Decorating with vintage or secondhand: Do you or don't you?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Decorating with vintage or secondhand: Do you or don't you?

I do. My home (where I have my listings) is filled with vintage finds. I think that they add character and pieces that have already stood the test of time last longer than cheap, flat pack furniture. It's also allowed me to fill my home with nice things on a budget. I've not paid very much for most of it and some of it was free (road side finds or Freecycle). I also like how each piece maybe has a history. Some of it is upcycled (we're not talking about precious antiques here) and some left as is.

PJMPHOTO19Q149-London-Huma_70_92B2870_RET.jpg

In this photo (which is taken from an Airbnb article), there is a vintage bureau desk in the background. I bought this for around £75 on Ebay. It was in a very dark faux oak finish, but it had lots of interesting detail so I upcycled it using chalk and metallic paints and then waxed it for protection. Although I provide coasters in the rooms, guests do sometimes leave stains on the top of furniture, but with this, I can just repaint and was the top if needed. I think it looks a lot more expensive than it was.

 

The mirror is Victorian, so a genuine antique, but was a bargain at £30 because it was a bit bashed up. I have had it for years and years (brought over from my previous home) and it has had a few knocks at the hands of careless folk, but I still love it. The wardrobes were already here when I bought the house and an ugly 1980s orangey pine, so I painted those too. I am not finished with them yet, but I think they look much better and they are really commodious and seemed to be custom made, so no point ripping them out.

 

Do you have a few vintage finds in your listings? If so, please do share some photos!

40 Replies 40
Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  oh, I do have lots of vintage things, which suits our house style, although "vintage" here is much younger than Europe! I'll have to go through my pics, or snap a few tmrw. 
B_seatmirror WEB.JPGbutlers_loungefire.jpg
like you I upcycle, and funny we have a v similar mirror. Mine is not at antique, and I got it on Marketplace for $75 (similar price! yours truly was a bargain). the only "old" thing is the coffee table, which I painted black, the mirror (also painted black), and the bench seat (that is on loan from my mum, it belonged to my grt aunt and mum had it reupholstered and the colour suits our guest suite. I haven't painted it as the vibe of the place is dark and it works fine)

I do have a large armoire that I painted with chalk paint in dark grey, not really highlighted in our photos. The bed, sofa, table are all modern. It's all but impossible to find a vintage 4 poster bed in king size. I've just installed a hall stand, it's still in original timber (stained), so likely 1940s. I'm not sure yet if I will paint it. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 Yes, the mirror was a bit of a steal at £30, but it had quite a few chips to the frame, which I didn't mind. Sadly, it's been through the wars a bit. Firstly, there was a leak from a neighbour's apartment, right above where the mirror was hung. This caused further damage to the frame and warped the back. A friend, who is an artisan, put a new back on for me, but it's so blooming heavy now that the builders said not to risk hanging it on the wall. Then I had some guys moving some furniture for me who knocked it over, causing a lot more damage. Oh dear. I still love it though.

 

I think the bench looks amazing there and works so well with the scheme. I do love your dark colour palette and I think it's a good one for mixing old and new. I think I remember the grey armoire. Did you post a picture of it on another thread, or was that a kitchen dresser?

 

I guess you are probably right about the vintage beds. I think it's not that easy to find a king sized one, let alone a four poster (the king bed I have in one of the rooms is reproduction). I have two vintage beds in the house, both 'doubles' and both from France, but the oak one with the big headboard is actually slightly narrower so a standard double mattress barely squeezes into it and curves up on one side. The guests haven't complained though and it was a bargain at £50! And the upholstered one is in my largest bedroom, so I really should have gone for a bigger bed, but I just fell in love with this one and it was affordable and newly painted and upholstered, so no work there for me!

 

Stockwell-SW9-london-houses-028-1200x1800.jpg3741eedf-e9ce-42be-bfbe-f2c0e6807224.jpg copy.jpg

Ana2038
Level 10
Santa Ana, CA

 

China HutchChina HutchMedia ConsoleMedia ConsoleBFC1AC18-2F4D-44BA-81F1-8F52A3703F4B.jpeg

 

@Huma0,  I love vintage finds and wholeheartedly agree that these pieces hold up much longer than the furniture made today or 10 years ago. The solid wood, and dovetail construction (no glue or staples) can’t be beat. I personally don’t have any in my listing (wouldn’t want them damaged). I use to up cycle furniture when chalk paint was the rage. The pieces in the pictures attached are pieces I have acquired through Craigslist (local online marketplace). I have had two professionally refinished (the china hutch & the sideboard ). Both were purchased at substantially less than their true value. In fact, I saw the sideboard on eBay being listed at $1800.00 (US). I purchased the piece for $150.00. The china hutch, so the story goes, belonged to an individual who belonged in the mafia (back in the 50’s). Nope, we didn’t find Jimmy Hoffa in the hutch (lol).  My media console, was originally a dresser, has been up cycled 3x so far. Again, I was able to secure this piece for $250.00 and saw it listed on Etsy for $1500.00+. Due to the inferior construction of furniture today, I ended up having some pieces custom made at a fraction of their cost (my handyman loves woodworking projects I give him). 


