I’ve always loved eclectic design. Long ago, I read a quote in an interior design book (and I so wish I remember who it was to credit them) but to paraphrase it essentially said: nothing dates a room faster than everything being of the same era. If you think about it, you’ll realise it’s true.

Why You Need Something Vintage in Every Room

I spoke at length about creating eclectic style in your home in this post a few years ago but I wanted to expand a little on how I have used vintage pieces in my home for years now and why I think its so important to include some vintage pieces from any era when you are decorating.

So let’s start with an example I’ve used before. Let’s say you walked into a Next Home store back in 2012, purchased the entire living room display they had in their store at that point, recreated it in your own living room – from the tables to the sofa and chair, the accessories, wallpaper – the whole lot. It may have looked trendy and on-point back then but today? It would probably look a bit passe. Why? Because everything would have been in the current contemporary look of that time and well, contemporary design is constantly in flux, it’s constantly changing and moving, it’s never stagnant. What looked good 8 years ago is no longer contemporary, it’s old-hat, maybe even a bit naff.

Here’s another example. When mid-century modern became a really big mainstream trend a decade ago, I started to see people completely recreating the look in their homes. Everything contemporary went out the door to be replaced with mid-century pieces. It looked cool at the time to have the Knoll Florence sofa, the Eames lounge chair, the Nelson ball clock. But if you were to choose everything for a room in a mid-century design, it goes from looking cool and retro to looking like a museum or time capsule pretty quickly.

pink sofa in living room with parquet flooring and large bay window

The white cabinet is a vintage piece from 1930’s (I believe!) that I painted and replaced the existing glass with mirror – I’ve had it since 2014 and I still love it although the paint needs a refresh now.

So when we choose a more eclectic look for our homes, it’s important to mix and match – to include some pieces that are more contemporary with those that are from eras long past. You can still have that beautiful Eames lounge chair but you might want to pair it with a Victorian fireplace or a sleek contemporary light fixture and sofa. This mix-and-match approach instills timelessness into a space and whilst contemporary design is what’s most readily available at any given moment, seeking out the odd vintage piece will create layers of interest and give your home a more unique look.

dining room with large pink light fixture, marble and gold dining table with grey velvet chairs

In the dining room, the brass and glass shelving unit is by Pierre Vandel from the 1970’s – I found this one on eBay after probably two years of searching but well worth the wait. I bought it in 2017 and it’s still one of my favourites!

One of the most surprising things I’ve learned in purchasing vintage for my home over the years as that they quickly become favourites in just about any room I place them. I have had some of my vintage furniture for years now and whilst I have the attention span of a 4 year old at times when it comes to wanting to constantly change things up, those vintage pieces have become mainstays, moving from room to room and home to home – I feel a sense of protectiveness over them that I don’t feel for my more contemporary pieces, they are so much more irreplaceable to me.

How to Style a Bedroom Chest of Drawers

The vintage chest of drawers in my bedroom is also from the 1930’s and one I get asked about all the time. I’ve had it since 2012 (!) and I can’t see myself ever letting it go.

These are also the pieces that are the most asked about when I share them on social media or on my blog. Of course, when asked, ‘Where’s that [insert piece of furniture here] from? I love it!’, I feel a bit bad saying it’s vintage but at the same time, it also means the pieces I have are totally unique and not seen before. This is another benefit of choosing vintage pieces – they make your home truly your own and completely unique to what every other home out there looks like.

vintage bar cart in Victorian style house dining room

This vintage bar cart was one of the first vintage pieces I bought in 2011. I believe it’s from the 1990’s and was a totally unique find. I’ve never seen another one like it anywhere – check out the swans! 

Another benefit? There’s a very good chance that some vintage pieces will cost you less than buying new. I think the bar cart above was something like £30 when I purchased it, far less than the hundreds of pounds that bar carts can go for today. I paid £250 for the vintage glass and brass unit in the dining room and the chest of drawers was £100 – far less than what you might find on West Elm or Heal’s.

pink and gold guest bedroom with vintage rattan shelving unit and yellow velvet art deco headboard

One of my most recent vintage purchases was this bamboo shelving unit (I clearly have a thing for vintage shelving units!) found on Facebook Markplace for £25. I love the boho vibe it gives to my guest bedroom.

It takes time to find these pieces – some of them took years of searching until I found the exact thing I was searching for but I find the longer you allow to find an item, the better chance you have of finding a real bargain.

vintage shelving unit in living room in glass and brass 1970s Pierre Vandal

My most asked about vintage furniture piece is this shelving unit in the living room. It’s another Pierre Vandal from the 70s and I’ve told the story before but it was given to me by someone who knew how much I loved it. She was moving house, didn’t have a place for it and insisted I take it (yes, I may have cried). Don’t ask me if I’d ever consider selling it – you’ve got no chance! It’s my most-loved piece in any room in my home.

