11 Vintage Home Trends That Are Making a Comeback
Updated: Mar. 21, 2024
These vintage-inspired home décor details will have you craving soulful style from a variety of eras, proving what's old is new again.
Cane Details
Perhaps it’s no surprise that as natural materials such as jute and fiber art like macramé came back into fashion over the last year or so, caning would be next. A refined, artful take with rattan, it fits in lots of settings, most notably on chairs and cabinet doors.
You can find vintage goods, which often have held up beautifully over the years because of expert craftsmanship. Or score some new pieces like the chair shown here. Many home stores are carrying caned furniture in of-the-moment disco-glam silhouettes.
Bold Wallpaper
Perhaps as part of the return of maximalism, wallpaper is having a big, big moment in 2022. But it’s not your grandmother’s wallpaper: These are big, bold and luscious. Watch for jungle themes, botanicals and bold florals to take center stage, as well as textures now available through advances in technology and manufacturing.
Another modern twist on the classic wall covering: Consider a wallpaper mural. They don’t have a repeating pattern per se and can be scaled to your room’s dimensions, making it feel custom-tailored to your home.
Repurposed Furniture
Breathe life into vintage furniture that may be languishing elsewhere by finding a new purpose for it. If you have a record cabinet on hand but no longer collect vinyl, it could serve as a drink cart. If you want to go even further, you can design a vintage keeping room full of your favorite vintage furniture pieces.
In this case: Traditional bathroom vanities, while functional, feel a little ho-hum in 2022. Consider adding some historic charm by retrofitting a vintage piece of furniture such as a credenza or dresser as your vanity.
A buyer snapped up this vintage beauty for less than $100 online. With a little polish, some new drawer pulls (also scored online for a song) and careful reframing of interior drawers to fit the plumbing pipes, it gives a custom look and feel to this suite bathroom.
Postmodern Style
Right on time: Late ’80s and ’90s styles have been creeping back into our consciousness, but stylish interiors influencers are already incorporating them in their homes in big ways.
Marked by big, bold geometrics, unapologetic color and pop art, postmodern style injects some unexpected fun in almost any room in the house. Artwork in a living room, as seen here in vintage dealer Gladys Tay‘s ode to postmodern living, draws oohs and aahs with every photo she posts.
The oversized, over-bright, devil-may-care attitude of postmodern style feels lush, fun and exciting after years of all-white, mega-tailored restraint.
Earth Tones
The Earth tones that are hot, hot, hot right now come straight from sunsets in the desert. Think terra-cotta, rust, marigold and dusty rose. Pair them together for an almost tone-on-tone palette that feels simultaneously grounding and invigorating — not unlike a trip to a desert spa.
Washed linen bedding feels especially homey and lived-in without losing any sophistication. It could just as easily be a paint color on the wall, or a cushy rug underfoot, in almost any room.
Schoolhouse Lights
Originating around the 1920s, schoolhouse lights illuminated large spaces such as libraries and classrooms, in part because only one was needed to throw great, diffused light.
Purists snap these up online from buildings facing renovation or demolition, or through salvage yards. But really good reproductions have popped up in lighting stores everywhere. What’s old is new again and what’s true is still true: They still throw a lot of beautiful, diffused light. That makes them both beautiful and practical.
Handmade Tile
Nothing adds soul and vintage warmth to a home like something made by the human hand. In this case, artisan tile, from Mercury Mosaics, can be executed in a wide array of vintage tile styles.
Hexagon floral patterns hark back to pre-war homes. Craftsman squares call up memories of Prairie-style homes. And Moroccan fish scales feel at once ancient and jet-set modern, like shopping in Marrakesh.
The twist: Today’s tilemakers aren’t afraid to take color risks or pair up styles for a new take on vintage shapes.
Archways
As the sharper angles of the mid-century modern movement continue to fade on the home-trends landscape, rounder shapes are moving in to take their place. Squared-off doorways suddenly feel … square.
Enter the archway. They’re seemingly everywhere, framing doorways and entrances to and exits from rooms. Archways add visual height to a room by drawing the eye upward. Consider an archway that adds a little drama without being overly fussy.
French Mirrors
For those who want to take a traditionally styled home a step into something more ornate, a French-style mirror is one stylish option.
A French mirror offers a little art along with function, and these mirrors are popping up on walls everywhere. Try one in a wallpapered foyer or refined bathroom, or as an accent on a gallery wall. Shapes and prices abound, making it an easy, on-trend choice.
Painted/Color Cabinets
As supply chains catch up and cabinet makers finally find room in their schedules, the demand for color cabinets will continue to rise. They’re especially popular among those who love the traditional English cottage cabinet look.
Dark green continues to be a white-hot color choice, as seen in The Katt House‘s remodel. Another option for traditional cabinets is a less-traditional hue. Coral pink puts a fresh twist on a vintage classic.
Still not on board with a color cabinet? Wood cabinet aficionados are competing for vintage salvage cabinets in antiques shops and salvage yards.
Curvilinear Silhouettes
The most marked places curvilinear (consisting of or bounded by curved lines) silhouettes are showing up? Sofas, like the one shown here, and chairs.
Expanding outward from the clean lines of mid-century furnishings, curvilinear pieces take up more space visually and oftentimes physically, exuding a sense of casual luxury and comfort. Perhaps being tethered closer to home lately has created a craving for softness and sprawl, not unlike our fashion’s migration from denim to elastic waistband-joggers.
Beyond sofas, look to ’70s inspired office chairs and side chairs that could be used in almost any room.
Originally Published: March 20, 2021
