How And Why I Mix Vintage + Modern Without It Looking Like A Junky Thrift Store (Eclectic Homes FTW)

I used to have 90% vintage in my apartments, due to budget and the extremely good flea markets in LA. And while I LOVE the idea of it, I have found that I prefer a mix of vintage/antique and contemporary/modern (and let’s face it, really good vintage furniture is actually very expensive unless you dedicate your life to the score). I think I’m scarred by a comment a celebrity once said when they walked into my apartment the year I won Design Star (when I had maybe $7k in the bank, which was a big deal for me). They said something like this: “Oh I see! You are the thrift store girl”. That somehow made me feel really self-conscious and embarrassed. Looking back I agree that without the mix of a few contemporary pieces (and with everything in a kind of beat-up vintage fashion), it did look more thrift store and that adding a few contemporary/modern pieces would elevate everything and give a needed context to the vintage. The mix of old/new undoubtedly creates an interesting style contrast and more often (and perhaps more importantly) creates a lot of function. I have found that I lean on vintage for more accessories, lighting, and art, with more modern/contemporary as my base pieces. But let’s go back in time for a bit.

The 2010 shot was what I submitted to get onto Design Star, full of mostly vintage except for an Ikea sofa and two new pillows. Everything else was from the flea markets or Craigslist (New York and LA). In 2011 I bought that blue sofa (regret selling but went to a great home) from The Good Mod in Portland (shipped down to LA) for $900. I still love everything in that photo and sure wish I had kept that coffee table and DIY framed flag.

The Sponge Bob Square Pants Years

Someone who clearly wasn’t my audience (or a fan) wrote a comment that said, “It looks like Sponge Bob Square Pants Threw Up All Over This Room” which legit cracked me up, but also likely made me self-conscious (I was 30 and still impressionable). But I see their point – it was a bit too much, just needed to be dialed back a bit and if you disagree I hear you – I did too at the time and I still really love so many things in this room. But this room was actually kind of unlivable. It looked messy ALL OF THE TIME unless it was perfectly styled. Perhaps this side of the room will help you understand – he threw up on this side MUCH MORE…

Too Much Stuff, Too Many Colors

Now to be fair I don’t think that the problem here was a lack of modern/new (the shelves and rug were both West Elm, the pouf Target). But it was too much stuff crammed together and too many colors. The problem wasn’t too many styles or too much vintage, just not cohesive. I needed to dial it back without constricting myself, stylistically (thus my philosophy below). I needed to curate it more, collate collections together instead of cramming EVERY SINGLE THING I owned into two shelves, add some breathing room, and buy things that have more of a purpose – not just any vintage accessory that I didn’t need (of course I regret selling those chairs and not keeping that pottery head).

So that is a bit of a “what not to do”/cautionary tale for us to learn from (and again I love so many things about it so if you like it you are NOT WRONG, it’s just too much for me now). So what do I do instead now? How do I let myself buy vintage with less regret and still have an eclectic home? Let’s move forward in time.

Curating The Color Palette…

The next living room we had looked like this (at the end when we sold the house). A solid mix of vintage (chair, side table, blue lamp, indigo fabric on bench, black vase, huge art) and new (sectional, coffee table, pouf, rug, and pillows). This room still really really pleases my eye because it has a cohesive color palette, and a mix of styles (in this case organic California casual with a boho/70s bent).

I have really leaned into different styles throughout the years based on current mood, trends, and mostly the architecture of the house (treading a midcentury home very different than our English Tudor, the mountain house, the OG Portland project, and our farmhouse). But no matter the style, you can always find vintage and it always feels like “you” (whatever that means, but I think my spaces always feel happy and collected). It’s probably easier to discuss over some visuals so here goes:

Two Different Philosophy/Approaches (I’m #2)

1. Design/Shop within your “style”

I was reading Chris Loves Julia’s newsletter where she said that once she defined her style “Modern Moody Traditional” it has helped her as she designs, shops, and styles with pieces that only fit into that style. I thought about that for a while but because my style is really eclectic (literally loving every style) that doesn’t really work for me so instead I do this:

1. Design Within A Color Palette

I find that as long as I stick within my palette (blues and greens, mauves/rosey pinks, ochres/mustards, wood, brass, black, white) I can make it all look good together, regardless of style. Every now and again I stray from that (Elliot’s room is definitely full of reds and pinks which I LOVE). But for the most part, I can solidly buy vintage within all of these colors and feel confident I can make it work in my home somewhere. Let me show you…

Vintage Art (In A Shared Color Palette)

While this house can handle a lot of vintage (and this incredible Thos Moser bench could have been an antique Windsor bench) I think the mix of the vintage art with the new pieces is what makes this entry and photo totally pop. The blues in the painting talk to the blues in the rug. The antique stairwell gets a dose of modern with the white pot on top. The contemporary art by Mary Ann Puls and Kirill Bergart next to my vintage ’60s abstract makes my eyes SO EXCITED. All against a more contemporary and neutral wallpaper works really really well. Of course, there could be more vintage or antiques in here (like the bench or even a more granny/cottage style wallpaper) but I feel that this is really fresh and feels like now, with so many references to the past.

