How To Shop For and Style Vintage Decor in Your Home | Ashley Childers

Hello, design lovers. I'm Ashley Childers, and in today's video, I am going to teach you how to shop for and style vintage accessories and decor like a designer. I'm going to take you along with me as I head up one of my very favorite local vintage shops. I'm going to show you how I shop, what I purchase, and then we're going to bring those items back to my house, and I'm going to show you how to style them in an artful and sophisticated way. I know you're going to love today's video, so be sure to hit the subscribe button so you can get more weekly design goodness as we drop a new design video every Saturday. Hunting for and decorating with vintage finds is one of my favorite ways to add character, soul, and personality to a room. Some of my most treasured items in my home are vintage and antique pieces, and I love them because, yes, they do add the character and personality that I spoke to, but also they remind me of who I was with and where I was when I found that vintage treasure. Now, before we head to my favorite local vintage shop, I want to demystify what classifies an antique, a vintage piece, and a retro item. So let's start with antiques. Antiques are pieces that are at least 100 years old, so those are the oldest of the items that we will be shopping for. Vintage items are anywhere between 20 and 99 years old, and oftentimes their design is really a hallmark of the decade that they came from, say mid-century modern. Retro items can be old, but they can also be newly manufactured, and oftentimes they have a design style that leans towards an older decade's past. Now that we know the difference between antique, vintage, and retro, let's head to my favorite local store and do a little shopping. Okay, we have made it to one of my favorite local shops. This place carries vintage and antiques and some new pieces, and I love to come here every month or so just to kind of hunt for finds. So I wanted to show you a couple of my designer tips when you are shopping for vintage or antique pieces. First of all, you really have to keep your eyes open. A lot of times these shops are filled to the brim with treasures, and sometimes I go in knowing what I want, but also a lot of times I just go in shopping with an open mind and let my eye find things that I am drawn to. So as I'm walking through this space, I always like to look for ceramics, glassware, metal pieces, art, antique mirrors. Those are the categories that I usually kind of hone in on because they're really easy to incorporate into your home with your other decor items. A couple of my tips when you are shopping for vintage and antique pieces is to really make sure that you're letting your eye wander because a lot of times these stores are filled to the brim with treasures, and then maybe some things that you are not drawn to. So really look around. Look up on the shelves. Make sure you look everywhere and look down. This piece I spotted right when we walked into this space. It's an antique ice bucket, and I know that because I can tell I have one similar to this at home, but also if you're ever in question of what something is, a lot of times vintage stores have it on the tag, like the dealer will say what it is, and I love this piece because it's obviously silver and it's got this beautiful patina on it, and then look at how the lid works. So as you open the lid back, you see the inside of the ice bucket. I just think that that is super cool. It's got a really great patina. You cannot get this kind of patina on a new piece, and I think it just adds so much character and nostalgia to a space. Okay, also over here, I really like these candlesticks. I think it's neat because they are kind of a mixed metal and they are also old and patinaed and gorgeous and super inexpensive, $7 and $9. That's a score. Another pro tip I have when you are shopping in a vintage or antique store is to look for pieces that are either made of the same material or have the same shape, the same patina, because then you can group those items together at your home for a collected display. I always look for metal pieces and for vintage ceramic pieces. I'm always drawn to ceramics. I love them, and I change out my ceramics in my home often. I have a cabinet that I store all of my treasure, my ceramics treasures in, and I bring out new pieces and kind of change up my styling each season. I spotted this piece down here on this bottom shelf, and this is just a really unique ceramic piece. This is from the 1960s, this vase, and I love kind of the opalescent glaze that it has. I think it would look beautiful in my house. That's one that I just spotted off the bat as soon as we walked in here, and then this cool little, like, let's see what this says this is. This is a cast iron pot. Cast iron pot, look at that guy. He would be amazing outside in the garden for a floral arrangement or inside. It just has a really pretty color and patina as well. Okay, we have made our way down a couple of the aisles of the store, and we came upon this awesome booth, and I want to take a little bit of time to talk you through some of my favorite things that I'm seeing in this space. First of all, when I'm shopping for vintage and antiques, I always make sure that I keep my eye open for beautiful antique books because they are such a treasure and add so much depth to a room, and there are some really beautiful ones in this booth. So this is a whole set. A lot of times, it's hard to sometimes find vintage and antique books in a set, but