is very informal and close down to the ground. So you’ll see a lot of floor cushions (4) (5), poufs (6), and charming area rugs in the same deep hues mentioned above.

On the Wall

Another great decor piece to have would be an elegant Moroccan wall tapestry.

Keeping it Simple

You don’t really have to do much to create a Moroccan style living room. If you keep the space quite plain by having white walls and keeping it clutter free, and take away any other styled pieces – one or two Moroccan pieces will really set the tone for the room. Focus on the focal pieces of a living room – like the coffee table, a large area rug, wall tapestries, and seating.

Just take a look at picture (7). It is a scandinavian looking room – with it’s black and white color pallet. Which is what makes the Moroccan styled coffee table and lantern really pop out – creating that chic Moroccan ambiance in the room.

Or how about the living room in picture (8). The Moroccan poufs (ottomans) make a statement in the room. Then you have the living room in picture (9). What is the one thing that brings the Moroccan charm to that living room? It is the hanging Moroccan lantern. If you keep your living room free from other styles, one or two main Moroccan inspired focal pieces will do the job.

Lighting

At night you’ll want to have the lighting dim, and close down to the ground. So avoid using the ceiling lights and instead use floor and table lamps – or candle lanterns.

Going The Extra Mile

At night you want the lighting to be dim and cozy. In the day time though, having the living room bathed in natural light is the way to go. If you want to completely restyle the space then look to have ornate windows just like in picture (10). Decorative wooden doors will also add that Moroccan feel to the living room. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

January 4, 2014 in Living Room

Color Choice: White Living Room Ideas and Designs

Up North

A good place to get inspiration when it comes to white living room ideas is from Scandinavian interior design just like in pictures (1) and (2). They make heavy use of white in their living rooms – mixed with shades of grey. But to bring some warmth and color to the space, plants and wooden furniture pieces are used.

Shades

To add in some depth and styling to your space you are going to want to add in a few other shades to the white canvas of a living room. One way to go would to be to use neutral shades (like cream, greys or black) – for a minimalist and Scandinavian look. Or how about adding one other color to the mix like blue or red. These can be added through little decorating ideas like a candle stand on the coffee table, or with the pillows on the couch. Try and keep the majority of the room in white.

Classic: Black and White Living Room Ideas and Designs

Textures and The Art of Pillows

A great way to add style to your living room is through textures. Imagine a white living room and then having wicker baskets on the floor being used as storage to hold pillows or blankets (5). The wicker’s texture really adds to the style of the room. With a white living room you really have a blank canvas and pieces, like a wicker basket, really stand out.

Other ways of adding texture to the living room:

White walls can have a texture to them. You have rough plaster or bricks painted in white. Or take a look at my post here for textured painting techniques.
Pillows can have simple colorless patterns on them, just like the ones in picture (6). So can throw blankets.
Area rugs with a simple pattern (like a white rug with a light grey chevron pattern)
Plants and planters
Wooden bowls or coffee table trays
Poufs (7)

The Coffee Table Area

The design of your coffee table will really set the style of the living room. If you use a chipped painted white coffee table just like in picture (8), or a white trunk you’ll be creating a shabby chic or vintage feel in the room. Or a raw wooden (9) or pallet coffee table will set a more rustic and distressed feel. While a simple design will give your space a modern look (10). A marble or glass coffee table would be other good options. If you go with a white living room furniture like a coffee table, it will blend in well with the rest of the room. While going with a black coffee table will make the coffee table stand out and create a focal point in the room.

Have a look at my post here for more coffee table ideas and designs: Creative Coffee Table Ideas. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10