Tag Archives | Vintage Style

Color Palette: Shabby Vintage

A pastel blend of shabby chic and vintage style colors. A color palette ideal for these mood board designs:

January 22, 2014 in Color Palettes

Home Decor Ideas: Using Bird Cages

There is something special about adding a bird cage into the decor mix of a room. I’m not sure what it is yet, maybe it is the informal bohemian vibe, the Victorian feel, or what it represents? Either way, here are some fancy bird cage decor ideas to use at home.

Light and Flight

One of my top choices for using a bird cage would be for lighting. One way of doing this would be to use a bird cage to house candles, just like in picture (1). Or how about stuffing a bird cage with a strand of string lights, aka the Bird Cage Lamp, to create a nice soft glow in the room (2) (3).

Up on Display

If you can find a gorgeous vintage bird cage, say on Etsy, then this would make a great decor piece in itself. Check out the decorative bird cage sitting next to a potted plant and a vintage mirror frame in picture (4) .

Or a simple decor arrangement would be to put some old antique books inside a large bird cage – just like in picture (5).

On the Wall

Don’t forget you can get wall mounted bird cages, which are half the size of the normal standing cages. There are also stands and flat racks that are in the shape of a bird cage. The flat ones can be used to hang up photographs – seen in picture (6), or to hang and organise your jewellery in your bedroom.

With Some Plants

Birdcages make great housing for plants (7) (8). Or if you are looking to create a centrepiece arrangement, a bird cage can be used as an elegant accessory just like the table centrepiece in picture (9).

And outdoors, a bird cage can be used as a hanging planter or bohemian decor piece (10) (Ideas for Vintage Garden Decor and Outdoor Accessories). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

January 12, 2014 in Decor

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

Home Decor Ideas: Using Vintage Glass Bottles

Going Green

One of the easiest and classiest things to do with vintage glass bottles is to use them as planters. Putting one stem in a bottle creates instant decor appeal. How about grouping together 3 of the same bottle in a wire basket just like the bottles in picture (2). Kristina attached vintage soda bottles to some salvaged shutters to create wall planters (3). And outdoors you can wrap some twine or wire around the head of the bottle to create hanging planters (4). For more garden ideas have a look here: Ideas for Vintage Garden Decor and Outdoor Accessories.

Adding Fire

Another simple decor idea is to use vintage bottles as candle stands. Use a bunch of different sizes to create a centre piece arrangement, like in picture (5). If you get larger bottles (more like jugs) then you can place votive candles inside (fill them up with water to have floating candles).

Liquids

The containers we get our liquids in today are not very pleasing to look at. So why not pour them into elegant vintage perfume bottles. This way you can put them up on display. Like the soaps, lotions, perfumes, and other liquids in the bathrooms of pictures (6) and (7). Do the same with liquids and detergent in a laundry room (Style Guide: Vintage Laundry Room Decor Ideas).

In the Kitchen

You can also pour your kitchen liquids into vintage bottles and have them out on display. If you go out and buy in bulk or large volumes, say hand soap or dish liquid, pour some into the glass bottles then store away the rest under the sink (8). For more kitchen storage ideas have a look at my post here Vintage Kitchen Storage Ideas: From Milk Baskets to Wicker Baskets.

Vintage milk bottles make for great cups. If you find vintage glass bottles with lids, or create cork lids for them, you can use them to store homemade drinks (9). Or you could use them as serving containers – like the vinegar bottle in picture (10).

The bottle above and more styles like it can be bought on Amazon here

Creating Vintage

One way to create that vintage look without having to buy vintage is to print out vintage style labels – which you can then paste onto more modern bottles. Head on over to Eat Drink Chic to find the labels in picture (11).

Mason Jars can also be used for a number of decor and storage ideas around the house. Check out my post here for pictures and ideas: Home Decor Ideas: Using Mason Jars. 2/4/5/6/7/8/9/10