there is a set of five down here, and I just want to show you the spine of these beautiful books. They're absolutely gorgeous, and so are the covers, and then look at that, oh my gosh, look at that marble ink on the inside. That just made my heart pound a little faster, y'all. Okay, so those are gorgeous. Those might have to come home with me, actually, and then back here in the corner, I want to show you this scale. So I have an antique kitchen scale in my house. It's one of my very favorite things that I have in my kitchen, and I wanted to show you this one because it is so beautiful and intricate. It has the little scale up top, and then, of course, these are hanging. It's all brass, but it has that beautiful patina on it that you can only get from something that is truly old. A couple of other things I wanted to talk through are these candlesticks, and I want to use these candlesticks as an example of something that you could do when you are shopping for antique decor, and that is to look for items that are the same color. So these are all these beautiful, green, verdigris candlesticks, and I love the color of them. They're all different, and I think what you could do, like if I were to get these for my home, come over here with me. I'm gonna show you what I would do. I would find other items in the store, or maybe you have other items around your house, that you could group with candlesticks like this and do a color story. So here I've got this fun little planter that's green. It's got a really pretty ceramic glaze on it, and I love it, and it is from the 1960s. I always like to look at vintage ceramics because you can usually tell on the bottom they have like a funny little retro-looking logo on the bottom, so that's really pretty. Those would be really pretty grouped together, and then I also found this large ceramic green bowl that would be really unique in the same room. So not that everything has to be matchy-matchy, but a lot of times when you're shopping for vintage and antique pieces, you can kind of bring everything together through a color story of green, or of brown, or black, or whatever color it is that you're wanting to focus in on, and it's a really great way to bring that decor in seasonally. Oh, now that I'm over here in this corner, I have been looking at this. I spotted this wall ago, and I wanna show you what a unique piece this is. So this looks to be, I don't know if it's like the top of a gate, or of a newel post on a stairway, staircase, I'm not exactly sure, but it's wooden, and it's got this gorgeous carving on it, and I love pieces like this that are just sculptural, unique kind of oddities, if you will. This would be beautiful placed on top of a stack of really modern art books on a coffee table or entryway. Adds so much character, such a great talking point, and just brings some soul into a room. We have literally been here for like 30 minutes. I've gone through all of the booths, and I just wanted to show you what I was able to pick up really quickly, and I don't know if I'm gonna get all of these things, but this is kind of a representation of what I am drawn to when I am vintage shopping. I have really interesting marble pieces. This, this is definitely going home with me. This is a Czech marble vase, and I'm obsessed with it. And then I've got this other little marble paperweight, this green marble paperweight. So those would be fun displayed together because they are the same material. Then, as you can see, I've got a color story of greens right here. Greens and blues are really beautiful. All of these items would look fantastic grouped together. We've got the patina on this metal candlestick. And then back here, I grabbed a couple of pieces that are more in the graphite tone. I have this color in my house, and I absolutely love using this to ground a space because my interiors are very light and airy. So I like to add pops of graphite and black when I can, especially through vintage and antique pieces that have a beautiful patina. So this is a really pretty ceramic vase that is going home with me. And then I've got another little ceramic pot over here that has a great black glaze on it as well. And then this fun little metal dish. It has a really great patina, and it would be great in a powder room to put soaps in or whatever. So I love this little bowl as well. And there you, oh, one last thing. Look at this sweet little, this is like a little box. Look at it, y'all. That's a little ceramic box with a Raku glaze on it. I'm obsessed, I'm getting that. I think it's like $2. $2. We have all of our vintage treasures of the day gathered up on this table, so I'm going to check out, and we'll head to the house so I can show you how to style your vintage treasures like a designer. Okay, friends, we have finished up with our vintage shopping, and now we are back at my house. And I have laid out all of the vintage pieces that we purchased today, and then also added in some pieces that I have in my collection. So what I like to do with styling vintage and antique pieces is I rotate them ever so often. I personally like to restyle my spaces. It just kind of fuels my creativity, and it's something that I find very therapeutic. And so I do it often, but you don't have to do it as often as I do. I probably do it every couple of weeks. You could do it seasonally, whatever floats your boat. But I want to show you how I group all of my collections together. And I've done this today by color, so you can kind of see how things would look together by color. So I've got a blue section right