Last Updated on September 19, 2023
Sometimes people ask me, “Hey, how would you define your decorating style?” and I usually just ramble or stumble upon my words. It’s hard to describe what my style is. It’s an eclectic, vintage, classic, mid-century modern, industrial, with a dash of mantiques…but really, it is hard to explain. I’d recognize it if I saw it at someone’s home, hmm, kinda girly but not girly. Kinda manly but not manly. A hint of old granny, but not shabby chic…a little Brady Bunch sans the color rust, but there are usually pops of orange…furniture from Leave It To Beaver’s home…yes, I have a Momofuku cookbook on display…yes, I have vintage cameras (and know how to use them). How does it all seem to work? I don’t know. Maybe some visuals will help?
Table of Contents
Defining Hipster Style
All About The vintage
Some of my furniture is new, but some are vintage decor pieces from sellers I’ve found who refinish, restore, or reupholster vintage furniture. These are usually my favorite pieces. They come with a story. They have held up over time. They are sturdy. They have heft. They were well made…hell, they lasted 30-40 years and now have a whole new life. my vintage stores of choice…well, I can’t give you all of my secrets today…but if I had to name a few, they would be: Scout, Brimfield, and White Attic. And now that you know my secret places, you have to promise to keep them to yourself, and please don’t buy every cool piece, or I might have to hurt cha.
RELATED: If you’re headed to Chicago, bookmark my vintage shops in Chicago post. It’s an epic guide of all my secret shopping sources.
I think a great way to keep light bouncing around the room is to add a few metal pieces to give the room some shine. Nothing too big…just some decorative accent pieces. Above, I chose a lamp, the Zelda table with brass hairpin legs. Hairpin is having a moment right now, and I was a giddy little school girl when i found this particular table. In fact, it is on a UPS truck right now and I can’t wait for its delivery, but more on that later. I love, love, love, this Tom Dixon metal candle! Get in my house already!
Sometimes, I fear color, and I step away from the room only to see that it is navy, grey, or brown…sad face. So, to add a few pops of color without being too married to a piece, I’m on a kick right now with vintage kilm pieces. I like the boho feel it gives without being overly hippie. And some of these pieces are just like bam! in your face. It gives the room life. The latest I have to have it piece is this bench from barrington blue…I love it so much that it makes my heart want to explode!
So next, I like to layer in a bit of nature. I’m not really a let’s go sleep in a tent kinda girl, but I don’t mind having a birch tree branch decorate my home interior. I’ve featured this vine pendant from pieces in Atlanta, GA, in a prior post, but I heart it so much that I’m going to show it to you again. I have this pendant lamp in my foyer, and we have it on every night…it’s all twinkle-y and sparkle-y at night…it’s just so pretty. But back to nature…bringing in some florals can really soften a table…it takes some of those harder edges and gives them a bit more of a girly feel.
It’s So…Unique!
Accessorize with what you love. I’m going to go back to that uniqueness. Yes, there are those furniture stores that sell packaged vignettes: the sofa, loveseat, chair, 2 end tables, and a coffee table. They make it easy for you, but then you walk into six different homes, and they all have the same set. So if the package route is what you choose to go with, make it your own by finding items you love. I’m partial to vintage cameras (and I was before it was cool), stacks of design, photography, cooking books, small figures, and unique vases.
Hipsters Love Their Mantiques
And lastly, I like a touch of antiques. You know, those vintage pieces that are very manly? Ya, those! Vintage fans. Heavy old shelving that can be converted to a table…this is where the florals can help tone down the manly man feel. Being a graphic designer, I’m partial to old signage, and the “division – downtown” vintage bus roll-turned sign from Three Potato Four really spoke to me. I work in Chicago, and I love to hang in the Bucktown, Wicker Park area, so it really fits me and kinda goes back to that whole accessorize with things you love idea.
So after this novel of a post, I ask myself again, hey girl, what is your style? Well, I guess I’d have to say my house is a living, breathing work of art that is unique to me and my family and will probably never be finished. The best The Boy can hope for is for me to stand back whenever I have the house “just so” and smile — and probably move a couple of pieces around again. Friends who visit the house may judge it or not appreciate it for what it is, but in all of its uniqueness, I can guarantee my guests will remember my home design. They may not be able to describe it but damn it, they are going to remember it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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