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Vintage Modern Explained

November 14, 2014

Vintage Modern Explained

What it is & how to get the vintage modern look

In interior design, established styles are often mixed to create new, interesting looks. The names for these kinds of interiors are plentiful: urban industrial, industrial chic, vintage chic, and vintage industrial are just a few that we dove into before. Today, we want to have a good look at vintage modern. What is it exactly? And how do you get that vintage modern look? Read on to find out.

The basis

Vintage modern mixes elements from modern interiors and vintage interiors, or more simply put: old and new. The worn, warm, nostalgic look of vintage is blended with the sleek, contemporary, fresh look of modern. They are combined in such a way that they complement each other and the various elements stand out – more than they would in a purely modern or purely vintage interior.

Getting the look

So how do you get a vintage modern look? There are roughly three ways:

  1. You can add vintage elements to predominantly modern interiors.
  2. You can add modern elements to predominantly vintage interiors.
  3. You can select items that have both a vintage and modern feel.

Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take some examples to see how you can put it into practise!

This interior definitely starts out modern. The wall art immediately catches the eye and, along with the white wall and floor, gives off a very contemporary message. But the more you look, the more everything is brought back into balance with well-chosen vintage elements. The old rocking-horse, the exposed brick wall and robust wooden table, for example. And there’s also a lot of vintage furniture which looks modern at the same time, like the retro seats and the industrial pendant light.

This one’s another favourite of ours. Even more so than in the previous interior, this room has many pieces which are both vintage and modern. The round copper lamp for example gives off a wonderfully retro vibe, but it’s shiny and on-trend copper look is very much modern, too. And what about the retro wooden, but smoothly polished stool and table? A definite vintage industrial brick wall and contemporary white bookcase finish off this vintage modern look.

This bathroom is a modern vintage masterpiece. The vintage brick wall catches the eye as the only warm-coloured area and is a perfect backdrop for the gorgeous vintage bathtub. The brick look is continued in the rest of the bathroom, but given a modern look by using smooth, glazed tiles. A modern glass screen and shiny appliances enhance the fresh modern look, while a mosaic tiled floor ties it all together. Simply fantastic.

Are you a fan of the vintage modern look? What do you think are good examples? We’d love to hear about your ideas in the comments!

Images via Pinterest


1 Response

Cherrie Hub
Cherrie Hub

November 19, 2014

absolutely stunning, I think industrial has got so much in common with the rustic home decor… This week I have found fantastic industrial spinning chair with a steel base, and I think it would fit either into rustic or industrial interior:
http://www.cherriehub.co.uk/products/industrial-spinning-chair-with-a-steel-frame?variant=979982455

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