Pro Tips for Incorporating Antiques Into Any Space

Think of these vintage vignettes as timeless inspiration for your home. From handed-down heirlooms to fantastic flea market finds, we’ll show you how to introduce historic pieces to your rooms (and live happily ever after).

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July 28, 2022

By: Lauren Oster, Jennifer O'Neil, and Kitty O'Neil

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Create Rooms With a Sense of History

Integrating furniture, fabric and accessories from a variety of eras and sources in a single room is a bit like successful undercover time-traveling: You’ve got to figure out how to blend. In some spaces that means initiating conversations between patterns and colors; in others it’s all about balancing silhouettes. Above all, confidence is key. Ready to let these successful adventures in design history inspire you to make bold forays of your own? Allons-y!

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From: Casagrande Studio

Vary Textures and Finishes

Louisiana-based designer Lance Thomas of Thomas Guy Interiors integrated a handsome scrolled bench in this serene bedroom by mixing and matching that bench with a white, upholstered four-poster bed, dark hardwood flooring and a gloriously nubby sisal area rug. Matchy-matchy bedroom sets have had their day in the sun (or the moonlight, as it were); to make a bedroom feel dynamic, reach for a variety of tones and treatments.

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Try a Textural Transformation

Lance Thomas recently returned from a trip to France to source antiques for his design projects and noticed a distinct trend in how those pieces are being refurbished; he found that “upholstered furniture was getting a textural upgrade with bold velvets and nubby bouclé re-upholstery, giving the old a new lease on life.” He performs a similar upgrade in this living room, where a pair of Chesterfield sofas steal the show in bubblegum pink (and recast the classic Aubusson rug beneath them).

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Carry a Color Story Through the Room

If you’ve fallen in love with, say, a piece of serveware that might not find regular use in your space, take a page from designer James Farmer’s book. He used gorgeous majolica oyster plates to create a floor-to-ceiling display that echoes in a garden stool, a pair of table lamps and the basketweave fabric he chose for the drapes; those once special-occasion pieces are now integral parts of the space’s design.

From: James Farmer

Update With Paint

The pair of two-tiered nightstands in this guest bedroom entered the picture as ho-hum Craigslist finds with major potential. Transformed with a coat of mod olive-green paint (Sherwin-Williams’s Courtyard) and a glossy finish, they contrast beautifully with the coral and white abstract bedspread. Another midcentury find — the graphic ‘60s canvas designer Allison Crawford found through a local art dealer — echoes the room’s freeform (and brand-new) pendant.

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Combine Formal and Casual Finds

Replete with intricate Chinoiserie, framed Audubon prints and a spectacular transferware collection, this Sea Island, Georgia, vacation home could tip over into fussiness. Because those precious pieces are interspersed with green glass fishing floats, shells and a take-me-as-I-am, jewel-bright mounted mahi mahi, however, this space simply oozes character. The lesson here: As you decorate, think like an antiques dealer and a beachcomber. Anything can (and should) be considered a treasure.

See More Photos: Coastal + Classic Style at This Stunning Sea Island Home

From: James Farmer

Accessorize With Modern Pillows

Consider how beautifully context and a trio of well-chosen, boldly patterned accent pillows make this delicate French settee feel like an outside-of-the-box accent rather than an out-of-the-attic pick. The abstract wall art acknowledges the settee’s ballet-pink fabric, then echoes it in a fresh context, while the painterly pillow fabrics use that pink as the background of a dynamic new composition.

From: HGTV Magazine

Integrate With Casual Accessories

With inlaid wood drawers, intricate hardware and an ostentatious marble top, this dresser could easily skew fussy. Houston designer Mary Patton softened its traditional impact by styling it with a simple burst of hydrangea and a don’t-overthink-things trio of books, then crowned the arrangement with graphic abstract art in a decidedly modern frame. “The goal for a well-designed home is to have that sense of interest,” she says. “Finding a unique aesthetic is an art form, and antiques can do just that.”

Frame Ornate Antiques With Crisp White

Mary Patton contrasted this century-old dining table’s traditional turned legs and graceful oval shape with Windsor chairs that combine crisp white paint with stained wood; their look gives the room a more eclectic, contemporary feel that the midcentury-inspired pendant deepens. White-on-white molding and walls convey a sense of airiness — and let the eye travel right to that spectacular dining vignette.