here. I've got some greens right here, and you'll see a couple of the pieces at the front that we purchased today at the store. And then in this section, I've got some beautiful browns and umber tones, and then over here, graphites and blacks. I am going to show you how I style each one of these collections in various places in my home. And I hope that it inspires you to get creative when you are styling your vintage decor in your home. We are here in the great room, and I want to start with this table first, styling it with vintage pieces. And before I add in the vintage accessories, I want to show you a couple of little pro tips that I have learned in my years of styling, and that is to start with foundational pieces. A lot of times, to make something look cohesive, it helps to group the items on top of a tray or platter or something like that. So I always start, especially on a large coffee table like this one, with a tray. And I love this brass rickrack tray for my collection. It just is fun and funky, but also kind of a classic piece because of the brass that it is made out of. Also, I like to start with a stack of books, and then often I will use some type of a marble block or stone block to elevate a piece that is maybe vintage, has a little bit more character and patina. I like to put it on top of a white marble block because it just adds a bit of modern flair to it, and it helps to coordinate everything on the table because I have pops of white. I also have pops of white throughout this entire space. I use a lot of white in our home. So adding these white elements into the tablescape with the vintage decor just creates a little bit more of a modern statement. Okay, let's start adding in the vintage pieces. I am going to use the pieces that had that more of kind of like a rust and umber undertone in this space because they will coordinate with some of the other elements that I have going on in this room. First, we are going to start with this vase that I purchased earlier at the vintage store. And when I am creating a tablescape, I like to start in the center with the focal point of the table, and oftentimes that will be the tallest item on the table. So I am going to take this vase. I've already filled it with water because I do want to do a little quick floral arrangement in it in a moment, and I'm going to put it in the center kind of of the table to this side of the tray. So that will be the starting point of our styling. Next up, I am going to add in this gorgeous onyx bowl that I have had for several years. It's vintage, but it's one of my very favorite pieces that I own, and I love to incorporate it into a tablescape when I can. So it's large and it's got that round shape. So I'm going to place it over here on this side of the table to kind of fill in this empty gap. And you see, we've got this color story starting to take shape. Next up, I am going to add in this sweet little ceramic vase. I also purchased this earlier at the vintage store, and it was such a steal of a deal. I think it was $16. I'm going to add it over here on the stack of white books because as you see, I'm trying to create that color composition that travels throughout the tablescape. And these two pieces, so this is a stone kind of mosaic vase, and this is the onyx bowl. So I want to add in another material element, and that comes through in this glazed ceramic vase. We have our last two pieces that we're adding into the tablescape. This is another stone element. It is a stone box, and it has this little inlay top that ties into our color story that we are working with here. I'm going to put that right there on the front of the tray, kind of grouped together. See how that creates this moment right here? And then over here on top of the marble block, I'm going to add in this beautiful vintage ceramic piece that has a raku glaze, and this glaze also picks up that rust color that we are working with on this tablescape. Okay, so you see how our color is working throughout? And these two pieces are the most kind of contrasted color throughout the tablescape as far as the depth of rust. So I like to have those not right next to each other. I want those spread out so your eye travels throughout all of the little elements on the tablescape. The last thing to do is add in just some really easy leaves or branches or florals to the various little bases, and you'll see how it ties it all together. I want to start with this tall vase first, and I love magnolia branches. We have quite a few magnolia trees in our yard, and they are currently in bloom, so I can't help myself. I always have to clip a few branches every week. So this is literally just two magnolia branches with a pretty bloom at the center, and I'm just gonna place those down. I've already put water in that marble vase. Let's just get him turned a little bit, cover so slightly, looks gorgeous. Okay, let's move on to the small vase next. Okay, the final touch on our tablescape with vintage decor is these little roses from my garden. These are the very first roses of this season. They are from my Claire Austin rose bushes that I am obsessed with. They are so beautiful, and they're a little bit spent because I cut them a few days ago, but I'm just going to add them in ever so delicately so they don't fall apart into this sweet little ceramic vase, and I love how they're white because they tie in to our magnolia blooms, and we're just gonna add those in, and there you have it. I do like, especially during the spring and summer, I like to put multiple floral arrangements on a