The Money-Saving Decor Trend That's Bringing Decades-Old Charm Back Into Homes

Whether you love finding a diamond in the rough at yard sales, scoring that perfect bargain piece at a thrift store, or browsing Facebook Marketplace in your jammies, there's a thrill that comes with buying secondhand, especially items that are considered vintage. Vintage decor is very on-trend, and thankfully, this design trend can actually save you money. Unlike antiques, which can cost even more than brand-new items, vintage pieces are often scored at wallet-friendly secondhand stores. Estate sales are also excellent places to shop for vintage furniture, since most are a sort of time-capsule of the departed's life and may have items the homeowner held on to for decades at very affordable prices.

If you are wondering what makes an item antique versus vintage, an antique is at least 100 years old, while a vintage item can be 20 to 99 years old. Anyone familiar with "Antiques Roadshow" will know that the price of antiques has been slipping. Thanks to student debts, rising inflation, and non-rising wages, millennials as a whole aren't as financially stable as the generations before. This has led them to choose money-saving vintage options over priceless antiques. Also, vintage pieces can be repurposed into something modern, while a $4,000 ornately carved hutch should remain as-is. Case in point: painting a Victorian-era roll-top desk hot pink would be chest-clutching, whereas painting a 1980s metal desk hot pink is wow-worthy. 

Many vintage interior design styles are popular today, like midcentury modern, 1970s bohemian, and Art Deco. These items are in high demand and if you can get them cheap, they may only need a bit of refurbishing to bring them to their former glory. But even vintage pieces in outdated design styles aren't being overlooked. Thanks to sites like Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube, DIY projects have grown in popularity and become accessible to even the most craft-challenged individuals. Many of these videos revolve around refinishing, repurposing, or recycling old pieces into something more modern. Instead of throwing away outdated pieces or passing up a great deal on a dresser that isn't their style, homeowners are grabbing a can of paint, ordering fresh hardware, and turning these pieces into modern-day treasures.

And while the younger generations may not be interested in their great-grandmother's hand-me-downs, they are interested in sustainability. Fortunately, vintage decor and sustainable interior decor go hand-in-hand. Repurposing inherited pieces is better for the environment than replacing them with mass-produced items. 

Today's styles are all about eclectic looks that seems curated over time, not matchy-matchy theme rooms. A good mix of vintage and contemporary pieces will keep your home from looking like a period-drama movie set. For instance, if you love a 1970s boho vibe, don't go wall-to-wall rattan furniture and shag carpet, but opt for a couple of rattan pieces and a vintage 70s rug over some lovingly refinished hardwoods. If you inherited an outdated matching bedroom set, try spreading the pieces out to different rooms, or refresh them with some paint. You don't have to spend a lot of money or throw out perfectly good pieces to stay on-trend. 

An eclectic home decor style is the way to go for mixing vintage and modern in the same space. The word eclecticism comes from a Greek word meaning "selective," therefore, an eclectic mix of time periods and styles should be carefully planned, not a haphazard mishmash of items. Each room needs a bit of cohesion, whether it's the same two or three design styles repeated throughout, or sticking to a color palette (which can be achieved easily with a can of spray paint). If you want to try using vintage pieces in your decor but aren't confident you can pull it off, start small. Incorporate some retro art into a gallery wall, add a vintage throw pillow to your sofa, or display vintage finds on a bookshelf or mantel.