Decorate with Vintage Artwork

From the environmental emphasis on upcycling old things to the revival of the culture of the past, vintage art has a timeless appeal. Decorating with it is a great way to give your home a retro spin or a unique look. In addition to your own ideas, it helps to know some tips on decorating with vintage art, ideas on repurposing antiques, and some stress-free tips on hanging and arranging your art.

Steps

Decorating with Vintage Art

1. Adorn the staircase with framed family photos. For this idea, you can use a variety of sizes. If you have a wide variety of small and large photos, hang the smaller ones at eye level and the larger ones higher up. This way, the viewer will be able to see each image equally well. Feel free to mix up eras, as well. Place antique black-and-white or sepia photos with color photos from no more than 20 years ago.
2. Display an antique city map. A black-and-white aerial view of streets and parks will give your home a more vintage feel. Hang an engraving or lithograph in a black frame or opt for an unframed canvas. Display it in your foyer to greet guests or in your dining room as a conversation piece.
3. Hang monochromatic engravings. Black-and-white depictions of everyday life are versatile. You can hang them in multiple rooms. If you desire a change of décor, you can switch them out to different rooms. For example, that country scene hanging in the bedroom might look equally nice in the living room.
4. Display oil or acrylic reproductions. Don't fret if you can't afford that Impressionist masterpiece in the latest auction catalogue. There are plenty of websites and catalogues that sell framed oil and acrylic reproductions on canvas for reasonable prices. Hang them in the foyer, the living room, the bedroom or along the staircase.
5. Decorate with vintage posters. The subject matter of posters is often more modern than other forms of vintage art. Examples include old movies, propaganda form each World War, and psychedelic imagery from the 1960s and 70s. Hang them in the living room, bedroom, or dinging room. If you have a room designated for entertainment, classic movie posters would add a great touch.
6. Place an antique vase on a fireplace mantle. Spice up a white or beige mantle with a brightly colored vase. If your mantle has a bolder paint job, use a white vase for some contrast. Place a bouquet of real or artificial flowers in the vase or leave it empty. Set in the center to offset a rectangular work of wall art.
7. Display a sundial outside. Place it in the front yard to greet guests or add an accent to the back garden. Go for a simple circular dial on a rectangular pedestal or a more ornate armillary sphere. Choose from stone, metal, or a combination of the two. No matter which shapes or materials you choose, your sundial will definitely draw everyone's attention.

Decorating with Repurposed Antiques

1. Hang a Plate. First, purchase plate hanging hardware from your local craft store. Then, plan how you want to hang the plates. You could arrange them by alternating sizes, shapes, or colors. Choose from a circular or rectangular arrangement.
2. Create a “distressed” paint job for wooden antiques. Remove the original paint if you don't like the color or if you think it might contain lead. For a vintage look, use your index finger to apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly anywhere you don't want the paint to stick. Then, paint the entire surface and let the paint dry for a few hours. After that, run a damp rag over the areas you applied the petroleum jelly. The paint will come right off.
3. Upcycle a vintage window. Hang a salvaged window of any shape or size from the wall to display as art. Place it on a wall that receives direct sunlight for an interesting play of light. To create a sense of variety, complement curved lines with straight ones. For example, hang a circular window above a chair with a rectangular back.
   • You can also use each quadrant of a divided window as a picture frame. Hang vintage lithographs, such as floral prints. Tack them to the wall with mounting putty or place them in small frames and hang them as you normally would. You can find mounting putty online or in your local craft store.
4. Hang empty frames as art. If you bought an interesting antique frame but haven't found a painting or print to fill it, try displaying the frame by itself. You can choose to paint it a new color or keep the original paint job/finish. Consider making it the centerpiece of an arrangement among paintings or prints.
5. Use old shutters as an interior backdrop. With a little imagination, the possibilities with old shutters are endless. Prop three or four behind the couch or chairs to create a sense of texture on an otherwise smooth wall. Fasten them to the walls if you choose not to place furniture in front of them.
   • On the other hand, you can hang one or two shutters horizontally over the kitchen table to organize mail or display postcards.
6. Decorate your kitchen with old cookware. If your kitchen is largely white, hang vintage copper pots and pans to create a rustic feel. On the other hand, if you prefer a more modern approach, hang vintage enamelware. You could also paint metal cookware with bolder colors. Go with colors that are in the same family as your wall color or aim for a more dynamic look by choosing contrasting colors.

Arranging Two- and Three-Dimensional Art

1. Group smaller objects together. Do this if you don't have any large objects to complement them. Use objects that have something in common—color scheme, pattern, subject matter, etc. Arrange them in a manner that both shows off their variety and unifies them as a single work of art.
   • For example, imagine you have three small vintage posters featuring forms of transportation. One depicts a car; another depicts a train; the final one depicts an airplane. Look at each poster's use of line, shape, and color. If the airplane poster has more vertical lines than the other two, hang that one in the center.
2. Create a symmetrical arrangement. Choose this option if you have an even number of objects with similar dimensions. Imagine a vertical line in the center of the arrangement. If you have a laser level or painter's tape, let that be your vertical axis. Then, start arranging your hangings on each side of the line in a mirror-image fashion. Make sure your artworks are evenly spaced.
   • For example, let's say you have two rectangular paintings and two smaller square paintings. You would place the two paintings immediately to either side of the vertical axis. After that, you would hang each square painting on either free side of the rectangular ones.
3. Make a salon-style arrangement. Choose this option if you have several objects of different sizes. Use the largest or most prominent object as the center of the arrangement. Position it at eye level. Group the smaller objects around it in some kind of logical fashion.
   • For example, if you have a mixture of round and rectangular vintage prints, try alternating each shape.
4. Arrange objects on horizontal surfaces. Spruce up an nightstand, mantle, or desk with sculptures or two-dimensional art. Lean framed paintings, prints, or photographs against the wall as an eye-catching backdrop. Frame these two-dimensional works with lamps, flower vases, or antique bookends. Place small sculptures, candles, or mantle clocks in front of them.

Hanging Wall Art

1. Center large objects at eye level. Eye level is about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} from the floor. If you hang your art too high or too low, you and other viewers can overlook it. Place your artwork at a central point above your couch, table, or other location that will draw people's attention.
2. Arrange objects on the floor first. The last thing you want to do is create more holes in the wall than you need. Lay your intended objects on the floor. Then, take the time to figure out an appealing, eye-catching pattern to hang them in.
3. Map out your arrangement. Cut out pieces of kraft paper in the same sizes and shapes as each object you want to hang. Place them on the wall in the same arrangement you planned on the floor. Make sure you space all of your objects the same distance apart. When each piece of paper is level, secure it with painter's tape.
4. Hang the objects. On the craft paper, mark the spot where the nail for each wall hanging must go. Then, drive the nail through the paper template. Add a picture hanger, if desired, and gently tear away the craft paper. Finally, install your wall hanging. Repeat this process until the arrangement is complete.

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Sources and Citations

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