Decorating your home with vintage and retro items can add a unique and nostalgic touch to your space. Here are some tips for incorporating these items into your decor:
Start by choosing a few key vintage or retro pieces to serve as the focal point of the room. These could be larger items like a vintage sofa or armchair, or smaller items like a retro-inspired lamp or piece of wall art.
Mix and match your vintage and retro pieces with more modern items to create a balanced and cohesive look. For example, you could pair a vintage coffee table with a modern sofa, or hang a retro-inspired piece of art above a contemporary bookshelf.
Use vintage and retro items as accents or pops of color throughout the room. For example, you could add a vintage rug to a neutral-colored living room, or place a retro-inspired vase on a modern dining table.
Don't be afraid to mix different styles and eras together. This can create a unique and eclectic look that reflects your personal style. For example, you could pair a mid-century modern sofa with a vintage industrial coffee table, or mix and match colorful retro-inspired throw pillows with a more traditional sofa.
Pay attention to the condition of the vintage and retro items you are using. While some patina and wear can add character and charm, items that are too worn or damaged can detract from the overall look of the room.
Overall, the key to successfully incorporating vintage and retro items into your decor is to have fun with it and be creative. Mix and match different pieces and styles to create a unique and personal space that reflects your own taste and style.
Best in class 1France has been flying the French
decoration flag for centuries and while its classical styles are world
renowned it is also home to a wealth of contemporary capabilities. One
brand that manages to straddles its historic Hausmann past as well as
the decorative now is Roche Bobois, a household name that was born out
of two families joining forces in the 1960s and now has more than 250
stores worldwide. It has two core collections, a contemporary one that
features the work of designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Kenzo Takada
and Missoni Home; and Nouveaux Classiques, a more traditionally French
take on furniture. Pictured is a solid oak Chambre Eqop bed with
headboard, 180cm by 200cm, €5,200, ex mattress, deep buttoned
bergere-style chair, €2,740, four-drawer sideboard, €3,580, and Ispahan
floor lamp, €2,340, all available to order and there’s 15 per cent off all new orders until July 31st.
Ligne Roset, from parasol
fabricator in the 1860s to a global brand with 200 stores worldwide and
leading collaborations with names such as Michel Ducaroy, Pierre Paulin
and the Bouroullec brothers.
Its Toa armchair, launched in
2015, is designed by emerging talent Remi Bouhaniche, who took a chance
and submitted the design to Michel Roset, Ligne Roset’s owner, in 2012.
It has a solid ash frame, available in a dark stain or natural,
pictured, and in a wide choice of colours in cotton or leather. The
trapezoidal shape of foam and fabric is inspired by origami and prices
start from €2,902 from Arena Kitchens & Living, Maple Avenue,
Stillorgan Industrial Park, where it is available to order and where
there is 15 per cent off the entire collection, during the summer sale
which ends July 22nd.
Magic Circus Editions is an
experimental lighting company that was set up just two years ago by
Marie-Lise Fery, an art school graduate turned antique dealer, and the
appreciation of classic forms is evident throughout the collection’s
dramatic designs.
The new range features soft
coloured glass spheres in soft new shades of jade and rose. The soft
curves of its Applique wall light, pictured in rose but also available
in an equally easy on the eye jade green, €3,675, will turn an entrance
hall or corridor into a destination rather than a throughway. You can
buy the pieces online from Anglo-Italian interior designer Chiara
Colombini who launched her Paris-based design practice in 2006.
From its launch in 2012 La Chance,
a Paris-based design company that produces furniture, lighting,
accessories, rugs and wallpaper, has looked back to the art deco period,
a style born in France in 1925, and put a modern riff on this now
classic era. Many of its pieces have been much copied, in particular its
Bolt stool and Salute side tables – imitation being the greatest form
of flattery.
Sorciere wall sconces have been
inspired by the ritual Ngil masks of the Fang tribe in Gabon and are
more like sculptures than mere illumination. Designed by Marta Bakowski
in 2016 the light diffuses through the perforations in the mask to
shines upward in a graphic but gentle fashion, changing personality
depending on the combination of colours, textures and perforated
patterns, which vary in each version. The plain black or white options
cost €395 each while the multiple-colour combinations cost €445 each to
order through Dún Laoghaire-based Lost Weekend.
