Ever wondered how homes give off a classic look and feel yet somehow seamlessly fit in a contemporary landscape? That is the delicate art of blending a vintage design style with a contemporary model. A home interior design where luxury is achieved, but not at the cost of functionality. Seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? On the one hand, vintage design often adopts a maximalist approach, whereas nowadays, minimalism is in style. So, we will answer all your questions here.
Incorporating a Design Style into Your Home Interiors
While designing your home interiors to follow a particular style, a lot of aspects, from colours, furniture, finishes to lighting elements and accents, everything needs to be considered. So, to infuse the two styles, you will first need to know the essence of each.
What is Vintage Design Style?
Vintage design style refers to a style of art and architecture dating back to a period in the past. Usually, it refers to an object from a particular era that was the best and most coveted of its kind. Vintage design is often filled with warm tones, saturated colours, and intricate patterns. If you are choosing to incorporate vintage design elements into your home interiors, the first thing to do is define your period of interest. Incorporating elements from many historical eras can make your home look shabby and unkempt. However, some well-chosen vintage elements can lift the mood of your home interior, giving it a classic, luxurious aura.
What is Contemporary Design Style?
Opposite to vintage, contemporary design style prefers function over form. It embraces minimalism, sharp lines, and pastel or monochromatic shades. In the world of contemporary design, everything has a dedicated place and everything should be in that place. In a contemporary themed home interior, the space is the main highlight. They feature lots of natural light and clutter-free walls. A few accents here and there help to bring out the functionality of the space.
How to bring the two together?
With the two styles existing on opposite ends of the design spectrum, devising a cohesive marriage of the two can be quite a task. Contemporary design offers a ‘less-is-more’ approach to planning, whereas vintage showcases timelessness. The two styles are unique in their own right but seemingly difficult to pair together. However, if designed with care, these very dissimilarities can work for us. They can create a unified, composite flow of aesthetics that is both functional as well as ornate.
1. Finding the right balance
Vintage aesthetics tend to lean towards dark wood finishes and heavy furniture. Conversely, contemporary design is usually lighter in terms of tonality as well as form. Thus, finding a balance in the space becomes paramount.
For example, a dark and heavy chest of drawers will perhaps be happier against a wall as a statement piece. In addition, try to populate the area around the heavy furniture with slimmer and lighter items to avoid overcrowding. Moreover, think of the flow of bodies when you arrange your furniture. Avoid blocking key walkways with heavy items and placing lighter items in precarious locations where they are sure to get knocked over.
2. Incorporating colour stylistically
As mentioned earlier, the vintage design style consists of warmer, saturated, and darker tones, whereas the contemporary style is typically monochromatic. It centres around whites and lighter greys, incorporating black as accents. Sometimes, contemporary design also incorporates pastel shades. Thus, creating a balance of colour is of utmost importance. Overdoing a colour can make a space look kitschy, while underplaying a colour palette reflects a lack of conviction.
There are two approaches you can adopt when styling your home interiors. In the first approach, pick a minimalistic base colour and fill the room up with warmer, more saturated accent shades. The second approach is the opposite and is more tricky to pull off. Here, you make a bold choice for your base colour and use lighter shades of furniture and smoother textures to balance it out.
Read: Colour Combination Mistakes to Avoid
3. Repurpose and upcycle
Another fresh and exciting way to incorporate vintage and contemporary elements in your home interior is by reimagining vintage items with a contemporary finish.
For example, take an ornate winged chair and reupholster it in minimalistic shades. Consider giving a fresh coat of paint to a grandfather clock? The possibilities are endless; you can repaint traditional wall moulding or even turn a vintage saree into cushion covers. This approach creates a personalised atmosphere in your space, every item tells its own story, and you breathe a piece of ‘you’ into the space.
4. Layering textures, materials, and finishes
Layer your space with different textures, materials, and finishes. What this means is to fill up your place with items made with material from across the contemporary-vintage spectrum. Glass, wood, fabric, metal, etc., together, they all add depth, body, and perspective to any space. A foolproof way to do this is by incorporating different types of wood finishes into the space - dark, light, painted, or polished. Also, incorporate accent pieces made with different materials. For example, a contemporary glass table placed atop an ornate Persian rug surrounded by minimalist seating. This makes your rug a statement central piece while also creating depth within the space.
Read: How to Use Texture in Interior Design To Make Your Home Stand Out
5. Embracing repetition
Repeat colour schemes and patterns in the space. Repetition of a pattern or colour ties your whole look together and gives it a planned and well-kept impression. Of course, do not go overboard matching everything, as that can have the exact opposite effect. Rather, incorporate them in areas where they are least expected. This ensures that there is one cohesive thought running throughout your space and prevents it from looking haphazard.
6. Statement Pieces vs Accent Pieces
A general rule of proportional distribution is the 80-20 rule. Out of all your statement items, keep approximately 20% vintage and 80% contemporary. Anything more than 20% should be incorporated as subtle accents here and there. For example, a statement rug and chest of drawers of a vintage era against a minimalist colour scheme make the whole ensemble pop. Then, accents can be incorporated in the form of light fixtures, cushion covers, planters, etc.
We understand that this information can be overwhelming when planning your home interior design. That is why we are here to help. Book a consultation with Hipcouch and get some great ideas customised to your specific vision and needs.