10 Easy Ways to Use Vintage in Your Home Decor

Here are 10 easy ways to use vintage in your home decor. Although I could list 100 reasons to mix a few vintage pieces with more modern pieces to have an interesting and beautiful home, today, I will try to stick to my top 10 ways!

Why the vintage look is so appealing to use in home decor

Using vintage furnishings and pieces gives your home a sense of history. Especially if the pieces have been collected over time and may be part of a collection, each piece may tell part of a story They also create a visual statement. I think everyone that reads my blog feels the same way about mixing vintage with new. After all, we don’t want our homes to look like a Pottery Barn or the Magnolia Home section at Target. But buying a few new things to mix in with old things is where the story begins.

What makes something vintage?

This is an excellent question. While there are no official rules on what makes something vintage, most people agree that vintage is something that is at least 20 years old and up to 100 years old. At 100 years old, it becomes classified as an antique. So, I think vintage is one of those things that you get to decide. What I love about vintage is that items come from different eras and often highlight fashion, design, or cultural trends.

If you like to use vintage, how do you avoid having your home look like a thrift shop?

It’s all about balance. That’s why I love adding vintage in small doses throughout my home. I prefer to layer vintage with modern and new. For example, I’ll add modern block print napkins if I use a vintage tablecloth—white dinnerware with vintage salad or bread and butter plates. Mixing old and new can keep a modern look and feel but add a layer of nostalgia or fun.

Bedroom

In our bedroom, I have a more modern bed frame with antique items like a night table, vintage crystal dish, and brass sconces for an eclectic look. The sconces have a more modern design with an antique finish. I think the mix of styles makes it more interesting than using new, all modern pieces.

Dining Room

In the dining room we have a vintage dining table that Brent made over 30 years ago. We use more modern, clean-lined chairs like these from DWR. They are similar to the Carter chair from Serena & Lily. They blend well with modern furniture and antique furniture. We just added this pendant, but another way to add vintage would be to use a vintage chandelier.

Living Space

Vintage textiles and throw pillows made from vintage fabric sourced at flea markets in France are mixed with new elements in our living room and attic family room. Vintage fabrics soften modern furniture like our black leather sectional in the attic.

The best places to source vintage

I love to visit charity shops and thrift shops in my town or when I am traveling. Charity shops are often open only a few days a week, so always be sure to verify business hours before heading out! My favorite local charity shop is The Carousel Thrift Shop in Southport, CT.

We travel to France at least three times a year to source vintage items for our online shop, SHOP MOST LOVELY THINGS. Our next buying trip is in May/June 2025. We look for small antique pieces like plates, ashtrays, glassware, art, flatware, linens, copper pots, crocks, and working glasses. These are all great examples of the kind of items we look for. These small items add vintage charm to any style.

At the end of the day, we are seeking a balance of mixing old with new for a unique style that suits you…the person that lives with it every day. Vintage home decor is mostly personal, but it tells a story so when someone walks in, they get a feeling about who lives in this space. 

Here are a few (10) of my favorite ways to use vintage:

1. Use vintage in small doses with old & repurposed bottles

You may only want to use a few beautiful vintage items if you prefer a more modern aesthetic. Consider using an old bottle as a vase or a larger bottle to serve water at the dinner table.

One of my favorite vintage treasures is finding interesting bottles at flea markets or while traveling. I have an Orangina bottle from the Louvre on our first trip to Paris in the late 1980s, so it is now vintage. I use it with foraged flowers and clippings all year long.

Wine bottles with labels removed are ideal for serving sparkling and still water at the table. These bottles have the name Provence embossed on the bottle. These are not vintage yet! 

My family knows me so well that even if I’m not with them, they may bring a bottle back from their travels, knowing I’ll put it to good use.

2. Vintage Crates

A crate is the perfect piece that is practical and easy to find at flea markets. They can be used in multiple ways and are quite useful.

• Planter box – Line a box with a bit of heavy plastic from a Ziploc bag and add a few plants to display on the kitchen counter.
• On the wall for display and functional storage—We have four crates between our kitchen and dining area. They hold cookbooks, small bowls, a few spices, and jars of ingredients. We added a shelf to one of the crates, making it function better.
• On a shelf with school or office supplies, add cans or jars, sort your pencils, markers, and supplies, and keep them in a crate that can move from the shelf to the table or wherever you are working.

3. Vintage Plates

I love to look for small vintage lunch-size plates that can be used for many things.

• A great way to use vintage plates is as saucers under clay pots. Mix it up! Instead of using the saucers that may come with planters, use an old plate. You can use the matching saucer for a candle on a coffee table.
• Collect vintage plates and use them with your other dishes. Stack a smaller plate on top of a dinner plate.
• Hang them on the wall. This seems to be popular again, or maybe it never stopped being popular.
• For Easter, serve cookies on a vintage plate and maybe even add a glass dome, as we did above. Read more in this post.
• If a plate is chipped, it’s okay. It doesn’t have to be used for food.
• Or, consider repairing the item using the Kintsugi method.

4. Vintage Art

Vintage art is available on Etsy, eBay, flea markets, and tag sales. I love adding a vintage painting with a modern block print on paper or some downloadable art. We have a few vintage paintings; smaller sizes work well on a gallery wall.

I recently switched things up on our gallery wall behind our banquette. That’s what I love about a vintage find; I can always find a spot. It may mean moving things around, but that’s okay with me. Nothing ever stays the same in our home.

5. The Odd Chair

Nothing is more charming to me than a big table with different chairs around it at the holidays. I love the mix of a vintage odd chair with all the other chairs.

An odd chair is perfect at a desk, in a bedroom, or anywhere in your house. I found a vintage Thonet bentwood chair at an annual tag sale in New Canaan for $2. It still has the original metal tag on the bottom. It needed to be re-caned, but that’s a small price for a beautiful vintage chair.

6. Vintage Candlesticks

A pair of candlesticks is easy to find. Use them as a pair with a few other items on a table, or use several down a table with the same or different-colored candles. In the photo below, I used several pairs of vintage candlesticks and whatever candles I had on hand.

7. Vintage Ashtrays

A few years ago, I saw a stack of Bemelman’s Bar ashtrays that I probably could have bought for a few dollars. But why? What would I do with several vintage ashtrays from Bemelman’s Bar? Use them as a catchall, of course!

Ashtrays are great pieces for catchalls and are usually easy to find. Heavy crystal ashtrays at Goodwill are not uncommon. Most need a good scrub, but if you can get past that, you could have a crystal catchall for less than $2! I’ve also noticed that people are using them to burn incense. 

8. Vintage Rugs

Mary Ann has shared her sources for finding vintage rugs in this post. They can add so much to a space. Even a small vintage rug or two that coordinate can give a space a sense of that collected-over-time feel like this in the home of interior designer Diane Karmen.

9. Vintage Glassware

I love to mix vintage glassware with my Apilco white porcelain and maybe some Picardie tumblers. Mixing glassware is the simplest way to add vintage decor to your home.

10. The French Working Glass

One of my favorite things to look for when I’m at flea markets are French working glasses. They are often only a few dollars, and each is slightly different. They are made of pressed glass, which makes them very durable. Most of the glasses I’ve purchased do not have a single chip. They can be used for everything from pencils and office supplies to silverware or other kitchen utensils.

Here are some of my favorite social media accounts on Instagram that love to work in a little vintage or preloved items

• @smallacornsamanda
• @caitlinflemming
• @ninageeathome

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these

• 2 of the best flea markets in France
• The five top things to see in Lyon, France
• Where to stay in Paris