Vintage Kitchen Styling Ideas
If you’ve been around the blog for longer than 5 minutes, you’ll know I’m a big fan of vintage kitchen style. I like to think of my kitchen as having a rustic vibe, being really cosy and homely with a lived in feel. It’s definitely not a sleek, modern kitchen! If you love a vintage style, here are some vintage kitchen styling ideas you can try.
How can I make my kitchen look vintage?
There are a few ways to make your kitchen look more vintage. My favourite way is to use natural materials – I have wooden worktops, a wood-effect LVT floor and a lot of wicker! Here are some more vintage kitchen ideas that you can try, none of which are expensive. If you are on a budget, this is a great look to go for as you can find pieces in charity shops, Ebay, Facebook marketplace and furniture auctions.
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Use painted freestanding furniture. Our pine dresser, which is home to all my cake decorating tins, boards, boxes etc has been painted an off white and the paint is a bit chipped in places. I love the effect this gives – it makes it seem old and timeworn. I’m definitely not going to repaint it! Our Shit Cupboard (grey pantry cupboard if you’re being posh) hides a multitude of sins and has been painted with basic emulsion paint. I wouldn’t recommend this type of paint for furniture, but it was a quick fix 5 years ago and has surprisingly lasted well! It’s full of character and is a perfect addition to our vintage kitchen.
Vintage brick mould from Lisa Valentine Home
Get an old table. We made our kitchen table from some scaffold planks and some old table legs and left it with a very rustic finish. It’s wonky, it looks old and is full of character. It already looks like it’s had a very hard life!! I have recently stained it darker to be more in keeping with our chairs, as they were really dark against the light wood of the table before. Our vintage chairs are also Facebook market place bargains.
Embrace the mismatch. Nothing in my kitchen matches anything else, and I really like that. It gives the idea that the space has evolved over time rather than being subject to an instant makeover. It also means you can buy pieces at markets, brocantes, car boot sales, Ebay, Facebook – wherever you like!
Modern Country Kitchen Ideas
Wicker baskets add a natural feel and are a great way to store things. I have these baskets from Cox and Cox under the pantry cupboard to store Lego, some wicker picnic baskets to store cake decorating tools and some decorative ones which don’t store anything. They look nice though.
Modern Vintage Kitchen Ideas
Consider a fabric kitchen curtain. I used ticking fabric to create a curtain to hide our bin (and empty wine bottles destined for the recycling). This is a really simple project to do and I made a tutorial for how to make a simple cupboard curtain.
Use vintage style artwork to add character and personality. I love prints from The Musee Home – Jo has selected a wide range of vintage art prints so there will be something to inspire you on there. I have a couple of her pieces now, and this jug one is a fave.
Bring the outside in. Use herb planters or seasonal blooms from the garden as decoration. Dried flowers are brilliant to bring in natural elements. Add vases of dried flowers to add texture. Go all out and have a huge wreath of dried flowers on your wall – everyone does it!
Display your collections. Maybe you have a cake stand collection, or a collection of vintage plates? Display those treasures and enjoy them. Maybe create a wall of decorative plates, or use a shelf to display Victorian ink wells? I know, that last one is very specific as it’s me!! Kitchenalia, when displayed well, can add character and interest to a room, especially on open shelves like I’m trying to convince my husband to let me have where we have overhead units now.
I’ve started collecting these vintage ink wells, much to my husband’s annoyance. They come in a range of beautiful colours which tie in perfectly with my neutral theme. Mr R hates all things that could be a collection – he’d live in a bare shell if he could!
Think about your kitchen colours. A vintage kitchen would usually be light coloured, so consider painting your units a light or neutral colour. Modern kitchens however can be any colour you fancy! Consider your flooring choice too. Natural stone or slates look great, as do quarry tiles or even brick. If you are thinking of wooden floors, choose something hardwearing. We have LVT from a previous PR collaboration.
For more rustic kitchen ideas, check out my Pinterest board which is full of vintage kitchen decor.
