I love the space and time that we’re in when it comes to interior design. There has never been a moment like this one – a place where industrial, French, traditional, vintage, ethno-glamour, and minimalist can co-exist at auction, on fabulous web sites, and even in one home! While of course there are still firm believers in the mono-culture of specific design styles (mid-century modern anyone?) it’s an exciting time to be re-doing your space as there is so much amazing treasure out there to find!
When designing with vintage furniture, the possibilities are endless. When you strip away the stigma that comes with painting antiques and wood in general, you are left with a whole world of ways in which you can customize furniture. There are many talented dealers who refurbish the pieces they sell for a fraction of the cost of high-end “hip” pieces. When it comes to doing a big project, like a dining table, armoire or something involving re-upholstery, I always recommend taking it to someone that does this day after day. It’s easy enough to spray paint a table, but most people don’t know that if you don’t properly sand it, the paint won’t stick, or if you use a clear spray coat, you’ll end up with spot ghosting. You need polyurethane and a brush. However, you have to use the right poly for the paint you chose…It’s better to buy a bargain piece and splurge a little on good work. It will still be far less expensive then having bought something shiny and new that you don’t really love.
I am smitten with the pieces on The Second Revival. The bold colors, great distressing work and the actual shape and size of the pieces inspires me to design entire rooms around each one. The dresser above may go into a current client’s master bedroom on a space constrained wall.
I am a die-hard Craigslist fan and I spend hours online finding great pieces with charm and potential for every home I do. Not only am I saving my clients hundreds of dollars per piece, I’m helping them create a home with warmth and soul.
A quick search of Craigslist’s Antique furniture section unearthed this large antique hutch for a mere $200. If I were to purchase it, I would paper the inside back of the piece with beautiful old maps so that they showed through the glass. I would sand it down and paint it a dark charcoal gray and lightly distress the edges. I’d replace all the pulls with much more interesting ones from Anthropologie and I’d be head over heels in love for a couple hundred plus some creativity and hard work. It would be gorgeous in an eclectic traditional or modern home.
When it comes to re-designing your space, it’s important to explore every option available to you – Garage and estate sales, thrift stores, antique stores, outlets like Home Goods, and especially online. There is of course a distinct difference between the homes I design and the people/budgets I work with and those that someone like Barbara Barry works with. Many people at the higher end of the economic spectrum would never allow a piece from Craigslist in their home and the only “vintage” items they’d permit would likely be expensive collector’s pieces and/or costly antiques. To me, the net result of this thinking is a beautiful and pristine home with a loneliness about it. A kind of sterile kingdom if you will. I love beautiful things. I would die to have a Natuzzi sofa in my living room but I would pair it with a Moroccan side table, vintage art, a handcrafted throw and probably a burl wood and glass coffee table. That’s my idea of dream room and most of it is made up of “old” pieces!
It’s my hope that I can inspire people to create beautiful spaces with a story to tell. Places everyone wants to gather and play in.
Melisa
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