19 Ways To Incorporate Vintage Decor Into Your Maximalist Home

While more neutral-driven and minimalist interiors have dominated the past couple of decades, the design world has slowly been moving away from these less populated spaces in favor of more color, pattern, and texture overall, leading to beautiful layered maximalist spaces that allow plenty of room for marrying the present with the past. Vintage and antiques can add charm, history, and greater depth to any style of décor, but especially in rooms that revel in small and ornate details. Using vintage items like mirrors, upholstered pieces, and lighting elements can help bring in an eclectic feel and visual variety that maximalism lives for, creating truly unique spaces.

Many of these vintage elements can be found secondhand in places like thrift stores, antique dealers, flea markets, and estate sales, where you can often score them for a bargain. Acquiring vintage items over time can be a great way to create elevated and visually interesting rooms with a gracefully layered feel that stands out from standard retail offerings.

Gold and gilt frames are a beautiful way to bring a dose of glamour and an old European vibe to your space — the more ornate the better. Use them individually to house photos or artwork, or assemble a gallery wall with many differently shaped frames to fill an entire large blank wall. They also look especially lovely when used on floral wallpaper for a neo-Victorian aesthetic. You can also get a similar look by using gold paint and gold leafing on other vintage wood frames.

Vintage lighting from the past century comes in many varieties, including sleek glass and chrome Art Deco sconces, mid-century modern wooden lamps, and 1980s sculptural ceramic pieces. Create layered lighting that both meets your illumination needs and sets the right mood. Color and texture are important, and include not only the fixture itself, but also the shade, which can also boast details from decades past, such as fringe, florals, and trim. When buying vintage lighting, keep in mind that some lamps may need to be rewired to work properly and safely.

Add a vintage or antique rug to ground your space and add additional pattern and texture. Great options include charming mid-century shag rugs or Persian-style floral rugs, both of which contribute to the eclectic look required for maximalist décor. Opt for a solid rug or use the floor as another place to introduce a pattern when combined with other elements like draperies, upholstery, and wallpaper. You can also layer multiple rugs together for an even more eclectic look. 

Vintage animal figures or taxidermy not only add personality and whimsy to a maximalist room, but also bring in a natural touch. Look for statues in glass or brass, as well as hanging pieces of animal décor to add to your walls. Use them as accents on tables and shelves by arranging them in small tableaus with books, plants, and other decorative objects. They also make great bookends and functional objects, like displaying a collection of jewelry draped over a vintage swan statue to capitalize on the swancore vintage décor trend.

When buying larger upholstered pieces, try to create a mix of eras to get a truly maximalist vibe. A more staid mid-century sofa can be combined with a French Louis XIV antique-style chair. Or you could mix a Victorian settee with more modern acrylic dining chairs for a beautiful juxtaposition of old and new. This keeps your antiques and vintage space from looking too much like a museum or furniture showroom.

Throw pillows offer the chance to add texture and softness wherever you need it, whether it's a single cushion to soften a chair or a grouping of pillows adding interest and comfort on a sofa or bed. Look for rich vintage fabrics like tapestry, velvet, chenille, and other woven materials that stand out when mixed with other textiles and patterns in the room. Alternatively, repurpose thrifted vintage doilies into cozy throw pillow covers for a similar retro look.

As a great way to add beauty and storage, vintage baskets are worth having in every part of your home. Their worn and rustic look brings in a sense of history that is not always present with newer baskets from retailers. Many also have charming details like wooden lids and well-worn handles from decades of use. They are perfect for storing things out of sight, important in a maximalist room with a lot of elements, to avoid the space feeling too cluttered.

Vintage vases and canisters not only provide decorative interest and a sense of age, but also can be used to hold flowers for gorgeous and colorful bouquets or to hold dry goods or small objects in the kitchen or office. Options include gorgeous chinoiserie-style ginger jars and vases, rigged hand-heeled pottery, and other pottery vessels, all of which create a maximalist look on shelves, tables, and counters.

