It is a breath of fresh air when it comes to refreshing your home using antique and vintage pieces!

When it comes to decorating your home, you want it to feel cozy, warm, and inviting. It also is important to fill your home with items and pieces that feel true to you, your style, and your definition of home. Refreshing your home using antique and vintage pieces helps you achieve that sense of ‘home’ due to the character and charm that old pieces contain.

What Are Antique and Vintage Pieces?

According to a Google search, an antique is defined as “any collectible object that has a high value because of its considerable age, typically over 100 years old.”

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Not all antiques are or have to be expensive or high in value price wise. Finding and collecting antiques is not so much about buying super expensive pieces, but rather noticing the antiques that speak to you and bring you joy. The value doesn’t come in the price and it is just an item, but when you are looking to create a space that feels less materialistic and more personal, that’s where antique pieces find their value.

If you are a person that finds yourself drawn to higher priced antiques, that is great and there is nothing wrong with that. But, for those of you new to the antiquing world, you don’t have to pay a high dollar amount and you will be able to find pieces that speak to you within your price range.

It will take some time for you to find what types of antiques speak to you as well as taking the time to search for them.

Being used to purchasing brand new items for much of my life that were all nicely arranged on shelves, sourcing old pieces took some getting used to. Searching and sifting through so many different layers of items in so many different booths is a process!

For example, it took me about 4 months after I started going to antique stores to really find a specific style that inspired me. Then one day, a piece of milk glass caught my eye from way across the store. It was a beautiful hobnail vase that was tucked behind other pieces on a shelf. That’s what started my milk glass collection! Old pieces of home decor and furniture hold so much beauty and style of their own. You will find it… that’s the thrill of the hunt!

Now let’s switch gears and talk about the term ‘vintage’.

The term vintage is defined as “something from an earlier generation.” That is a broad definition and includes a HUGE range of decor styles. Antique and vintage items are similar in nature in that they are all older pieces. The difference is in what year each piece was made.

You will find vintage pieces in every antique store. As an example, enamelware, which was the first mass-produced kitchenware, is a vintage style that started in the 1870’s. That style has found its way into my heart. It has lead to my large collection of enamelware cups, teapots, kettles, bowls, and pitchers. Other examples include mid-century modern furniture and decor, or smaller items such as postcards and jewelry.

Antique or Vintage? Which is for you?

It really doesn’t matter if you are drawn to antiques over vintage or vice versa. Both categories contain old pieces of decor that are unique and one of a kind. Refreshing your home using antique and vintage pieces can add whimsy, texture and soul to any space in your home. It can complement modern pieces beautifully.

Many pieces have patina which adds character and warmth to the spaces in your home that feel cold or bare. Every piece of antique or vintage decor has been on a journey, much like you on a life journey.

Many pieces have scratches or dents or rust. They are the furthest thing from perfect that there is, but that’s what makes them special. Imperfections add beauty to life. Allow whatever piece that speaks to you into your home because it’s so much better than perfect.

I hope you found inspiration here today on refreshing your home using antique and vintage pieces. Let me know in the comments below what you prefer!

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