Recreating Vintage Furniture

Styles and trends follow a recurring pattern. This is also true with furniture. What were once trendy and popular types of furniture are now making a comeback in the modern era. What exactly is vintage furniture? How is it different from an antique furniture? The answer lies with the style and age of the furniture. A piece between 30 and 100 years can be considered as vintage, while at 100 years and beyond, it can be considered as an antique.

Aside from age, the furniture should also be an example of what defined a particular style that flourished in that period. Now, this type of furniture is making a resurgence because people are seeing the style as unique and unusual.

Creating A Look Outside of The Usual

As time goes by, vintage pieces become less common, even though they were once mass-produced during the time of their popularity. Even though you are aiming for an out of the usual look for your furniture, you need to be careful in recreating its vintage look. You can choose pieces from one vintage era and look for accessories that match such era, such as mid-century modern. You can also carefully choose different pieces from various eras and combine them for a harmonious and well-integrated look. Another important thing when it comes to having a vintage furniture is to match it with the color and level of formality of the room. This gives the impression of the furniture being in tune with the surroundings of the room and being transported back in time to where the vintage furniture belonged. The same can be said when you combine different furniture pieces from different vintage eras. Make sure that the visual elements these various furniture pieces share are aligned with the color and qualities of the room.

Retaining the Original Design and Adding Modern Touch

The good thing about vintage furniture is the simplicity and subtle elegance of the pieces. They were made for the practical home needs of their time. For example, convertible contraptions and furniture were the trends in the 1900s. One example is the Murphy Bed, which is also called the wall bed or pull-down bed. Invented by William Lawrence Murphy, its original design served as both wall furniture or shelf and a bed. Modern versions make Murphy beds double as closets, cabinets or drawers. This ingenious invention is useful in saving space in small houses, studio apartments and for adding sleeping spaces for guests. You can instantly convert your bedroom into a spacious workspace if you have a home office.

Another vintage furniture that’s making a comeback is the sectional sofa. According to the folks at moderndigsfurniture.com, the mid-century modern sectional sofa is a vintage piece highly recommended for its comfort and elegant design. Its key benefit is the total sitting relaxation where you can stretch out your legs and recline comfortably on the chaise without hogging the sofa space all for yourself. The L-shaped design makes it great for relaxation and having focused and meaningful conversations. People living in the modern period live a busy and hectic lifestyle and will find this vintage a welcome comfort where they can sit and kick their feet up when they get home. The good thing about giving this vintage sofa a modern touch is that it can be adjusted to move the chaise to the left or right side, whichever fits your living room suitably.

Research and Find Vintage Pieces

Getting a vintage furniture can be both easy and complicated at the same time. First of all, you need to research and get to know the vintage furniture piece you are interested in buying. That is because the furniture may be different in structure and design than most contemporary ones. Also, you will need to check the dimensions, paint shades, and current setup of your bedroom or living room. Get to know the functionalities and the practical applications of the vintage furniture during its time, and how this type of furniture applies to your home art present.

When it comes to finding vintage furniture pieces, there are a lot of places you can look for them. The easiest way is to do shopping online. Since you won’t be able to physically inspect the furniture, make sure to get all the necessary information and research on the piece. Snapshots of the furniture’s external and internal finish can help you assess the condition of the vintage furniture. Other sources of vintage furniture pieces include the following:

• Edgy retail stores
• Online retailers
• Estate sales
• Live auctions
• Auction websites
• Garage and yard sales
• Charity flea markets
• Second-hand stores

Also, generous handoffs from older family members and relatives can be vintage furniture. Thus, finding a task can be quite easy. Since most of these options require you to be physically present to make a purchase, you also have the opportunity to physically assess the furniture for authenticity and the condition.

Restoring the Original State

Restoring the authentic original state of a vintage furniture might sound like a lot of work, but can be worth it. Although most vintage furniture pieces remain fully intact and survive the test of time, you still need to thoroughly check the small moving parts like hinges, rollers, locks or knobs. Although you can find replacements for these in any hardware store, try to find ones that fit and look like the original ones to preserve and restore the vintage feel of your furniture. If the pieces need to be refinished, choose finishes that have neutral or the same hue as the original one. Since you’re going to be using it inside your home, also consider using non-toxic finishes. If you’ll check out a vintage furniture more closely, you’ll see intricate, hand-made designs and finer materials. If the furniture is made of wood, you’ll find that it’s composed of solid wood blocks and pieces inside and out. If there are parts that need to be replaced, you need to take the exact dimensional measurements and have the replacements custom-made and of the same wood type, e.g. spruce or ebony. You’ll see the difference in restoring a vintage piece using the same type of materials than using synthetic or artificial parts.

Recreating vintage furniture and adding them to your bedroom or living room can give it a unique and sophisticated look. You just need a bit of research to make the necessary adjustments to make the addition of vintage pieces harmonious and cohesive to other contemporary and modern pieces. You can give your room a progressive or retro look, depending on how the vintage pieces stand out or blend in with other furniture. When it comes to using vintage furniture, you just need to be creative and flexible with your decor and furniture ideas.