We’ve all been to a home that had, well, too many antiques. How do you walk that fine line between antique decor and turning your home into a museum?
Here we give you our tips and tricks to skillfully showcase your antique pieces as a curated collection rather than exhibits at the museum of natural history.
Use Color to Group Items
This is a fantastic way to invite lots of different styles of objects to feel like part of the same household. By gathering all your blue objects together into one room it looks like a purposeful design aesthetic rather than an odd collection of antiquities.
Consider painting the walls a similar color and going for a full monochrome experience. This also works well with neutrals. Maybe theme each room in your home as a different color.
Consider combining two complementary colors for added interest. Some interesting combinations to think about are peach and peacock, lilac and mustard, burnt umber and pacific blue, bubblegum and sage, wisteria and butterscotch, mulberry and chartreuse, and mauve and gold.
Pick your few favorite items of interesting colors and see if you can build a theme around them. It’s a fun experiment and is sure to set your room apart from the other homes on the block.
Focus Your Collection Into Select Areas
Museums have items everywhere across the entire building. Curate your collection in an organized way and then showcase it artfully in one area or a couple in your home.
This way the items remain special and attention-grabbing and your guests don’t become overwhelmed not knowing where to look. Special items should be given their own special places to live.
Consider creating a reading nook with an antique bookshelf and lounge chair. Maybe a guest seating area in your foyer with some interesting pieces you found abroad that are all from the same area of the world.
Find commonality in your pieces or a common function and play that up by keeping everything together. Add in some new pieces to finish the look and incorporate the antiques seamlessly into an otherwise chic and modern design.
Don’t Hide Them Away on a Shelf, Incorporate Antique Decor Into Everyday Spaces
What’s the point of bringing something you love into your home if it’s only going to be put up on a high shelf and gather dust.
Keep these special items in very accessible places so they become an anchoring point and conversation piece in the room. Gather some similar pieces or a collection and put it on the coffee table in your sitting area.
Place your curated antique serving ware and keep it set out on the formal dining table.
Choose places where the items will be seen and you’ll have a chance to talk about their story which is always interesting for these unique items.
Mix a Variety of Old and Newer Pieces to Give Interest to a Collection
Every piece in a collection doesn’t have to be an antique. If you love a certain style of artwork, a certain animal, certain religious symbology, you can mix together antique pieces and modern pieces that are unified by the theme.
You don’t want everything on your wall or table to be priceless. It also makes things look cozier and more accessible when not everything is very old. Breathe life into a collection by keeping it fresh and continuing to add on pieces as you find them.
If you have a beautiful antique upholstered piece of furniture that’s fabric could use some love, consider using modern printed fabric to perform the update. This will refresh the piece while maintaining the antique aesthetic.
Add some fun accent pillows in coordinating patterns and you have a conversation piece that was once a simple chair.
Let Tampa Bay Salvage Find You the Piece to Bring Your Whole Collection Together
Have you been searching and searching for that one unique piece that will make everything work? Tampa Bay Salvage might just have what you’re looking for.
We are dedicated to sourcing all the most incredible antique decor and unique items from all around the world. From live edge tables to statues, furniture, and more, we can bring your room to the next level.
Have some antiques you’re not sure how to work into your space? Contact us and we will be happy to advise on how to use them and let you know if we have anything else in stock that would complement your collection.
