Many people confuse Vintage Style decorating with the Shabby Chic decorating style. However, there are subtle differences between the two styles.
Shabby Chic by its name has an atmosphere of benign neglect but still has an elegance surrounding it. Vintage style decorating, on the other hand, has the potential of bringing you back to your grandparent's home. It is similar in a way to retro style decorating. The furniture may resemble that found in the Shabby Chic home. It may be well loved with peeling paint and many dents and scratches from much use. The differences are not found so much in the furniture used in the two styles. What separates the styles are the accents and accessories found in the vintage style home.
Folding Clothes Racks
Fabrics are most important in the Vintage Style Home
Fabrics are an important ingredient in creating this style. If you love the old cabbage roses of the 40's you are well on your way to enjoying this style. Calico prints from the 30's and 40's are also used extensively.
In the kitchen, oilcloth tablecloths are often used. Cookbooks were also often covered in oilcloth. Another favorite in the kitchen is the old roller towel rack. These often had linen calendar prints or beautiful floral linen prints on them.
Another kitchen staple was the terrycloth towel with the crocheted buttoned handle that could be attached to a drawer knob or the oven door handle. Dishcloths and towels often had hand crocheted edges to keep them from fraying and help them last longer.
Other Vintage Style Kitchen Decorating Ideas:
One idea for vintage decorators is to have a coat rack in the kitchen displaying a variety of colorful aprons from the 40's and 50's. There are many of these aprons available at flea markets for a very low price.
Along with the roller towel rack, there oftentimes was a wooden folding rack for trying dish towels attached to the wall. The slats would fold down into it when not in use and could be brought out for drying towels and dish cloths when needed.
Enameled pots, both blue speckled and white were found in vintage kitchens. The variety of tools used is huge and great fun to look for at flea markets. Pottery and stoneware were popular for table settings.
The Vintage Style Kitchen Accessories
Below is a list of items you might find in a kitchen decorated in the vintage style:
gallon butter churns butter molds wire egg baskets rug beaters a display of old keys colored canning jars milk bottles antique cookbooks vintage pottery and canisters tin breadboxes vintage salt and pepper shakers
If you have a laundry area, a washboard could also be hung on the wall. To go along with that, everyone had clothespin bags that were hung from the clothesline, keeping the pins handy for use. Ironing boards were often covered with colorful calicos or cotton floral prints. Ticking was also a favorite fabric for covering ironing boards. Does anyone out there ever leave their ironing board out on display anymore?
These are some ideas for decorating your kitchen in the vintage style. Hopefully, by now you get the idea of the differences between shabby chic and vintage style.
As I mentioned earlier, these differences are subtle, but the change in ambiance is enormous.
Remember, shabby chic is discreet neglected elegance while vintage style is a nostalgic "remember your grandmother's house" atmosphere.