Mixing modern and vintage: an interiors style guide

Creating a unique and stylish home doesn’t have to mean choosing between modern and vintage décor. In fact, combining the two can result in a visually appealing and meaningful space that reflects your personal taste and story. The key is to know how to mix and match the old and the new in a harmonious way. Here are some tips to help you master the art of mixing modern and vintage style.

1: Choose a colour palette

One of the easiest ways to create a cohesive look when mixing modern and vintage styles is to choose a colour palette and stick to it. This could be as simple as using neutrals such as white, black and gray, or incorporating a bold colour like blue or green as an accent. Neutrals work well with vintage pieces because they allow the details and character of the item to shine, while bold colours can add a modern touch to vintage furniture and accessories.

2: Balance old & new

Another important aspect of mixing modern and vintage style is balance. A room that’s too heavily weighted towards one style can feel disjointed or overwhelming. Instead, aim to balance the old and the new in terms of both visual weight and the number of items. For example, you might pair a vintage armchair with a sleek, modern coffee table or mix vintage artworks with contemporary prints.

3: Mix textures & materials

Mixing different textures and materials can add depth and visual interest to a space. Combining rough, natural elements like wood and stone with smooth, polished surfaces like metal and glass creates a dynamic contrast that’s both modern and vintage. Experiment with layering rugs, throw pillows and blankets to add warmth and texture to a room.

4: Make a statement

Vintage pieces often have a lot of character and personality, making them perfect for making a statement in a room. Consider using a vintage sideboard or bookcase as a focal point, or incorporating a vintage light fixture or mirror to add visual interest. When combining vintage and modern styles, it’s important to let each piece shine, so avoid cluttering a space with too many items.

5: Add personal touches

Mixing modern and vintage style is all about creating a space that reflects your personal taste and story. Adding personal touches such as family photos, heirlooms or travel souvenirs can help to tie the two styles together and make a room feel homely. Consider incorporating vintage pieces that have sentimental value or using modern décor that reflects your interests and hobbies.

Conclusion

Mixing modern and vintage style can result in a beautiful and unique space that reflects your personal taste and story. By choosing a colour palette, balancing old and new, mixing textures and materials, making a statement and adding personal touches, you can create a cohesive and visually appealing space that’s both modern and vintage. With a little bit of creativity and experimentation, you can have a home that’s a perfect blend of the past and the present.

Auction Alert: Petroliana – Enamel signs, petrol pump globes, oil cans and early advertising

Petroliana is a new word on us. We’ve heard of automobilia in the past; however, judging by the names, ‘petroliana’ refers to things found in a gas/petrol station or garage and ‘automobilia’ is the term for anything car/van/motorbike/automobile-related.

Petroliana – Enamel signs, petrol pump globes, oil cans and early advertising takes place on 29^th June 2024, from 9:30am. The sale is being run by Richard Edmonds Auctions who are based in Chippenham, Wiltshire. There are 514 lots, and we’ve chosen to highlight some of the items in the sale that you don’t have to be a ‘petrol head’ to appreciate… We certainly aren’t! They’re all things that would look great in any home, garden, greenhouse, man cave, she shed etc.

There’s a buyer’s premium of 16.67% (exc. VAT) and a further online commission of 3% (exc. VAT) on top, so bear that in mind before you place any bids.

In addition to in the room bidding, bids can be left with us, live bidding over the telephone available as well as through the-saleroom.com

Lot 46: A Michelin Mr. Bibendum bakelite ashtray

Estimate: £200-£300

Lot 110: A 1950s Michelin Bibendum ‘Baby Girl’ moneybox

5 1/4″ tall.
Estimate: £180-£200

Lot 114: A Shell Motor Oil pint jug

Estimate: £150-£200

Lot 120: A Pratt’s Perfection Spirit framed and glazed advertising mirror

Depicting a Pratt’s Perfection Spirit two-gallon can, 20 1/4 x 26 1/4″.
Estimate: £300-£400

Lot 145: A set of Peek traffic lights

Lights on rotation between the three colours, 37″ tall x 13 1/2″ wide x 8″ deep, shades detachable.
Estimate: £100-£200

Lot 173: Eight oil pourers

Inc. Shell X-100 pint, Smiths Bluecol, Fina, Esso, Shell anti-freeze etc.
Estimate: £50-£80

Lot 187: A selection of play-worn models of petrol pumps etc, some stamped Dinky

Estimate: £15-£25

Lot 200: A Michelin First Aid (tyre repair) tin cabinet/toolbox

Unusually still with inside partitions and some original contents, 16 x 8 1/4 x 4 1/4″ closed, 16 x 16″ opened.
Estimate: £300-£500

Lot 231: A Dunlop Fan Belts wall-mounted rack

Estimate: £40-£60

Lot 256: A Motorcraft acrylic wall clock

With illustrations advertising the brand’s products, 15 x 15 3/4″.
Estimate: £150-£200

Lot 307: A Shell plastic watering can

Estimate: £150-£200

Lot 372: A National Benzole four-sided hanging light with glass sides

One frosted glass side, another Night Service with NB logo, another with a five-digit phone number and logo and the other a second Night Service with NB logo (very heavy).
Estimate: £300-£500

Lot 385: A Castrol Anti-freeze garage wall thermometer

8 1/4 x 22 1/2″.
Estimate: £80-£120

Creative packaging design: Matchbox labels

Collecting match books and matchbox labels is almost as popular, and just as much fun, as philately. A person that collects them is known as a phillumenist.

There’s a fascinating history about the development of safety match technology – and the banning of white phosphorus (a hugely dangerous chemical) as an ingredient in their manufacture.

The designs of matchbox labels can point to their age and era of production.

There are safety matches (that can only be lit by striking on a specific surface), impregnated (with paraffin) safety matches, long matches and cooks’ matches. In the past, matches were usually ‘foreign’; manufactured in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Belgium and Czechoslovakia.

There was a time when every bar and restaurant supplied customers with their branded matches. Free advertising for them and a free souvenir for you! With the advent of smoking bans around the world, they’ve become a thing of the past.

Matches, matchboxes and matchbooks are still very popular, however; they’re an essential accessory for owners of wood-burning stoves and ranges and fans of room candles.

_{Various vintage matchboxes}

_{Original Cooks Matches}

_{You Light up My Life}

_{Emma Bridgewater Extra Long Matches Black Toast Strike a Light matches | Diptyque Temple des Mousses scented matches}

_{Metal matchbox tin}

Auction Alert: Get An Unusual Gift For Christmas

All the big stores have now launched their TV Christmas ads, so I guess it’s time for us to start thinking about embarking on our Christmas shopping. ‘Get An Unusual Gift For Christmas’ is the tag line of this week’s timed auction; lots end on Sunday 26^th November 2023 from 7pm.

Smile Scotland is an auction house with a difference. It’s a registered charity doing good in its local community and beyond:

At Smile Scotland we are passionate about supporting people into employment that find that challenging to do on their own. We’ve been doing this really successfully since 2014, supporting over 1500 people!
We will empower people in Scotland with the skills, knowledge, confidence and experience to overcome the barriers that they face when getting into, or sustaining employment. We are doing this in order that they can avoid living in poverty and can sustain positive mental and physical health and well-being. Through education and training, discriminating factors such as mental ill-health; physical ill-health and disability; additional learning and support needs; criminal backgrounds; and homelessness will be overcome.

Lot 12: 2 x Folio Society volumes with cases

Hans Andersons Fairytales, illustrated by W Heath Robinson (1995) and Grimm’s Fairy Tales, illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1996), in excellent condition