​The good old days: vintage style kitchenwares

Homify HK Homify HK
Kitchen, Lavish Shoestring Lavish Shoestring Kitchen
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Ah, those were the days: back then, everything was so much easier. Everything was so much better. Children were respectful, music wasn’t just noise and people actually read books. When exactly? Just, you know, in the past in general. Forty years ago, fifty, sixty. The precise year doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t matter whether you were even born then or not; there is an air of reassurance about old ways and old things that most of experience from time to time, no doubt passed down partially from grandparents and other older family members who do remember “the good old days”. And, on top of that, vintage objects have an aesthetic appeal and a personality that appeals to a lot of people. If your preferred style of decor is eclectic, maybe even a little cluttered, you’re no doubt someone who likes objects that appear to have a bit of a story behind them. But even if your tastes are more minimalist, a few choice pieces with a lot of character can go a long way to helping your rooms to shine. The kitchen is the most intuitive place to introduce a splash of old world flair – requiring, as it does, no small amount of jars and crockery and other bits and pieces which can be easily picked up at flea markets or vintage stores. For some ideas to get your collection of lovely vintage oddities kick started, read on below.

​A little something sweet

Vintage containers are easy to find and offer a much more interesting alternative to keeping your cereal, sugar or teabags in the box or in bland plastic jars. This particular example is, fittingly enough, particularly sweet. It’s endearingly twee while stopping short of all-out kitsch, featuring a pretty pattern and a colour scheme that seems to have come straight from the mid-20th Century.

​Inspiration from the ancients

This lovely Grecian style piece is a feast for the eyes, with its cheerful blue background and intricately detailed figures. An item like this could be used for multiple purposes, from serving food to storing fruit, eggs or biscuits.

​Don’t be a mug

Crockery is the perfect channel for introducing a vintage quirk to your kitchen – and particularly mugs, as they are easy to buy anywhere and such a huge range of different designs exists. Mix and match your patterns and images; the more different mugs you have, the more interesting your collection of kitchenware will be. Once you’ve put in all that work to building your mug collection, you’re probably going to want to show it off. A shelving unit with no door (as opposed to a cupboard), or even a row of pegs over your sink, is the answer.

​Tea is the key

Objects don’t have to be loud or ostentatiously patterned to convey their vintage credentials. This cup and mug conjure a sense of the past simply by means of their refined silhouettes and subtle gilt detailing. The bright colours used, by contrast, bring a distinct edge of the contemporary to the designs.

​Get the edge

Borders and edges are a very important part of the anatomy of a vintage style item. They tend to be heavily patterned, often with flowers or other natural motifs. The plates seen here mix this old-fashioned stylistic marker with modern colours and prints.

​A little detail goes a long way

As this simple but very appealing tumbler shows, the most basic decorative details can have a big impact on how old (or, conversely, how modern) an item appears.

Do you own any vintage pieces with a story behind them? Which one is your favourite?

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