Avoid these mistakes!
If you’re reading this, there’s a chance you’re here because you love the idea of an interior design style that combines antique attributes with current elements – which of course creates the highly popular “modern vintage” aesthetic. However, you may feel like you’re struggling to balance the “modern” with the “vintage” within your own home. Maybe you’re getting there, but there’s still something that’s just off.
There are two common mistakes that are made when it comes to re-creating this style on your own. In this blog post, I’ll be talking about those mistakes, and how to fix it using examples of my own living room, as well as other spaces I’m inspired by.
So let’s jump right in!
Here’s the key you may be missing in your home: balance.
Unless you like living in a mildly chaotic space, balance is needed in all aspects of design – from the colour of your walls, floors, carpets, and furniture, to the layout of your space for circulation; you’ll have to find the harmony that makes every element work individually and together as a whole at the same time.
Combining modern and vintage elements within a space is just like that: each piece has to work well on its own AND altogether. And if you live in a small space, you may have to also figure our how to design a multifunctional space, such as my living/dining room combination. Check out my blog post on small space multifunctional design if you’re feeling stuck in this type of situation as well!
So here’s the first big mistake I see:
Mistake #1: The quantity of one element is overpowering the other (you have too much of one style!)
Simply put, if you have predominantly all antique furniture & décor, with very minimal splashes of modernism here and there, then you’ll just feel like you’re at your grandmother’s house.
If you have nothing but modern elements with one antique vase and an old book in the corner, then you’ll feel like you’re living in an Ikea showroom.
So how do you resolve this?
My personal rule is simple: if my table or shelf is a modern piece, I’m putting vintage décor or accents on it only. If it’s a vintage piece, I’m complimenting it with modern attributes only. Take a look at my shelves:
My husband built the hexagonal shelves, and we’ve added old bottles we’ve found on our property, along with antique artifacts we’ve found at garage sales.
Meanwhile the white Ikea corner shelf follows the same idea: old items only, featuring more beautiful old bottles we’ve found on the property, as well as a beautiful antique clock made in the U.S.S.R that we found in our house when we first bought it (The green flashlight is the only exception since it’s for emergencies – more on emergency preparedness in my blog post on buying property).
Speaking of balance, you’ll find that the items on the hexagonal shelf carry warmer, earthier tones that match the colour of the wood, while the items on the white shelf carry a cooler, gray palette that allows it fit in well with the modern unit.
The key takeaway here is that you’ll notice there isn’t a single modern decoration on these shelves: antiques only.
Meanwhile my armchairs and dining table follow that same idea as well:
The wingback, plaid armchairs are the vintage focal point. So I’ll balance that out with a modern coffee table my husband built, along with a minimalist 70s era yellow lamp. You’ll notice that other than the tissue box, the little vase is a vintage piece on the modern coffee table, and the DIY coasters I made carry a classic aesthetic as well.
Meanwhile, the very modern dining table is paired with my absolutely favourite DIY lamp made by my husband using a vintage teapot we found in our home, and a key holder that we made from an awesome antique sign we found in our barn (But I’ll be honest, this space is still feeling a little empty, and I’m still working on what add to it to complete this area).
Mistake #2: You have the right balance of modern to vintage elements, but they aren’t arranged correctly.
So if you have the perfect combination of vintage to modern elements in your home, you simply just need to rearrange what goes where, similarly to what I mentioned above: vintage armchairs with modern coffee table, modern shelving with vintage items displayed, etc.
You don’t want all your modern features to be bunched together in one area, and all your vintage elements in an other. This is when you get mixing and matching. Now would be a good time to consider the rule I mentioned with the shelves earlier: if my table or shelf is a modern piece, I’m putting vintage décor or accents on it only. If it’s a vintage piece, I’m complimenting it with modern attributes only.
Here are a few photos I want to share of other spaces, and why I like them (and in some cases, what needs a little more work):
Source: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/fromjessicashome/posts/f7ca79ef-f44c-11ed-a1d1-0242ac110004
Why I love this living room: Since the modern seating and coffee table pouf are so central and present in this space, the vintage style carpet, cabinets, lamp, and framed pictures/paintings balance out the modern elements beautifully.
Why I love this seating area: First of all, the composition and colour palette alone are to die for. But this is also a great example of using vintage paintings and prints instead of the usual antique décor (lamps, vases, old clocks etc.) to still get that perfect balance of modern to classic.
Source: https://chiquehomeliving.com/studio-mcgee-entryway/
Why I love this entryway: The modern pieces on this vintage entryway table exemplifies this style in it’s simplest form. You don’t need a crazy amount of décor to add this style to your home! The vintage painting pairs so well with the more modern prints along the stairwell as well. Beautiful balance of old and new!
Source: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/countrygirlhome/posts/99164991-3d71-11ec-a909-0242ac110003
Why I think this sitting area doesn’t quite hit the modern vintage balance: The modern armchair paired with the vintage side table look beautiful together, and the modern clock, candle and vase compliment the classic table. However, the balance of modern to vintage is off. An antique lamp would have balanced out this corner wonderfully. Or instead, switching the modern prints for vintage frames. It’s a cozy corner, nonetheless.
Key Takeaways
Balance is key! It’s not always good to have too much of one thing. Mixing and matching go hand in hand when combining old with the new. Don’t be afraid to experiment – trial and error are the best ways to learn!
I’m hoping this post gave those of you who feel a little stuck a push in the right direction. Enjoy designing your space!
No Fret Homestead 
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