I’d buy more vintage items but I just don’t have the room in my home. 

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ana2038 

 

Yes, I know what you mean. I had to stop myself from buying more furniture as I simply have no room left for it, already need to sell a couple of pieces, have given a couple to my mum, and still have some in storage! It can turn into a bit of an addiction.

 

Nice job on the media console. This is so much nicer than any new furniture you can find built for that purpose. I have something similar, i.e. a low sideboard, which I've painted and then just cut a hole in the back for the cables. It fits everything I need to put in there and doesn't clash with the rest of the room. Before that, I had one from IKEA, which I think was actually the most expensive one in the shop at the time, so cost a lot more than the vintage sideboard, which I think I paid around £65 for. The latter is still going strong, but the IKEA one fell to pieces.

 

You can see it here on the right, with some other pieces I have painted, and also in the corner of the living room (the chairs are also vintage finds, but I haven't painted those):

 

upcycled furniture.jpg

Stockwell-SW9-london-houses-017-1200x781.jpg

@Ana2038  that media console is lush!!!!!!!!!!!

@Gillian166 , Thanks. The media console is one of my favorite pieces. I enjoy up cycling old pieces and bringing them back to life with paint and new hardware (drawer pulls).

 

@Ana2038  I follow a woman on insta, purely for the hardware she sells. haha.  

Yes, I do as well. Modern furniture has no craftsmanship or charm. It has the personality of a wet dish rag, quite frankly.

I have eclectic furniture, from Chippendale to French Provincial to Queen Anne. None of it is matched, but it blends together nicely. Have received quite a few compliments on my decor.

I did have a few folks on Social Media tell me my home was "stuffy" and too "Downton Abbey" but most people have been quite complimentary. I thanked them for the compliment because, like you, I enjoy a classy look.

Stephanie2468_1-1674524156597.png



Stephanie2468_4-1674524284250.png

 

Stephanie2468_7-1674524395276.png

 

Stephanie2468_8-1674524443129.png

 

lol "too Downtown Abbey", I'd take that as a compliment!

We have a room I used to call my "pride and prejudice room" but now I call my "Bridgerton room". kinda sad about that, cos P&P is one of my fave novels, and I've never read a bridgerton novel, only seen the 2 seasons, but "bridgerton" gets their attention.  My room is nowhere near as fancy as the Bridgerton set, nor could 2 ladies "take a turn about the room".  

 

PR_ladiesroom2022.jpg

 

This space used to be accessible to our house guests but once we put in a kitchenette we blocked them from accessing this space. 

 

the only "vintage" pieces here are the music sheets and the hint of a china cabinet just in frame on the left, it's only art deco so barely 100 years old. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

Ah, Bridgerton. That makes sense! Maybe you can change it back to Pride and Prejudice once the Bridgerton craze has worn off! 

 

Is the piano not vintage though? It doesn't look modern...

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  the piano is old, yes. It is my MIL's piano from South Africa, that she actually shipped to Australia in the 90s, alongside many, many, many other furniture items.  not sure how old it is. They sold their house a few years ago, and came to live on our farm for half the year (they also have a unit by the sea in Qld) and brought everything with them, UGH. and then gave me half of it. 😞  So the piano we got, it needs a tune but it's passable. But it's actually now cheaper to buy a new piano, they are so cheap. She told me I could paint it (cos she knows that's what I do) and so far I haven't as that one bit of timber in the room is ok.  Pinterest has a lot of cool ideas, but at this stage I'm ok with it as is. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

And what is the rest of the furniture they gave you like? Is there nothing you can do with it?

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  no, it's more of a chunky timber style (quite common in Sth African homes). I've got a set of bedside tables I like, that I will probably paint at some point. My style is more "rustic vintage" rather than "french vintage", because there's not really any French influence here in Australia. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

By the way, what is the paint colour you've used in the Bridgerton room?