How Much Vintage Furniture In Your Home Is Too Much? Here's The Formula To Follow

Unless your goal is to make your home look like a museum or an antique shop, there may come a point when filling it with vintage furniture becomes a bit too much. For a modern look, it's wise to strike a balance between vintage and contemporary, but to what extent? What formulas and percentages matter when it comes to decorating with vintage home furnishings? Well, we're hoping to answer these questions for you, even if the answers aren't exact.

Before you go following home decor trends or taking anyone else's advice on how to decorate your home, if you want to 100% fill your home with vintage furniture, go for it. It is your house, after all. However, if you're curious about what experts and trendsetters say about such things, an 80% modern to 20% vintage ratio is recommended for balance and to maintain a contemporary-looking space. 

Oh, you may want to understand the difference between retro, vintage, and antique as well (yes, those are three different things). Retro is neither vintage nor antique — it's actually new. It's something made to replicate a vintage or antique item, like the vintage-inspired furniture trend that's making a comeback. Vintage refers to any item between 20 and 99 years old, while anything that is 100 years or older is officially an antique. Because of these differences, you may be able to achieve a slightly more vintage look by adding some retro and antique items.

When it comes to the percentage of vintage furniture you should use to decorate your home, you may be happy to know there is no set goal — it's entirely up to you and the look you want. Of course, keeping that in mind, some designers suggest the 80% modern to 20% vintage split if you don't want vintage decor to dominate the space's aesthetic, though some say 25% is a good amount for vintage. If you're including antique, keep the vintage and antique furniture to that 20% maximum as well. However, if you're looking to create a classic feel in your home, you can easily increase the vintage percentage to 60%. 

Another consideration is how eclectic and sustainable you want your space to be. The more vintage and antique furniture (or used furniture in general), the more sustainable you are. For this, some designers suggest an alternate 80% to 20% mix, with more vintage than modern. If you are a collector of a specific valuable vintage furniture brand, you may want more of your room to be vintage than new. The key to keeping your vintage-inspired home looking good is to avoid clutter, stick to a theme (even if that theme is maximalism), and ensure you leave enough space for the things you want to do in each space.