Antique Art Mixed Paired Together (Shared Color Palette)

These two gold antique paintings look so good (IMHO) over this vintage chair (that is very midcentury in lines), next to a very contemporary drink table (Target, actually). The reason it all works is because of the shared color palette of gold/mustard and soft pinks/mauve.

Antique Art Collected Together

The collection of antique paintings with the more contemporary lamps and sectional is so powerful. If this were just a gallery of contemporary prints this room would not be nearly as soulful.

While I would have bought this table vintage had the proportions existed out there (with a pedestal or trestle base) I am happy that at least the sconce, painting, and hand chair are vintage to keep it going too suburban/basic. The quirk of that chair is offset with its neutral wood tone (versus painted a bright color). I also think the retro 70s vibe of the tulip stools plays so nicely off the horizontal paneling and the more traditional lines of the table. Curves + Straight lines = YES.

Vintage Chairs Made Modern With New Upholstery

I will forever pat myself on the back for the bravery of the color palette of the Fig House, on quite the shoestring budget (I lost so much money on that project, whoops). We bought so many of these chairs for $15 – $100 (I’m not joking, they were basically throwing them away at the Pasadena Goodwill). We obviously invested in the fabric and the labor to reupholster them, and I really went for it color-wise. Would I want all of this to be my living room? Probably not, it’s too much for me on a daily basis. But within this super fresh paint color and lighting scheme, this room (which is an event space so more experiential) totally still sings. And then check out all of those rugs from the Bette Midler’s estate sale!! I think one of the reasons all of these pieces work together is of course the shared bright color palette, but also we have more straight-lined pieces (the sofa and coffee table) with the more tufted/curved pieces. You don’t have to do it like that, but I personally think it’s the combination that keeps it from looking too thrift store.

Vintage In The Kitchen

While I love the idea of vintage tile, vintage lighting, and even vintage windows – none of those were happening here (mostly because of how I run my business). But desperate to bring in vintage I shopped for and bought the PERFECT vintage island (shout out to Aurora Mills) and then was gifted somehow the most amazing vintage rug. And don’t forget the vintage painting flanking the range – while you want your kitchen to be hyper-functional, you can still totally bring in antique and vintage pieces through accessories, rugs, lighting, and in my case this island.

Put Modern On Top Of “Vintage-y” Or Vice Versa

While I have bought a billion vintage chairs I find that due to my incessant need for extreme comfort, I feel far more confident buying vintage “hard pieces” – i.e. tables, credenzas, pedestals, and layering on more contemporary pieces. Wood pieces you can refinish on your own if you don’t like the patina (versus upholstery which is such an investment), and once topped with something modern or contemporary it gives it such new reference and life. But you can always do the reverse! Modern base with vintage accessories.

Triple Check Vintage Sofas, Dressers, And Beds

This is only because I’ve been burned a lot in these two areas. Vintage sofas might not be as comfortable as you want. Take these two vintage sofas, both of which I loved and neither were even cheap. The blue one had springs that you could feel intimately, and our original sectional the mountain house fell apart every single time someone leaned back (we tried a million solutions). They both looked awesome, and I would buy again (despite regretting selling the blue one). I shopped for a year for the right vintage sofas for our living room and they were either $8k on 1stDibs, $3k and needed new upholstery, or uncomfortable/not the function we wanted. I’m not saying they aren’t out there, but for me, I’m willing to look for a while and then I’m ok giving up on a vintage sofa because I’d rather have one that I like sitting on than vintage for vintage sake. Don’t get me wrong – many, many, many of them might be GREAT but you might have to invest so much in them to make them as comfortable as you want. So just make sure you like the function/comfort and how they sit, not just the idea of a vintage sofa.

Every now and again you find one like this one we used in the Atlanta living room project:

But that sofa (I hate to tell you) was extremely uncomfortable. The foam was too bouncy and the proportions weren’t right for sitting or lounging.

For dressers, I find that many vintage dresser drawers don’t slide well – either they stick or are super rickety. I might still buy them for guest rooms, but for heavy daily use make sure that these really work. I find that mid-century works better than a more antique dresser. Sure, the wood and craftmanship are high quality, but these days the interior slides just make for a better daily experience. This dresser is actually a recreation of the English style but made new so it functioned perfectly. You can see here that I topped it with more modern-style lamps to help it feel more “me” and less “grandma”.

For beds, I hate a rickety crickety bed. And there are very few vintage king-size beds anyway. So for a guest room, fine. And a vintage upholstered headboard? Of course (remember my old royal blue tufted one?), but we are currently thinking about switching out Elliot’s vintage bed because it’s just so rickety and noisy and it drives us all nuts. The construction of a new bed just feels more solid to me.

As I’m writing this I have a million more ideas – vintage rugs, vintage lamps, vintage textiles – I use them ALL. But I think you get the point, that I really try to keep them within a color palette and for the most part have them be in good condition to avoid the room looking junky. xx

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Mike Kelley | From: The Fig House Lounge | Before & After

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