Find Affordable Antiques: Old is the New New
My father is a builder and real estate appraiser and I grew up with Architectural Digest (AD for short) as a viable dinner conversation starter. It is always so fantastic, to flip the thick, glossy pages of AD at the kitchen table, close your eyes and imagine that you are sitting in an elegant Italian villa with rustic wood floors, stone accents, and a Panini grilling in the oven. June’s Architectural Digest emphasizes restoration of the old. The aesthetic is fashionable, yet difficult: if you are interested in taking a newer house and making it look older, it requires a lot of attention to detail, and usually very expensive, hard to come by materials. I love Architectural Digest, as I said, but I have found it more rewarding when shopping for my own furniture to look for similar old, antique aesthetics, on a much more affordable price.
Some places to look:
Ikea.com is a perfect place to start. Choose some base furnishings, like an off-white fabric sofa or stained wood day bed. Ikea is too affordable to ignore, but if you are going for a more antique aesthetic, veer away from the light fixtures, photo frames, or mirrors. Think of your house as layers: you want to start with an affordable, sturdy, replaceable (very operative word; you don’t want the kids jumping on an original Stickley couch, for example) base furnishing, and then layer on top of the furniture with more chic, interesting accents. These accents do not have to be expensive, remember. They are just supposed to give your home the aesthetic you are looking for.
Etsy.com’s vintage section is perfect to find unique accents without the unbearable pricing. Don’t be too specific with your search field: while you may not find the exact replica of the Victorian lamp your grandmother had when you were a child, you may stumble across a replica from an Audrey Hepburn film. The other thing to remember about Etsy is that these objects are one-of-a-kind and the good ones are always quickly snatched up by fellow shoppers. If you see something with a reasonable price, snatch it up. If you need a few days to consider, don’t take much longer than a week, or get in touch with the dealer to possible arrange a temporary “spoken for” agreement, so your potential object does not get snatched up in the meantime.
The antique aesthetic is all about mixing and matching. Combine the old with the new and you will have a fabulous unique home. Remember, this aesthetic can’t just be bought in one store. It takes years to develop the possessions from travels, relatives, garage sales, etc. that make your house your home.
Find at Smarter.com: Shop for antique furniture.
A lovely choice, this mirror features a floral bow motif and a gold wash finish. It is crafted of a resin/wood composite.
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