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Or, Pair Antiques With Bold Brights

This ornate (and landmarked) Victorian dining room illustrates how well an unabashedly contemporary statement piece — in this case, the statuesque modern dining table and lipstick-fuchsia chairs surrounding it — can change the character of historic pieces like the lavish gold chandelier and manteltop mirror, hand-carved molding and stately buffet. The vivid seating adds a playful note, and the new-but-vintage-feeling wallpaper transitions beautifully to the dramatic teal ceiling.

See More Photos: Landmark Victorian With Intricate Antiques and Modern Color

From: Loczi Design

Choose Just One Showstopping Antique

“I like to achieve a blend of both new and older that hits the right balance for each client,” says Mel Bean of Mel Bean Interiors. “In some of our projects, that means most modern items with a single antique piece, such as a massive refectory table for character.” This room-spanning piece both layers her design and feels singular, thanks to the contemporary vibe of the rest of the space.

And, Keep Other Pieces Simple

Give eclectic pieces room to express themselves by editing down the rest of your room, as Tulsa-based designer Mel Bean did here to maximize the impact of a traditional side table. “Antiques from various timelines and locations all over the world can come together with a few timeless upholstered items and modern accessories for a more collected aesthetic,” she explains.

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Get Creative With Fabric

Antique aficionados aren’t often precious about reupholstering older pieces; many fabrics are difficult to preserve, and pieces like the fabulous vintage bench beneath the window couldn’t be simpler to transform with durable new material (in this case, a zebra-print cowhide). Its large-scale new pattern integrates beautifully with bold, exotic prints like the Suzani coverlet and ikat accent pillows in this glamorous bedroom.

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And, Creatively Combine Dining Chairs

If you feel like dabbling in out-and-out maximalism, draw inspiration from this more-is-more dining room and mix-and-match your table and chairs. The simple, contemporary dining table here serves as the jumping-off point for an exuberant array of midcentury chairs with cane backs and patterned upholstered seats combined with bone-inlay pieces at the arrangement’s head and foot; that black-and-white embellishment repeats in the graphic area rug, then swoops into an Art-Deco-inspired wallpaper print.

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From: Kate Maloney Interior Design

Lean Into Contrast

Consider this stunning space proof positive that seemingly irreconcilable aesthetics can join forces with marvelous results. Designer Nicole Fisher of BNR Interiors added a vivid undercurrent to this sleek, minimalistic living room with a turn-of-the-century Persian Heriz rug. “Northwest Persian rugs have bold tribal designs and geometric lines that play well with contemporary furnishings,” explains antique rug expert, Joanna Mahserdjian, of Hudson, New York’s Upstate Rug Supply. “To pair a very traditional rug, like a floral Persian Sarouk, can be an interesting contrast to modern lines.”

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Or, Strike Visual Balance

Seattle designer Jessica Nelson of Jessica Nelson Design created harmony in this handsome room by balancing a lacquered 1950s bar cabinet with a dark-stained dining table and a large-scale painting with bold tones; that repetition of strong rectangular shapes feels rhythmic and intentional (and has the handy effect of integrating a very useful antique find). “This is a total space-saver that is functional for our client,” Jessica says. “[He’s] able to store all his fun barware here, and it’s really accessible for serving for dinner parties; it’s also located close to the home’s outdoor entertaining area.” Win-win-win.

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Repurpose a Desk in the Foyer

A tawny secretary desk like this one would have seen use in a home office a century ago; today, its charming cubbies and drop-down front are more functional in an unexpected vignette at the foot of the stairs. Move over, console tables. (Bonus points for the acrylic-legged fluffy stool swapped in for a chair.)

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And, Assign Quirky Case Goods New Roles

This atmospheric home office sticks the landing between functional and fanciful with a one-of-a-kind antique card catalog repurposed as a console table. The quartet of midcentury-style hairpin legs are key to this transition. Their whisper-thin silhouettes disappear against the room’s bold green-gray wall and make the piece feel light, and their strong character lends the vignette an eclectic feel that makes space for more traditional pieces like the landscape painting.

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From: Judith Balis

Embrace Patina and Distress

The gloriously weathered console table at the center of this sleek midcentury space works because of the character its nicks and discolorations have developed, not in spite of them; “restoration” efforts on it and the spectacular horse figure beside it would be travesties. Treat truly timeworn objects like these as artifacts rather than fixer-uppers, and luxuriate in the contrast between them and more manicured surfaces.

