Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Wonderful wall designs using antiques
Integrating antiques, vintage items, and family heirlooms into a home’s interior design aesthetic spark memories and bring dazzle to a room. Don’t be afraid to place something old alongside of something new and contemporary. While there are traditional ways to decorate all four walls of a room like with paintings, prints, wreaths and the like, there are also some non-traditional solutions that can make your walls wonderful.
Integrating antiques, vintage items, and family heirlooms into a home’s interior design aesthetic spark memories and bring dazzle to a room. Don’t be afraid to place something old alongside of something new and contemporary. While there are traditional ways to decorate all four walls of a room like with paintings, prints, wreaths and the like, there are also some non-traditional solutions that can make your walls wonderful.
And, when it comes to making bedroom walls say wow, use vintage objects in new ways. For instance, make a built-in, storage area or shelf space on your wall, try using whimsical vintage objects. Take a few well-worn yet vintage suitcase—available at flea markets for $15 to $50 each--and carefully cut them in half using a hand saw. Sand paper any rough edges that will touch the wall. Then, attach the half with the handle to your wall studs using wall bracket hardware. A few suitcases hung near each other will give your guest bedroom a travel ready look. Use an old makeup carrying case as a catch all for jewelry and other small keepsakes on a nearby table to complete the look. The result of reusing these vintage travel items will be a nifty and stylish space that even travel accessory designers like Louis Vuitton would love.
Forget painting one wall a different color than the other three and consider this feature wall technique: wall world map! Cut out various pieces of printed wallpaper in the shapes of the world’s continents. Apply the wallpaper shapes as they would appear on the pages of an atlas and create a cool and decorative feature wall. Enhance the cut-out shapes with rub-on lettering to indicate famous cities, landmarks, or places that you have visited. Also, use this feature wall method to make wallpaper cut outs of a color wheel for the bedroom of a budding artist, a map of the United States for a geography fanatic, or a baseball diamond for your favorite little league player.
If you want to make a wall of your craft room both functional and fancy, use a hanging metal plate rack to hold rolls of wrapping paper, blank stretched canvases, or empty flea market frames which are ready to be filled with mirrors, needlepoint pictures, or vintage prints.
When it comes to antiques, don’t cry over broken antiques or family heirlooms. Don’t trash the broken pieces either. Pick up the pieces and make something useful and special. Broken china plates are common and you can also make a good-looking picture frame from old transferware plates of ironstone ceramic or from red terracotta pottery pieces. Be sure to use a tile grout in a secured wooden frame surround. Don’t forget to wear gloves in order to protect your hands from the sharp broken ceramic pieces.
When it comes to antiques, make them part of your home design and keep the memories of loved ones close to heart.