tablescape. I just think it kind of speaks to the abundance of the season. So if you happen to have blooms in your yard, bring them inside so you can enjoy them in your home, and there you have it. Here is our gorgeous vintage tablescape. We've added in a few modern touches with the tray and the white books and ceramic on the bottom, and of course, this little marble pedestal, but as you can see, it makes a beautiful statement to add some character and interest and nostalgia to a room. Okay, let's move on to the next location. I'm going to show you another tablescape that I am going to style with vintage pieces. We have moved into the entry of our home, and I want to talk about styling this entry table with vintage pieces. So I've decided that I want to use the collection of green vintage items on this tablescape, and I started with those foundational pieces that I spoke to earlier. So I've got this stack of modern design books, this bangle vase from my home furnishings collection. I love this vase because it gives me the opportunity to add in large branches in our entry, and I love doing that in the spring and summer. So I've just added in some pretty little maple branches that I cut this morning, and then I've also added in this marble piece, this block that I'm going to use to put something on top of, and I want to show you how and why I'm going to do that in just a minute. Because this table is black, adding in these pops of white do two things. One, they make the tablescape more modern, and they also tie in this tablescape to the rest of the room. Okay, so now that we've got our foundational pieces, let's start adding in our collection of vintage green accessories. We are ready to start adding in our vintage accessories, and this is the piece that I purchased earlier at the vintage store. I love the glaze on it. I think it's a really unique little vase, and we're going to add it over here on top of this stack of books, and then this is a vintage ceramic bowl that I've had for years. I love the color of it. It may be hard to see, but it's got this beautiful glaze with this drip effect, and because it is so dark, if I were to put this bowl directly on top of the ebony ceruse finish on this table, it really would kind of disappear. So adding it on top of this marble riser just creates a little bit of a pop and makes this bowl more of a presence on this tablescape. So keeping with our green theme, I have this green marble paperweight that I purchased earlier at the vintage store, and then if you remember this sweet little ceramic Raku green, kind of, I don't know if this is a jewelry box. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I love it, and I'm going to add those on top of the stack of books with the vintage vase, and that just makes a sweet little collection statement of green, and I love how each one of these pieces are a different material, have a different patina, but they are all coordinated together because of the color. Our last item we are going to add to this tablescape is this vintage bowl. I purchased it earlier at the vintage store. I absolutely love the glaze on it. It's really unique and artful, and I'm just going to place it right down here at the front of the tablescape. So as you can see, we've got that green color moving throughout the entire tablescape, and even though the majority of the items on this table are vintage, it feels very modern because of, A, the color grouping that we have, the color story that we're telling, and also we've added in some modern pieces with the vase and then the marble pedestal and the book. So this is a really beautiful, easy way to group a collection of vintage items together and to make a modern artful statement. We have moved on to the second coffee table in my great room area, and I love to use this coffee table as an example for styling because it is round, and a lot of us have round coffee tables in our homes. They're functional and practical and great for a seating grouping. So we're going to use this as an example. I am going to style those black and graphite vintage decor pieces on this coffee table because they are going to pop on this light oak stain and white books. So as I said earlier, we're going to start our tablescape with these books to ground the space, and I'm using white because it's going to tie in the tablescape to the other elements that I have in my room. The next thing I'm going to add is this vintage ceramic vase. You might notice this from earlier. We found it today at the vintage store. I absolutely love it, and I'm going to add this in, like I said, towards the center of the table because that's where I like to start the styling. Not going to do it right in the center because that would seem a little predictable. So it's off center, and then I've got the two book groupings on the opposite sides. The next piece I want to add in is this large vintage platter. I have had this for quite a few years, and I really like the beauty of the glaze that's on there. It's got some light tans and then that kind of light graphite color that I'm bringing into this tablescape, and I'm going to place this platter opposite of the vase so that we are carrying that color diagonally across the table. Next up are this sweet little ceramic vase that we purchased earlier at the vintage store, and then this awesome marble bowl. I found this earlier as well, and I absolutely am obsessed with it. I love how you can see the veining, and then it gets all of the colors that we are using in this tablescape within this bowl. We've got the white, we've