If you want to make your home stand out, there’s no better way to start than by shopping for antiques.
But before you start looking, you should think about how any antique furniture you buy will fit in your home.
Even if something looks great in a magazine or store, it might not look the same in your home. Before you buy something, you should think about how it will look with your other furniture and decorations.
That shouldn’t put you off, but to ensure you purchase something that works for you and your home, we’ve put together some tips on how to combine antique and modern furniture.
Keep your cool
Think about what you’re looking for and where it will go. This is the best way to make sure that your antiques go well with your new furniture.
If you know you want an antique lamp for your sitting room, think about the furniture you already have there. If it’s pretty full, you probably won’t be able to fit in a big piece that takes up a lot of floor space.
Before you start looking in antique shops, you might want to:
Taking pictures of your current rooms will help you see if the piece you’ve found will fit in or not.
Getting rough measurements of your main rooms will help you figure out what will fit.
Being honest, is there something you’re willing to get rid of if you find an antique replacement, or are you going to have to keep both of them?
Even so, sometimes you just have to follow your heart. If you see a piece you like but don’t know where it will go, think about whether you can move things around in the room to make room for it.
This could mean anything from moving your modern furniture around to make more space to changing the colour of the walls to match the piece. Unlike new furniture, antiques can’t be made to fit exactly, so it’s best to start out with an open mind.
Make a statement
Adding antique furniture to your home is an excellent way to make it stand out. We would choose these pieces, in particular, to make a room feel and look extra special:
Fire Places
Antique fireplaces are interesting to look at and make a room’s main focus. A fire also adds to the atmosphere and helps to keep you warm in the winter. With so many options, it shouldn’t be hard to find a fireplace that fits your home and style, whether you want something fancy from the Rococo era or something simple and made of marble from the Victorian era.
Westland is an expert on fireplaces, so going to their Willesden Green showroom can help you figure out what you might want. We can also give you advice on what would work best for you.
You also should think about fire accessories like tongs, brushes, and log baskets to add to the look.
Lighting
Antique lighting is another easy way to bring old things into your home. You don’t have to worry as much about things like if the piece will fit, and an antique light can be a beautiful addition to any home.
Again, you have a lot of choices, but antique chandeliers are always the most impressive. Whether you want a large 12-branch cut-glass light with pendants and beads or something simpler like a Gothic-style brass piece, a statement light fitting can add something special to your room.
Flooring
It’s easy to forget about floors when thinking about antiques, but they can also be a great way to make a statement.
Antique carpets can completely change the look of a room. Whether you want a small rug for your bedroom or a large one for your living room, there are pieces for every home in the world.
Less is more
Even though we love antiques more than anything, we know that when it comes to your home, less is usually more.
You don’t want your house to look like an antique shop or a jumble sale, so don’t try to cram too much in there. If you only have one antique in a room, it will stand out, but if you have five or six, they may divert focus from each other and make the room feel less “special” than it would otherwise.
Keep contrasting
Even if you have an old piece of furniture in your room, that doesn’t mean you can’t also use modern furniture. In fact, embracing and emphasising the differences between the two can produce a stunning look, and blending antique and modern furniture is more popular than ever.
Why not put a modern piece of art on top of your old sideboard? Put your new digital clock on the Georgian mantel? Or put Baroque-style chairs all around your modern dining table?
Colour and style
When you have your new antique piece, you might want to think about what else you can do to make it fit in with your modern furniture.
Think about what colours will go well with it. For example, a jet-black fireplace would look great against a light wall, while a cream-colored marble fireplace might beg for a darker grey wall.
Also, if you have an ornate, exquisite antique fireplace in your bedroom, patterned wallpaper will take away from it instead of making it stand out. It might be time to get your steamer and start stripping.
Does your floor work with or against your piece? If you’ve fallen in love with an antique rug, think whether it would be better to have wooden floors or tiles instead of carpet to really make it stand out.
Change makes life interesting.
You could perhaps think that if you start collecting antiques, you should only buy things from a certain time or place. However, your home will look better if it has pieces from many different times.
Don’t turn down an antique just because it’s not the same style as something you already own. Take a look on how you can Style The Antiques in Your Home
As we’ve said before, contrasts should be embraced!
If you have a Gothic light in your living room, why not choose an Art Nouveau light for your bedroom? Don’t let the different styles stop you from buying something if you like it and it fits in the room.
Bring things back to life
Even if something is old, you don’t have to be afraid to change it to make it fit your needs. Just make sure you know what you’re doing.
For instance, if you find a cheap armchair but the colours of the seats don’t go with your room, why not get it reupholstered? You shouldn’t be afraid of it, but you should definitely take it to a professional who understands what they’re doing so that the work doesn’t lower the value of the piece.
Outside space
If you really want to buy an antique but don’t have room for it in your house, why not choose something for your garden instead?
Outdoor antiques, like stone urns and finials for gateposts, can add a new touch to your lawn. It also gives you a chance to be a little more creative than you might be inside. These garden lions would definitely get people talking.
There are different things to think about when buying outdoor antiques. You might not have to worry about whether or not the piece goes with your wall colour, but you do need to think about the weather and whether or not your outdoor space is safe enough to leave it there when you’re not there.
Mixing antiques with modern furniture and decor can be a lot of fun, and our tips should help you feel more sure about how they can work in your space.