One of the hallmarks of many maximalist spaces is the liberal use of plants in all sizes and varieties, from tiny succulent groupings to large potted trees added to soften up the corners of a room. Like vases, vintage planters are available in all sizes and materials, including pieces that are as decorative as they are functional. Great options include basic terra cotta pieces to glazed chinoiserie planters covered in florals.

Ornate wooden furniture pieces fit naturally in maximalist spaces, whether in their original finish or repainted in glorious color that only enhances the turned legs, moldings, millwork, and interesting hardware. Larger pieces can often be found for a bargain at thrift stores and secondhand shops that are perfect for using in your maximalist space. Look for pieces like buffets, sideboards, and large dressers that can work in various rooms to add extra storage.

Bookends, either alone or in their original sets, are a great addition to fill out your bookshelves and to keep books from falling over. You can also use them as lone decorative accents elsewhere. Larger ones make great doorstops. Alternatively, drape necklaces and bracelets over a trendy bust bookend to showcase your collection. Look for ones with interesting shapes in materials like brass, stone, and ceramics to fill out your maximalist décor.

Objects that are no longer usable can still add a sense of history, charm, and whimsy to your space. Turn an old, non-working typewriter into a succulent garden or repurpose an old radio as a stylish shelving unit. You can even make an old television into a terrarium. Other obsolete furnishings and elements can work beautifully in a maximalist space, like storing things in the drawers of an old library card catalog or using an old timecard rack to sort your mail.

Mirrors are another beautiful addition to your walls that can carry a lot of maximalist flair, especially those with ornate framing and interesting shapes. Use large mirrors over a sideboard or fireplace mantle, or opt for a gallery wall of smaller mirrors along a stairwell or hallway. Not only do they add visual interest to a blank wall, but they can also help reflect light and give the illusion of more space.

While there are many drapery options for maximalist rooms in all sorts of fabrics and colors, one of the most tried-and-true is lace curtains, either used alone or layered over others as a vintage lace curtain overlay. These curtains are usually inexpensive and can grant some privacy while still allowing in the light. You can also make other vintage textiles into curtains, like doilies, dresser scarves, and tablecloths.

Bedding is another chance to introduce color, pattern, and texture into your maximalist bedroom. Maximalist bedding favors a lot of layers, so finding the perfect vintage sheets, coverlets, and duvets makes it easy to get the right look. Hunt for florals in different scales mixed with other classic patterns like stripes and damask. Combine sheets with layered duvets and quilts with fun accents like ruffles, fringe, and gathered pleats.

If you are creating a more maximalist space in a home that is newer or lacks a lot of architectural interest on its own, you can create your own using salvaged vintage and antique pieces like moldings, corbels, and ceiling medallions. Employ them as they were intended or use them in new ways, like using ornate corbels to create fun shelves with a slab of wood or marble. Or, use a plaster ceiling medallion as wall art or set it behind a shelf tableau to add height. Or create a gallery-style wall of medallions.

Colored glass from the last century can be a great way to add interest and color. Stemware, bowls, vases, and bottles look especially fab in maximalist rooms. Create groupings to make them a focal point or place them in front of the window to allow the light to filter through their surfaces. Opt for clear glass or cloudy milk glass in all sorts of dreamy colors. Mix colors for a rainbow look or create a monotone grouping of the same color in different sizes, shapes, and gradations.

Taper candles create drama and romance, especially when held inside pretty vintage holders made from classic materials like brass, iron, wood, glass, or ceramics. Line them along a mantel or shelf, or use them as part of your maximalist centerpiece décor. The light cast creates an eclectically cozy feel as part of a richly layered lighting scheme. They look especially beautiful when arranged in various heights in a grouping along a shelf or on a tray. 

Crewelwork and other types of embroidery are great vintage elements to use in maximalist spaces, whether it's on cushions, furniture scarves, or piano shawls that dress gracefully over the back of sofas. You can also find them framed to hang on the wall. Mix framed crewel work pieces with other art for a maximalist gallery wall or build a collection of embroidered cushions for your sofa, chair, or bed.