Combine vintage or legacy furniture with modern furniture

There is no universal formula for integrating vintage or legacy furniture into a space. It does not exist, since each house is a world, each person the same and each piece of furniture the same.

What there are are several resources to make these pieces of furniture integrate perfectly into the space. Some of them will work for some people and furniture, and some will work for others.

So, let's see them, and you choose the one that best suits you, your furniture and your home.

You can see the video below, or if you don't want to see the video, below you have the text with the photos. we start

create contrast

If you have a lot of dark and heavy antique furniture together, that may be the problem.

When we talk about a piece, it is easy to put it together and make it integrate, but if we talk about a large set of pieces, it is very likely that the entire space feels old and dark.

To lighten this feeling, one of the easiest and most effective resources we have at our disposal is to combine these old pieces with more contemporary elements.

In this way that piece of furniture will acquire a more current and more modern patina.

Let's look at an example

Design and photography: Jessica Brigham | Instagram @imjessicabrigham

In this example, a beautiful vintage sideboard with turned legs and a multitude of bas-reliefs has been integrated with a modern wallpaper in green and pink tones and two precious lamps creating a symmetrical effect, on a white wooden frieze.

The furniture does not seem heavy, right? The whole set looks light, and that is precisely because the heaviness of the piece of furniture has been removed by combining it with more modern elements and in finishes that are also modern, such as the color of the wallpaper or the gloss white of the Pantone chair that we saw above, creating a set most beautiful and elegant.

By the way, if you want to make your house look more beautiful and elegant, in this article you can see effective resources to achieve it.

Having said that and continuing with this resource of generating contrast to integrate an old piece of furniture, try adding a contemporary element that contrasts both in design and in finishes with the furniture you have and you will see how you make it feel less heavy and more integrated.

Let's look at another resource for integrating vintage or inherited furniture into a modern home.

Relocate the furniture

If space allows it, you can consider the option of relocating some of the furniture.

As we saw right now, many old pieces of furniture together create a heavy and old atmosphere, so separating them and relocating them in another area of ​​the house can be a solution.

Although they are living room furniture, they do not have to be in the living room and perhaps by changing its location you will be able to make sense of it and make it fit.

Really, take a good look at your space and seriously consider this option because you can really achieve that your furniture integrates perfectly.

Let's look at two examples:

In this case, the inherited furniture was placed at the entrance of the living room, almost like a hall furniture, creating a beautiful and very attractive corner.

In this other case, an old console, heavy and with worn wood, was used as a desk in another area of ​​the house, and the furniture was given meaning and use, creating a most beautiful corner.

That is why I advise you to check your space well and do not hesitate to change it and try to see how it looks.

With help it doesn't take long to try it out and see with your own eyes how that piece of furniture looks in a new location.

Let's continue with another resource for mixing old or inherited furniture and new furniture.

Give it a different use

That old and inherited piece of furniture that you don't know what to do with, can serve a much more practical purpose than you imagine.

For example, with a little work, it can become a beautiful bathroom cabinet that presides over your entire bathroom with great elegance and create a bathroom with personality.

By the way, here in this video you can see how to decorate and get the most out of a small bathroom.

Design and project NestingGypsy

You can also use it as an island, bar or auxiliary furniture for the kitchen, if it fits in the kitchen. It is a most original outlet and you will continue to enjoy that piece of furniture you are so fond of.

Let's see more:

Redecorate the furniture

Design and photography MyScandinavianHome | Instagram @myscandinavianhome

Of course, you have at your disposal the option of renovating that furniture to give it a more current look and integrate it into the decoration.

With paint you can transform any piece of furniture into a more up-to-date and modern state that fits the style of your home and your tastes.

Not only with paint, you can also change it with vinyl and changing its handles for new ones.

It is also a job that you can do with your own hands and with a little patience.

This is without a doubt the most effective way to integrate an antique or legacy piece of furniture into a contemporary home.

Although it is true that the original aesthetics of the furniture is lost.

So here you have to assess if that is viable or not in your case and in your furniture.

But if it is and you don't mind, in a week you can have a completely new piece of furniture that is perfectly integrated into the decoration of your home.

Give harmony to the furniture

Before, we saw how, by creating contrast, a piece of furniture with these characteristics could be integrated into a contemporary home, but the opposite can also be done, giving it harmony.

It is true that I only recommend this option if it is to integrate a piece of furniture or two, since if there are more pieces of furniture you are going to make your whole house look old too.

Let's look at these two examples:

This beautiful desk has been combined with an old wooden chair and an old locker cabinet, and as you can see, the result is perfect. Everything has a lot of harmony.

And in this other example, a beautiful mid-century sideboard has been combined with an equally antique, antique mirror with a gilt frame and elaborate designs, and the result is beautiful.

But as I was saying, this option is only for one or two pieces, since if you put a decoration that matches all the antique furniture, the whole aesthetic of your house will change towards an older state as well.

But if you only have one legacy part, this may be your solution.

Let's keep going.

Monitor the visual weight of furniture

Sometimes, a piece of furniture with these characteristics that we are seeing does not look pretty, not because of itself but because of what surrounds it.

If the scale and proportion of what is next to it is not adequate, it is likely that this piece of furniture clashes.

Look at these two examples that we see it more clearly.

When the antique piece of furniture is very heavy, such as this beautiful Chesterfield-type sofa in antique leather, which is a heavy bundle with great visual weight, it needs light and simple pieces by its side, such as a simple stool with some plants. In this way harmony is created. If there was an equally heavy and bulky piece of furniture next to it, everything would look overloaded.

hymnsandverses Photography | Instagram @hymnsandverses

On the contrary, if your antique or legacy furniture has thin legs or is light-cut furniture, such as this black console that we see above these lines, it will look better when its surroundings have more visual weight and more “mass”. » since it balances the whole and the space will not look uncomfortable.

So simply, look at what is next to your furniture and depending on its size, volume or visual weight, consider the option of changing it if the space allows it.

Sometimes, with this simple gesture, it is very possible to make that piece that you don't quite see fit perfectly. Sometimes it is not the piece itself, but what surrounds it.

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