How To Decorate A New Home With A Old Vintage Style

Driving along on a sunny Sunday morning, all I could seem to notice was the relentless number of new build housing communities or construction sites adding more new build houses into the mix. The lure of a brand new home to make my own was too much to ignore, so I got looking. 

In 2020, 1,379,600 new build houses came to life – and the market was full of them. ‘Older homes’, as people call them, with the right features I needed, were more like a unicorn to find. They’d feature dated flooring, and I wanted real wood parquet floors. Or, it wouldn’t have a pool, and I want to swim my troubles away when the summer comes. 

So, I found myself dipping into the newly built housing market, and so my creative journey began. Still longing for that old-style feel, I embarked on a revamp quest to turn my new build home into one with an old-style feel. Read on to see how I did it.

I Focused On The Prominent Features

If you research it, there aren’t actually many articles that discuss turning a new home into an older one – it sort of defeats the object of getting a new build home. But one thing I found that worked for me was to focus on the prominent, somewhat pristinely perfect features that made my house glaringly obviously new build. The first was the floors. I wanted more natural real wood parquet floors. The transformation was instant. It gave my home a rustic feel I still adore months down the line.

The walls were white (why are new build homes white on white on white?!). I wanted to go for a color in the hallway and sitting room that was darker, warm, and more inviting, so I went with the classic taupe as it’s an easy color to accessorize with. The combination of flooring change and a splash of new color create a more neutral, simple, old-style feel. 

The Right Furnishing Made All The Difference

The main areas of my home felt transformed – but also bare. The furnishing in my new build was very uniform, rigid, and slightly uncomfortable. I dived onto Pinterest to explore some vintage furnishing themes as there’s something about vintage that makes me feel nostalgic, cozy, and comfortable all in one. 

A vintage dark brown leather chesterfield sofa caught my eye. I knew that against my newly painted taupe walls, the contrast of dark brown against the grey-tinged walls would look amazing – and it does. When I found the matching armchair, I couldn’t resist walking away with the two. To complement it, I opted for a vintage dark oak coffee table and side tables – all for less than £500. And just like that, my sitting room felt nothing like a new build at all. 

Thinking Vintage

Thinking vintage isn’t about finding anything that looks like it has walked out of the 1960s. It’s finding diamonds in the rough that ooze character and style without the typical modern pristine feel. One diamond I discovered that takes pride of place in my sitting room is a brass chandelier that compliments the taupe shade on the walls and the dark oak furnishings. It doesn’t necessarily look old school, but it gives me all the vintage feels I need.

For me, art became the perfect way to create a vintage, classy, and beautiful home. I opted for pieces of art that told a story. Bright colors didn’t suit the theme of my house, so I found a stunning art that tells a story of the Roman Empire using soft browns, greys, reds, and oranges. That’s my favorite piece, but I have bits of artwork dotted all around my home that tell stories about the ages before us. 

My house is still a work in process. Moving into a new build house proved financially challenging for me, so my DIY journey to make my new build home feel like an old-style one is still ongoing. The main entrance is complete, but the kitchen and bathrooms are the two areas I am yet to tackle – although I have recently painted the kitchen a beautiful olive green as that was, you guessed it, bright white.

Photo by Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash