How to Decorate Smart with Older Furniture and Home Accessories

Seven years and three homes, all different shapes and sizes.

Decorating to make a space your own can prove to be difficult especially if you find yourself wanting to keep that “special antique or vintage piece” and it moves with you.

My first home was a row unit condominium, the second a three bedroom two storey and now it’s a cozy 486 square foot apartment. It has taken me many years to understand how to BUY SMART older things that are easy to accommodate in any space both style and size wise.

Select furnishings and accessories followed me to this new den and here is why they are standing the test of time with me.

Coffee Table Trunk – Two Things in One

I was at my parent’s place in the country and found this big guy in their neighbours garbage. It was free so I bought a few things to refinish it since the tin top was a little rough. Why are trunks to great? They can multi-purpose as furniture and storage. All my DVDs and CDs (yes I am a little old school) can be found inside. In the coming weeks I will discuss how best to refinish these types of furniture.

The Household Ornament – The Conversation Piece.

If you want a nice ornament in your home why not make it something you can use? My favourite kind should not to be confused with a knick knack, these objects or ornaments are a bit more substantial in size and should flank (sit around) or sit on your other larger furniture. This is that conversation piece that triggers the question “where did you get that?”

I saw this heavy ceramic bar pitcher in my parents home one Saturday and starred at it for a few hours. My dad must of noticed because when I got home in my bag which held leftovers of food from my visit was the Vintage Wade (England) Bombay Dry Gin Pitcher. For reference this water jug retails online for between $15-$29 dollars.

Colour Pop Petite Table – The Everything & Anything

Let’s be honest as much as we love little decorative tables because they are an easy find to fit in the car they are not super practical. They need there own wall space since they are so cute and generally should from a visual perspective stand alone. I got this table at a garage sale.

If you are going to go the small route go slender. This green table fits on the “I don’t know what to do with it wall.” If you are going to get one find one that has built-in drawers. I use this one as my jewellery box. It fits those bangle bracelets perfectly. For all the men out there it is good when your small table can fit the paper bills you don’t know what to do with.

The Dry Gin jug currently sits on top of this table.

My main tip from this post is “size matters but it can be trumped if an item serves multiple purposes in your household.” Visit often for my techniques to make your furnishings work with your lifestyle.

Oh yes before I go I wanted to share that an ornament as per Merriam-Webster is a small, fancy object that is put on something else to make it more attractive or a way to make something look more attractive and less plain

Have some old furniture that may need a face lift? Read Furniture Makeovers: Simple Techniques for Transforming Furniture with Paint, Stains, Paper, Stencils, and More