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When it comes to decorating with antiques, look no further than the experts. Here are the most beautiful ideas I’ve spotted recently at vendor booths in antique markets.
I recently had the chance to visit St. Jacobs Antiques Market in Waterloo, Ontario again, and I came back with so much inspiration for decorating with antiques. Antique vendors just seem to know all the tricks when it comes to styling and arranging vintage items and collectibles in an eye-catching way, and the booths at this antique shop are always just full of decorating inspiration, as well as beautiful home furnishings, rugs, upholstery, framed paintings, and other vintage items to spruce up your home. I snapped a few quick photos so I could share some of my favorite concepts that could easily translate into home decor. Hopefully you’ll find a few ideas in today’s post that might work beautifully in your own home. I know there are so many home decoration tricks here that I can’t wait to try somewhere in our house.
Decorating with Antiques: Cutting Board/Bread Board Wall
This booth showed what a stunning focal point can be created by hanging a collection of antique wooden boards together on an accent wall. This easy-to-execute kitchen decorating idea is made even better by the dull grey-green paint color and simple board and batten wall treatment on the surface behind the boards. I love the hints of copper added here and there to bring even more warmth to this vignette.
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Add Cozy Texture With an Antique Wicker Screen
This eclectic booth featured a large antique woven screen in one corner and it just added so much texture and coziness to the space. This could work beautifully to ground a seating area in a larger room along with an area rug, side tables, and houseplants, or could help with room design when placed in the middle of a space as a divider. I don’t see these often at antique malls, but if I ever do, that’s one find I’ll be sure to not leave behind.
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Use Empty Ornate Frames as Wall Accents
This was such a clever use of beautiful old gilt frames. You can often find these in unusual sizes and it can be difficult to find the perfect painting or print to fit inside these picture frames. This alternative way of displaying them creates an amazing wall decor moment and highlights their beauty as art objects on their own. This would be beautiful in a cottage, in a very modern home, or with many other decorating styles.
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Display Stems in a Vintage Basket
This eye-catching and inviting display of stems is a beautiful addition to this booth merchandise table filled with so many beautiful shapes and textures, but it would be equally as beautiful on a dining table or an entryway console tabletop. Any tall vintage basket will help you get the look, such as this harvest basket, or a traditional wicker basket with a handle. Fill your baskets with stems of artificial flowers, greenery, or dried florals.
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A Small Collection of White Ironstone Pitchers Makes a Striking Statement
A collection of ironstone pitchers is always an elegant antique statement, whether on a shelf, a countertop, a side table, or a beautiful mantel like this one in place of the typical candles and mantel clock. I love to see these all lined up in various shapes and sizes.
Use Vintage Ladders and Shutters for Hanging
I love this idea for using old ladders and shutters in a large, airy space. They can help define an open area and they even provide more storage by creating organizer opportunities for hanging items both above and on a wall. Simply add metal hooks and hang whatever you need to. I would love to see these used in a greenhouse or potting shed to hang gardening tools, gathering baskets, and extra buckets, or decked with wreaths for holiday decorating.
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Collect Antique Mixing Bowls for Shelf Decor
I love a stack of vintage white mixing bowls (mine are milk glass), but what about a whole hutch of mixing bowls? This collection is both decorative and useful and would make a beautiful grouping for kitchen open shelving, or to fill the shelves of an antique hutch in a kitchen or dining room, or even on a bookshelf with cookbooks.
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Antique Dishware in White and Cream
Here’s a similar idea for your home, but instead of using almost exclusively mixing bowls, this decorating idea uses a stylish mix of different types of dishware in whites and creams. The combination includes elegant soup tureens, molds, plates, and humble mixing bowls as well.
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.