Second-hand markets and antiques are full of objects that we can reuse to give a vintage touch to our home environment. Even the most unusual and unexpected objects can act as surprising furnishing elements.
Vintage metal signs and advertising posters
Old warehouses, junk shops and second-hand markets are full of them, but they can also be found in numerous antique shops: old signs can be used to give a different look to a wall or a piece of furniture.
A valid – and more convenient – alternative are the printed advertising reproductions of the 30s, 40s and 50s of the last century: these are much easier to combine than metal plates – which instead require enviroments which are already in shabby chic or vintage style – and may be used even in more neutral environments.
Vintage car plates
Also, in this case, second-hand markets and antique shops can help us to find us some old car plates. If possible, let’s choose it colourful, bright and rust-free. In these situations, American plates produced between the 50s and 80s with the signs of the different states of the Union are always the best, featuring bright colours suitable especially for reviving the wooden walls of small rooms: a guest’s bedroom, a study, a tavern.
But not only: we can also use plates to compose frames (for a mirror), or to cover the top of an old coffee table.
Vintage suitcases
These are also items that we can easily find in second-hand and antiques markets: the old and heavy suitcases made in pressed cardboard or (even better) in leather can be a useful resource for those who already own a house furnished in vintage style. In fact, these are bulky objects that we cannot use in any furnishing style but that can give an extra touch, in particular to large rooms. Let’s position them exactly as we bought them at the foot of a large mirror, or opened at the side of a vintage sideboard or a bedroom chest of drawers. When opened, they can actually serve as comfortable containers for shoes and boot.
Or, alternatively, we can repaint them entirely in white and turn them into a shabby chic piece of furniture for an all-white bathroom.
Vintage cameras
Since the advent of digital, many old cameras (including prestigious brands) from the early 1900s have become available on the market for a few tens of euros. Again, second-hand markets and modest antique dealers are the perfect place to look for.
With their elegant look these machines – regardless of their origin: Italian, Russian, American … – can serve as a curious and refined piece of furniture: as ornaments they act well placed on a set of shelves (like our MODUS Target Point shelves), but if we are particularly ingenious and have a white wall that is not too large, we can consider filling at least a portion of it by hanging a group of vintage cameras on it (as in the photo).
Vintage Aviary
This is perhaps one of the most unusual objects: when we think of furnishing a room we hardly think of an aviary for birds. And yet, if we manage to get our hands on an aviary, this could turn into a singular and extremely pleasant touch of furniture. But in order to do this, we must first make sure to find a suitable one, that is: small in size, made in metal, in good condition – so as not to necessarily have to repaint it – and easy to handle.
After that, the uses we can make of it are really many: we can place it on a sideboard or a chest of drawers (strictly vintage-style) and use it indoors as a candle holder or as a storage, but also place it outdoors and make it a flower holder – maybe under a gazebo or a pergola in our garden).
Target Point, Italian Ideas