One last thing in terms of buying vintage rather than new and that’s something that’s on all our minds right now – sustainability. With so many of us trying our best to be more ecologically minded, buying vintage means saving a piece from landfill. Not every piece I’ve purchased has been in perfect condition from the start. Sometimes you might find a diamond in the rough – one which needs a bit of love, care and attention to bring it back to life. The satisfaction of doing this is immense – not only will you be bringing a piece of history into your home but you’ll be saving it from just being dumped and possibly adding years and years to it’s life and usefulness. 

vintage brass shelving unit styled in pink and gold

This is by no means an exhaustive list of the vintage pieces I have in my home and while I concentrated on vintage furniture in this post, I have many smaller pieces and accessories that are vintage too – the little grouping of elephants you see above, the tiny globe-holding elephants next to the pink pot plant, the small chest on the bottom chest are all vintage finds that I’ve had for years now.

Just about every single room has a touch of vintage in it – from the vintage-style prints in my bathroom to the mid-century sideboard in my office – and it’s something I try to incorporate whenever I design any space. The only room which I feel lacks vintage is our new kitchen and I’m actually toying with the idea of replacing the more contemporary pendant lights with some vintage pendants instead (once I find the right ones!). 

There are so many benefits – in terms of both design as well as sustainability – when you include vintage pieces in your home as you can see. I’d love to know what some of your own favourite vintage pieces are that you own yourself. Do you find yourself buying vintage for cost, sustainability or simply because these pieces add timelessness? Or is it a little of all three? Let me know in the comments below.


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Swoon Worthy
Why You Need Something Vintage in Every Room
pink sofa in living room with parquet flooring and large bay window
dining room with large pink light fixture, marble and gold dining table with grey velvet chairs
How to Style a Bedroom Chest of Drawers
vintage bar cart in Victorian style house dining room
pink and gold guest bedroom with vintage rattan shelving unit and yellow velvet art deco headboard
vintage shelving unit in living room in glass and brass 1970s Pierre Vandal
vintage brass shelving unit styled in pink and gold
Meet Kimberly
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My little neglected makeup/dressing room has had a glow up 🥰

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My new rug can't compete with that belly.

Rug is from @laredoute_uk (not an ad) not that anyone cares 😅

#kitchendesign
I've really loved making these pretty reusable Christmas crackers! I'm still in the process of finding cute bits for filling them but they'll definitely be a centrepiece for my table this year!🎄💕

Suggestions for what to fill them with coming soon!

(By the way, I'm not a skilled seamstress so I'm sure my techniques can be improved but just sharing what worked for me 🤗😅)

Let me know if this is something you'd try? ❤️

#swoonworthy #christmasdecor #christmascraft #diychristmas #diycrafts #easysewingproject
On 22 October 2022, I married my best friend! I can't believe it's been a whole year (and one day) I've been calling @2nilup my husband 🥰 We've been together for 15 years now and I simply can't and wouldn't want to imagine my life without him ❤️ 

#youandmeagainsttheworld #2222 

Photography: @violajayphotography 
Flowers: @primroseavenuefloral 
Dress: @camillawithlove
DIY REFILLABLE CHRISTMAS CRACKERS 🎄🎉

I've been thinking about making refillable crackers for so many years now - I just hate the waste the disposal ones create! So I'm so excited I've finally gotten around to starting this project!

I will be sharing more details on how to make them as well as ideas for what to fill them with too so stay tuned for more but in the meantime, what do you think? 

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Just wanted to introduce my latest plant baby in my dining room 🪴

It's from @botanique_shrewsbury and it's a Peparomia (I am probably pronouncing it wrong, I keep wanting to say
GUEST BEDROOM REVEAL 🌟

I decided on a whim, 2 weeks before we were expecting visiting family, that our guest bedroom was in desperate need of a refresh.

Well there's nothing like an impending deadline to light a 🔥 under my 🍑 and I managed to clear out the clutter, repaint the woodwork, ceilings and walls and hang wallpaper as well as restyle the room in one week 😅 (Meisha was zero help 😼)

I'm calling it Boho Vintage Victorian Grandma 😆

This wasn't sponsored in any way but the wallpaper and bedding is from @lauraashleyuk and the paint is @earthbornpaints Peach Baby - everything else I already had!

What do you think of the new look? ❤️

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#bedroommakeover
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🔥JOIN US ROUND THE FIRE PIT! 🔥

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No more standing around waiting for things to light properly or billowing smoke from wet wood, everything burns beautifully! ☺️ We literally sat around this for hours as the logs last so long, long after the sun set, just chatting and enjoying ourselves! 🥰🍻🔥

Do you love a good firepit in the summer?