got the tan colors that picks up the wood tones, and then, of course, our black color. So I'm going to group these two elements over here on top of the book, and that just makes a really pretty statement grouped on top of the modern art book. Next up, we are going to address styling this stack of books that are over here on this diagonal, and I want to add in a different element because we've got ceramics, we've got marble, and we need some metal on this tablescape. So here is a really unique, beautifully patinaed silver bowl that I have had in my collection for a long time. I absolutely love it. It may be difficult to see, but it has the most beautiful patina, and it ties into all of the colors that we have going on in this tablescape. So I'm going to add that on top of this stack of books, and then the very last thing we need to add to this tablescape is greenery. The finishing touch on this table is, of course, some live greenery. I am really fond of finding elements in your yard or in your neighborhood that you can add into your tablescapes, and this is actually some jasmine that I cut off of our mailbox. It grows profusely here, and I love the wispy quality of it and how it's going to add that natural, organic element to this tablescape. So all I need to do is add this in to our vase, and kind of, I want to bring the branches, or well, I guess they're not really branches, the vines, if you will, so they spill out over the other elements on the table and kind of give that organic, wild quality, like I said earlier, to the tablescape, and there you have it. That is a beautiful, artful tablescape created with some really great vintage and antique decor pieces in the graphite color family. We have moved on to our fourth and final area that I am going to walk you through styling today with vintage accessories, and I wanted to use this space in our kitchen to show you how you can add in vintage decor items to bookshelves or attachés or shelving of any kind. So first and foremost, we need to start with those foundational pieces that I spoke to earlier. So I have added in a piece of art that has that blue color that we're going to use in our vintage decor items, and I've added in a few stacks of books, some wooden risers in various heights, and then, of course, a little ceramic piece that I have from my collection because I love a pop of white. So now then, let's move through each one of the shelves and style them beautifully with our blue vintage decor pieces. Let's start with our very first shelf that I'm going to style today. These are some vintage pieces that I actually had in my collection. This is a beautiful ceramic base with this great blue glaze, and then this fun basket vase. I don't know what this is, but I'm obsessed with it. I absolutely love the blue patina on the metal accents. So I'm going to add the basket on top of our wooden riser, and then the vase is going to go on top of our book. Before we move on to the second shelf, I want to add a little quick note about styling. First of all, give yourself some grace when you are styling your home. Styling a tablescape or a room should be fun. It should be a creative exercise and an outlet for you to express yourself. So move things around and have fun with it. Now let's move on to the second shelf with our blue accessories. I want to show you what I mean by move things around and have fun with it. So as I was planning out where I wanted each item on these shelves, I originally thought, okay, I'll put this new vintage vase up here on the stack of books to give me some hype, and then I'll add in this bowl a little lower down front. But what happens if I do that? You'll see that I get this same composition, two shelves next to each other, and I don't necessarily love that. I really like to create movement for the eye with the composition with hype of items. So I'm going to move that because I'm just not feeling it. So I'm going to take this vase and actually move it over here to this side, and then take this little bowl and put it up here. And you'll see that that creates a much more pleasing, artful statement because we've got tall up here, tall down here, and then lower, lower, and it just creates movement through those two shelves. Now let's go up high and style that last shelf. I spared you the latter shot, but I went ahead and styled that tallest shelf up there. I added in that really fun, kind of speckled blue pitcher that we got earlier at the vintage store. And then because I used this natural element of the woven basket on this shelf, I wanted to also bring that element to the top shelf. So I added in a little vase with a woven sleeve around it, and then some magnolia branches because of course it's spring and I want to bring the greenery inside. And there you have it. As you see, this beautiful blue moment is woven all the way through each one of the shelves. I hope that today's video helps you feel more confident in shopping for vintage and antique decor pieces and bringing those pieces home with you and styling them in a beautiful, artful way. I'm Ashley Childers, thank you for watching. And if you want even more design goodness, you're going to want to watch this playlist next. As always, you can follow me over on Instagram and TikTok at Ashley Childers Home to see more of my daily design adventures. As always, thank you for watching. And remember, good design is for everyone. So create a home that inspires you, have fun decorating and styling with your vintage and antique pieces and fall in love with where you live one room at a time.