Your living room gives a mostly Scandi sensibility with its clean lines and smooth surfaces. But some of your pieces are knock-offs that are more particle board than teak. And maybe you like Swedish minimalism less than you used to. Add to that, Mom and Dad are downsizing and you are suddenly the owner of a few new-to-you vintage pieces. For the most part, you grew up with these items and find them clunky and dated, and they are certainly not Scandi-cool. But there is something in that speckled oak 1980s octagonal sidetable that speaks to you. And that faded, stuffy chair that you hid under as a kid — did it come from Grandma’s house originally? You never really appreciated the intricately carved crest rail before. How do you make this mish-mash of eras and design work together?
Combining contemporary pieces with antiques can be tricky — but lucky for you, there are interior designers who specialize in this very thing. Designers Sherri Schmidt, Laurie Murphy and Trevor Compton, who launched Circa Home in the spring, have spent years helping people find the balance between old and new.
“We help clients decorate their homes with all aspects considered, such as lighting, furniture, carpets, accessories, bedding, wallpaper, light fixtures — you name it,” Compton says. Often that starts with refurbishing a sentimental piece, perhaps an inheritance or something interesting that you picked up at an auction.
Build from quality pieces
“The older furniture, depending on the era, was often better made with better materials,” Compton explains. “The wood would be hardwood and the springs would be of a thicker gauge steel, so those pieces are worthy of being recovered.” If it’s a new piece, and it’s already falling apart, don’t spend money trying to revive it.
“We gravitate to the older pieces when we’re reimagining a vintage piece,” he says.
And those clunky octagonal side tables? “Some people are reimagining them in a painted finish, and even decoupage has become popular again. The style of the piece is worth reimagining in a way that gives it a new life,” Compton says. “It’s smart because it stops things from going into the landfill that can have another life with a new skin.”