#homefire #readytoburn #smokelessbyhomefire #heartofyourhome #logsbyhomefire #summerideas #firepit #gardenideas
San Sebastian photo dump - just a tiny selection 😄

We have had such a fabulous holiday to Basque Country - our first 4 days spent in the beautiful city of San Sebastian, land of pintxos, stunning architecture and some damn good wine.

#sansebastian #travelgram #photodump
A little kitchen reshuffle today so I thought I'd share 🥰

It's been 4 years since we created this space and it's still one of my favourites ♥️

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Ad 🩷 Before and after Deck makeover! 🩷

This little decked patio was looking worse for wear after a wet winter but @frenchicpaint came to the rescue with their beautiful Dusty Blush Alfresco Paint, perfect for all your outdoor projects!

The deck has been a few colours over the past few years but this is definitely the most fun and gives the whole space such a tropical vibe - even in Shrewsbury! 🏝️ 🦩🍹😄

The paint has incredible coverage and was so nice to use - I loved the tools they provided too, especially the oval brush which got into all the nooks and crannies easily!

Let me know what you think of the new colour! 

#frenchicpaint #beforeandafter #deckmakeover #gardeninspiration #gardeninspo #outdoorproject
So on a whim I decided to paint the bedroom pink yesterday 😅🩷

This room has been neglected for so long as I've wanted to fully redecorate for about 3 years now but there are always other bigger priorities or a lack of time/energy/money so I keep putting it off 🙃🙃🙃 (tell me I'm not the only one) but happily this didn't cost a penny as I used what I already had although it did take me the best part of a day!

I went through my paint stash and found that I had extra @coatpaints Percy from when I did the living room early last year -- well I'm not one to let something this good go to waste (honestly this paint is absolutely wonderful to work with and has amazing coverage) and my goodness it's just so pretty in here 🥰 I also moved my pink curtains from my office into here and the whole room just glows!

I might actually be able to live with the mural a little longer until the room gets the attention it deserves! Let me know if you like the change ♥️

*For those who are wondering, it used to be white walls and I had grey curtains! 😅

#swoonworthy #bedroomdecor #bedroommakeover #bedroomdesign #pinkpinkpink #pinkinteriors
A little photo dump from my recent living room shoot because I still love to dig into the details of a still photo 😄💕

#swoonworthy #swoonworthyscents #livingroominspo #livingroomdesign #photodump
ad How to De-stress at Home in 6 Simple Steps 😊

April has been #stressawarenessmonth and so I've teamed up with the wonderful @frenchbedroom to share a few simple tips in creating a cosy sanctuary at home!

One of my favourite ways to add a feeling of comfort and relaxation is with glorious touchable textures and the stunning Mulberry Silk ruffled cushion from French Bedroom not only looks spectacular but feels incredible too! Pairing this with other feel-good fabrics will add depth to your design and will beg you to sink in and unwind 😍

French Bedroom are also now stocking my own home fragrance brand @swoonworthyscents candles, adding another element of calm with scent to your home. I chose No 02 Sunday Morning for my living room with rejuvenating Jasmine and refreshing pine and lemon notes 🥰

Check out my latest blog post for more tips on creating a relaxing sanctuary in your home via the link in my bio!

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Who needs pancakes when you can have Lemon Drizzle Cake with Lemoncello glaze?! 😉🍋

I've had such a craving for this cake for a while so figured I'd make it today! This is a recipe from @bbcgoodfood and it's rather gorgeous 🥰

#baking #lemondrizzle #lemoncake #bakewithlove #shrovetuesday
Are you lucky enough to be owned by a cat? 🐈🐾

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Finally managed to get the gallery wall completed in our hallway!

I couldn't have been happier with @violajayphotography capturing our little intimate wedding in October and knew as soon as I saw the photos I had to print them for our home! I admit, I've never been one to hang photos but it's probably because all we ever had after 14 years together was selfies 😂🤷🏽‍♀️ I'm so pleased we finally have some lovely shots of us together 🥰

Do you have photos of you/your partner/your family up around your home?? 🤔

#gallerywall #autumnwedding #hallwaydesign #hallwayinspo
✨These little vintage copper pans needed some TLC! ✨

After searching for a while for vintage copper pans, I found these on eBay - they looked quite grim on the ad but I knew they could be shined up nicely! A little @barkeepersfriend later (not an ad!) and I'm loving how they look in my kitchen 🥰

Let me know if you like the new addition ❤️

#kitcheninspo #kitchendesign #vintagestyle #kitchenstyling
Oh hey living room, nice to have you back ☺️

I always feel very ready to remove the excess of Christmas decor pretty much as soon as the 26th arrives but I've been later than usual this Twixmas as we've both been unwell the last couple weeks 🤦🏽‍♀️ Nevertheless, I've managed to get things packed away and I styled this little faux arrangement today for my coffee table so ya know, small victories 😄🙌🏽

#livingroom #livingroominspo #fauxflowers #coffeetabledecor