There are tons of options when it comes to selecting seating for your home. One style that you definitely want to consider is vintage.
You can easily find tons of beautiful vintage chairs, sofas and everything in between.
The Advantages of Vintage
There are a lot of excellent advantages for selecting vintage items for your home.
Vintage Is Always in Style
Vintage style has been around for a long, long time and it has never (and probably will never) go out of style.
No matter what type of decor you decide to go with you?ll pretty much always be able to fit in a few vintage pieces.
Vintage always fits in and has a certain je ne sais quoi that no modern style can ever replicate.
There?s so much demand for vintage in fact, that many modern furniture companies will mimic this style in their newly-made products.
Vintage Often Means Higher Quality
A vintage chair for example has survived a long time which usually means that it?s built tough.
Not only is older furniture usually built better than today?s modern disposable furniture but vintage pieces are built to last and to be handed down though the generations.
As a result a vintage item usually has a long rich history associated with it.
Vintage is Unique
Vintage furniture isn?t mass produced like furniture today. Each piece is usually hand made.
Every piece is unique from little details to tiny imperfections that add to the overall character of each piece.
Vintage is Usually Inexpensive
These items can usually be purchased second hand and often at a considerable discount. Especially when compared to modern, brand new furniture items.
Many people mistakenly believe that vintage items can be more expensive but that?s actually usually not the case.
What to Look for When Buying Vintage Seating
If you?ve decided that you want that perfect vintage chair, sofa or any other kind of seating to complete your home figuring out where to start can be a bit overwhelming.
The first thing to do is seek out quality retailers in either your neighbourhood or even online.
Check out places like flea markets, thrift stores, auctions and even estate sales.
Visit these places often!
Retailers like these are constantly getting new items in. Plus over time if a piece doesn?t sell they will lower the price.
Check for Quality
If you decide to purchase some second hand seating be sure to check the quality.
A piece should be gently used. Definitely not trashed.
The frame should be nice and sturdy and there shouldn?t be any major cracks in the wood.
Avoid anything that looks like it has poor workmanship.
Scratches might seem kind of scary at first but most minor scratches can be fixed so don?t worry about those. There are a lot of different products that can help with this.
Don?t be Afraid to Negotiate
Scratches and other minor defects can be used to negotiate a lower price. Just make sure you?re dealing with a retailer that allows negotiating.
If you?re looking at a piece with imperfections or that?s slightly damaged be sure to take into consideration the price of repairs.
Refurbishing an upholstered chair or sofa can get quite expensive.
There?s no point negotiating a great deal if you end up spending more fixing it up later.
Make Sure You Have Room
If you see the absolute perfect chair that you need in your house you probably can?t afford to wait.
Since each piece is usually unique and stores are constantly rotating through new inventory if you want you?ll probably miss your chance.
Measure your space before hand and bring a tape measure with you when you?re shopping.
Bringing a beautiful vintage sofa home only to find out that it doesn?t fit in your living room is never fun.
Don?t Buy too Many Items
As mentioned earlier, vintage is a style that will always fit in. One or two vintage pieces can look amazing but don?t buy too many.
A vintage piece makes a perfect focal point for your room but a whole set of vintage items can be overwhelming and have a negative effect.
Consider Buying New Pieces Designed to Look Vintage
Many modern furniture makers built new furniture using a vintage style. This can be another excellent option, especially if you don?t like the idea of buying furniture second hand.
This way you still get that vintage style and often these pieces can still fit within your budget.
What Do You Think?
Do you have any stories about amazing vintage finds you?ve come across when designing your home?
Be sure to let us know in the comments, we?d love to hear about your vintage adventures.