Colonial-era France has played a
huge part in creating the rich and textured interiors heritage of the
country. The rug pictured has been inspired by one of the many Berber
designs, descendants of the pre-Arab inhabitants of North Africa with a
strong expertise in carpet making.
The design is by fabric firm
Lorena Canals whose rugs and cushions are all washable. Moroccan in
origin,it is available through KSL Living, one of France’s best home
etailers. The 100 per cent cotton design comes in two sizes; 160cm by
120cm, €165 and 200cm by 140cm, €245. Prices are ex delivery.
Petit Friture, which translates as
“small fry”, is a boutique design house that doesn’t take itself too
seriously. Set up by Amélie du Passage in 2009 it works with established
and emerging designers who already have their own studios meaning that
it offers an endlessly changing range of furniture and home furnishings.
There is a Mediterranean
suspension light, £1,465, by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance that is inspired by
the weightlessness of laundry drying in the Mediterranean sun; and,
pictured, the Dojo table, £1,865, and chairs, £378 each, by Amandine
Chhor and Aissa Logerot and Jetlag wallpaper by illustrator Lisa
Laubreaux, £207 per roll. All are available from Clippings.com which
ships worldwide.
Eno Studio in Paris is another small seller of cool finds by less well-known designers.
The Vega pouf, a simple round form
within a brass-effect steel frame, is a piece that will punctuate an
empty space or corner of a room. It comes in teal green or midnight blue
velvet, pictured, and can be ordered through Dunville Avenue-based CA
Design. Measuring 45cm by 38cm by 36cm, it costs €436. The adjustable
Plus wall light is a clever marriage of form and function, and its
ability to swivel up towards the ceiling or down towards the floor means
you can focus the beam in either direction depending on the ambience
you’re looking to create. It comes in two metal finishes; anodised
aluminum or black steel. Each light measures 18cm high and 10.5 cm
across and costs €217.
There’s a certain relaxed elegance
about French interiors that is hard to replicate. The seasonal weather,
where you can actually spend much of the summer outdoors, helps but it
is part of the nation’s natural DNA to be able to put together looks
that appear effortless.
One affordable brand worth
investigating is Amadeus and includes these outdoor and sunroom perfect
pieces, rope-knotted armchairs, €229 each, and a driftwood-inspired
coffee table held in a steel frame, €449, both available to order from
Sallynoggin-based M. Kelly Interiors.
image source
After throwing away several perfume bottles I decided to come up
with some ways that I could utilize them around my own home. As we all
know, some perfume bottles can be plain to very orate. No matter how
plain or fancy they are there can be another purpose found for them. Here are some of my ideas:
Perfume
bottles that have a small amount of fragrance left in them make great
reed diffusers. Begin by removing the cap of the perfume bottle. Insert
your reed diffusers, turning them over once to expose the perfume
moistened reed to the air. The perfume will continue to wick up the
diffuser reeds, scenting your room for several months. Turn diffuser
reeds periodically to refresh scent.
Another use for perfume
bottles with a small amount left in them is to once again remove the
cap. Tie a fancy ribbon around the neck of the bottle and hang in your
closet. Caution needs to be taken that the open bottle cannot be tipped
and thus avoiding any spillage on your clothes. Keep in mind which
fragrance you use as some perfumes are more powerful than others.
To give your Victorian decorating style a professional decorating
approach, you might want to add various decorative items. Focus on
using frilly and ornate decorative accessories which add to the fancy
and ornate style of the olden days. Plan for wall art, pillows and
knick-knacks to really add zip to your Victorian home.
Wall art is
a fabulous way to add appealing charm to your walls, but most folks
don't know the proper way to hang them. When hanging art, think like a
gallery and put the middle of the piece at eye level. If you are
hanging a grouping of items on the wall, then come up with the design by
laying them on the floor first to come up with how they look most
pleasing.
Have you started to notice stacks of vintage suitcases popping up in
styled magazine shoots and retail window displays? It's a pretty clever
way to add whimsy to your home without spending big bucks. Since this
decorative idea hasn't hit the mainstream yet the antique dealers
haven't snapped them all up yet to gauge prices. Almost any vintage
store I have visited recently has many underappreciated suitcases for
you to scoop up and turn into an inexpensive side table or interesting
display. Better yet, bring out grandpa's old suitcases from the attic
and celebrate a traveled life. And can we talk about the hidden storage
potential?