See More Photos: Pattern + Texture: Ornate Rugs in Midcentury Home

From: Erin Williamson

Go Wild With White

Here’s a nifty trick that makes an antique glass-fronted hutch feel fresh and creates a bit of visual separation between functional spaces in this open-plan home. Because this antique hutch and the contemporary dining set placed before it are the only stained pieces in an otherwise-monochromatic space, the area they occupy feels intimate (and they themselves look marvelously crisp). Use sharp contrast like this to turn a piece that would disappear in a gloomy corner into a star.

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From: Heather Hilliard

Frame Warm Wood With Cool Gray

Set against the misty, neutral paint that grounds this elegant living room, both the cherry-toned midcentury credenza and the pair of sepia-toned photographs framed above it look absolutely smashing. Use similar gray and taupe tones as a neutral backdrop that will contrast subtly but effectively with woods like teak and walnut.

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Unite Mixed Woods With Color

There are at least four different woods and stains in the array of furnishings James Farmer pulled together in this breakfast room — and that’s just lovely, thanks to the flashes of deep green he embeds like jewels in the room’s table arrangement, window treatment, wall display and upholstery. To achieve this look, don’t worry too much about the time periods and styles you’ll be combining; instead, think about harmonious proportions, then trust your accents to do the work of pulling the room together.

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From: James Farmer

Tie Warm Metals Together With Dark Paint

Vintage frames, a pair of floral sconces, a delicate drum shade and tabletop accessories cohere as a single display in this space because of the deep, dramatic tone grounding the wall behind them. If you’ve got a magpie’s eye for gleaming treasures, think like a jeweler and present them against a velvety hue like this one.

See More Photos: Dark + Dramatic Colors for Any Room

From: Casagrande Studio

Aim for Too Much of a Good Thing

Create a showstopping feature by digging into a quirky collection that's never gotten its due. To make the most of your heretofore-unflaunted array of, say straw hats, group them together and hang them in full display. Why should generic decor-store tchotchkes have all the fun?

From: HGTV Magazine

Pair Mahogany With Casual Pieces

Alongside other furniture with a traditional, red-toned stain, this 1940s mahogany dresser would feel stuffy rather than classic. Warm tones in contemporary pieces like this pixelated area rug, bright blooms and a lacquered tray, by contrast, put a new spin on that potentially-dated hue. The cool lime tone in the graphic zigzag wallpaper, in turn, balances the room’s palette.

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From: HGTV Magazine

Reimagine Curios' Functions

When you stumble upon a new-to-you piece that you must possess but strugggle to deploy, it's time to get creative. Here, vintage shoe forms are given new life as an eclectic coat rack. (Hint: most objects can become eclectic coat racks if you dream big.)

From: Kathryn Ivey

Make It Work for You

While this flea market chair is definitely a stunner, wicker isn't always the most comfortable material for regular lounging. To justify a sizable purchase, try adding custom cushions to really make the spot a warm and comfy addition to the home.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Try Something New

The cardinal rule of secondhand shopping: Never get too hung up on an item's original purpose. For example, this beautiful shelf is now a miniature side table that frees up floor space and houses just the essentials.

From: HGTV Magazine

Get It Together

If you shop for vintage and antique pieces with an exact piece in mind, you'll likely leave disappointed. However, if you can be flexible and keep your mind open, you may come away with the perfect pairing. This petite table is actually made of two flea market tables that were combined and painted.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Pro Tips for Incorporating Antiques Into Any Space

Related To:

Shop This Look

Create Rooms With a Sense of History

Vary Textures and Finishes

Try a Textural Transformation

Carry a Color Story Through the Room

Update With Paint

Combine Formal and Casual Finds

Accessorize With Modern Pillows

Integrate With Casual Accessories

Frame Ornate Antiques With Crisp White

Or, Pair Antiques With Bold Brights

Choose Just One Showstopping Antique

And, Keep Other Pieces Simple

Get Creative With Fabric

And, Creatively Combine Dining Chairs

Lean Into Contrast

Or, Strike Visual Balance

Repurpose a Desk in the Foyer

And, Assign Quirky Case Goods New Roles

Embrace Patina and Distress

Go Wild With White

Frame Warm Wood With Cool Gray

Unite Mixed Woods With Color

Tie Warm Metals Together With Dark Paint

Aim for Too Much of a Good Thing

Pair Mahogany With Casual Pieces

Reimagine Curios' Functions

Make It Work for You

Try Something New

Get It Together

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