Incorporating vintage furniture is an easy way to elevate your home decor while adding character and cachet. It’s also a simple method for decorating more sustainably.
“Vintage pieces lend modern spaces a necessary touch of warmth and personality,” says interior designer Erin Williamson. “Finding a pre-loved item and making it your own creates a space that feels more genuinely collected over time.”
While some vintage pieces end up looking dated, many more have become timeless designs that can be confidently layered into modern interiors.
“Vintage treasures have a history and context that present an opportunity for storytelling,” Williamson says. “People love to know where things came from, and telling that story is a way to communicate on a meaningful level, through the language of objects.”
We asked the designer to weigh in on some favorite vintage furniture pieces that will never go out of style.
Vintage Bar Cart
Vintage bar carts come in a variety of materials, such as stained wood, rattan, mirrored finishes, chrome, and brass. These small, space-saving, and versatile pieces of furniture can be incorporated in any style interior, used as portable dry bars or styled with plants, books, or design objects.
Danish Modern Armchair
Midcentury armchairs have a classic and easygoing elegance that recalls the Mad Men era and can blend in well in any style home. Williamson is a fan of the Kofod Larsen lounge chair designed in the 1950s.
“This is the quintessential midcentury wooden lounge chair,” she says. “I have seen this chair work with everything from formal settees to edgy space age sofas. The loose cushions are easy to reupholster with fabric to fit the context, and the slatted back looks great floating in a space.”
Williamson calls these Danish Modern chairs both comfortable and practical. “If you can find originals, they are well worth the price,” she advises. “Whether you buy a similar new piece or a vintage model, I recommend splurging on a solid wood frame that will stand the test of time.”
Tulip Table
The key to making vintage furniture work is to choose pieces that are versatile enough to coexist with a number of periods and styles. Designed by Eero Saarinen in the 1950s, the Tulip Table is an elegantly simple vintage design that looks perfectly at home in contemporary spaces.
Williamson notes that Tulip Tables can be paired with virtually any style or period of chair as well as sofas and banquettes. She advises avoiding copies made with plastic rather than the original sturdy cast aluminum bases “as they scuff and are more prone to wobbling.”
Modular Wall Unit With Desk
Another midcentury modern classic is the modular wall-mounted shelving unit with an integrated desk. These versatile and smartly designed space-saving solutions from the mid 20th century remain unrivaled today. Use them as a stylish answer to putting a desk in the living room if you don’t have a spare room to house your home office.
Bentwood Chair
Bentwood chairs can be considered either vintage or antique depending on their age. The Thonet No. 14 bentwood chair was designed in the mid 19th century, making it an antique at more than 100 years old. But vintage bentwood chairs produced later are one of Williamson’s picks for older styles that continue to find a place in contemporary interiors.
“The humble Thonet No. 14 bentwood chair is lightweight, space-friendly, and economical,” Williamson says, though she prefers the No. 811 model, a later vintage version designed by Josef Hoffmann in the mid-1930s.
“It brings a more modern square profile to the back while retaining the charm of earlier models, and I also find the expanded back support to be quite a bit more comfortable,” Williamson says.
Midcentury Modern Dining Set
While matching sets of furniture can instantly make your house look dated, not so with a midcentury modern dining set. A sculptural rich wood stained table and matching set of chains and a sideboard or buffet in a similar tone will give a formal dining room character, polish, and a sense of history that isn’t overly staid or traditional. Pair it with colorful art, rugs, and wall paint for an eclectic feel.