10 Ways to Add Vintage Decor to Your Interior Style

Styling your interior with vintage decor adds a sense of character, story, and history to your home, but you don’t have to go all-out on antiques to get the look. The key is to blend flea market finds, salvaged decor, and antique furnishings with your existing design to curate a personalized mix of old and new. There are plenty of ways to seamlessly add vintage decor to your home, regardless of your interior style, so get ready to go on a thrift crawl to find timeless treasures for your space.

Layer Modern and Vintage Decor

Tuck vintage decor amongst modern furniture for a unique, layered look. For furnishings you’ll use most often, such as a sofa or accent chairs, it’s typically best to invest in new items to ensure they’ll hold up well with regular use. Supplement new pieces with antiques and thrift store finds, like the small side table, coffee table, and well-worn chest in this living space. The vintage decor continues with a large framed poster that coordinates with the interior color scheme, functioning as retro wall decor. The old and new elements are tied together with an antique patterned rug topped with faux cowhide for added texture and interest.

Mismatch, But Make It Cohesive

Vintage decor, whether furniture or accessories, creates a casual, comfortable ambiance—and the elements don’t need to match exactly. Choose items with similar styles or color schemes, then use the concept of symmetry to create a cohesive look. In this bedroom, two mismatched wood dressers with a similar finish serve as nightstands on either side of a four-poster bed. Small antique rugs add a splash of color on each side of the room, while similarly-sized vintage nature motif artwork is hung above the dressers in a mirror-image orientation.

Look for Room-Themed Vintage Decor

While some decorations work in any room, there’s also old and new decor designed specifically for kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and more. This farmhouse-style kitchen successfully implements vintage kitchen-themed decor through an antique metal sign, old-fashioned dishware, and window treatments sewn from old grain sacks. The vintage decor adds a time-worn look to the contemporary counters and backsplash and reflects the rustic style of the distressed cabinets and shelves fashioned from salvaged wood.

Incorporate Vintage Textiles

Old textiles are a great way to add vintage decor—and an abundance of dimensional texture—to any interior space. Here, retro grain sacks and tea towels make perfect pillowcases that complement the antique outdoor sign and rustic wood bench. Other ways to outfit a space with vintage textiles include using antique quilts as beautiful wall hangings, framing vintage scarves for instant artwork, or using thrifted curtains or blankets instead of contemporary fabric for a covered headboard with a time-hewn feel. Thinking outside the box and using vintage textiles in unconventional ways allows you to incorporate those quirky retro items you love without dating your home.

Brighten Neutral Spaces with Colorful Vintage Decor

White or neutral-colored walls are an ideal backdrop for statement vintage pieces like the rustic table and mismatched seating in this dining area. Even more pronounced in the muted space is the colorful retro blanket that balances the bold red artwork and antique dough bowl filled with fresh fruit. Each vintage accessory adds an expert amount of color to the neutral room while complementing the warmth of the time-worn wood furniture for a bright and evenly composed space.

Outfit a Vintage-Inspired Space with Antique Decor

Many freshly updated interiors boast modern design inspired by vintage style, such as this sleek black-and-white bathroom. The painted white walls and glossy black beaded board look modern with clear influences from decades past, which the hexagonal tile flooring achieves as well. A claw-foot tub furthers the new-yet-old look, as does the refurbished dresser serving as a vintage-style cache for extra towels, bath products, and other necessities. The reimagined retro elements are paired with actual vintage decor including antique wall art and rustic wood shelves, which add dimension and warmth to the stark space.

Bring Vintage Decor Outdoors

Vintage decor isn’t limited to interior design. Add antiques outdoors to showcase your style on a porch or patio. Here, vintage jars and vases provide a beautiful way to display fresh-cut blooms and stems from the farmers market. The antique containers are layered on a rustic tiered stool and vintage drop-leaf table, and the height variance encourages the eye to scan the space from the ground up the wall. Freshly painted antique chairs finish the look and showcase the effectiveness of a limited color palette for a cohesive vignette.

Start with a Shelf or Mantel

If you’re dipping your toes into decorating with antiques and some of these ideas for incorporating vintage decor in your home feel a little overwhelming, scale back and start small. The best way to experiment with vintage decor is to outfit a shelf, table, or mantel with retro pieces. Here, a fireplace mantel is layered with vintage framed artwork for a pop of antique flair in the cozy space. Other ways to achieve a vintage look on a more approachable scale include adding thrifted vases to a coffee table or outfitting a bookshelf with small decorative items like a vintage bust, sculptural item, and stack of old books.

Lead with Antique Wall Art

Another beginner-friendly way to implement vintage decor in your home is to hang an assortment of antique wall art. This bathroom is overwhelmingly modern, save for the gilded antique mirror and small framed artwork mounted above the toilet. Because they’re a similar color palette and patina as the vanity, countertop, and wall paint, the vintage pieces are a seamless fit for the room’s design. A retro silver sink faucet subtly ties in the wall art for an understated, flawlessly executed space.

Mix Decor Styles

In addition to mixing old and new pieces, embrace mixing several decor styles. Part of the art of vintage decor is its eclectic look, and the uniquely cohesive yet mismatched appearance is furthered when you mix vintage decor from different interior principles. This living room employs midcentury-modern accent chairs, a traditional Chesterfield couch, a French country-style wardrobe topped with gilt-framed art, a modern abstract painting, and more. The combination of styles is intentional, multi-faceted, and well-balanced—not despite the hodgepodge of interior styles, but because of it.