my favorite kind of dec-or-a-ting!
Vintage Christmas...love, love, love! It killed me this year to finally give in and buy LED lights for our living room live tree. (It was more about safety, as the old school lights we were using were pushing 15 years old. But believe me, if I wasn't seriously concerned about the house burning to the ground, I would've held on to those regular bulbs as long I could!) Our entire downstairs family room tree is full of gorgeous vintage ornaments courtesy of my beautiful Grandma and hours of scouring estate sales/flea markets/antique shows and stores. Some I bought by the musty basement box load, others I found one by one. All bring a huge smile to my face every year we decorate our tree! If your looking to begin a voyage into vintage Christmas. I suggest starting with ornaments. If you hit estate sales in older neighborhoods or flea markets, many times you will be able to find an entire box of ornaments. Make sure you negotiate the price, and check that the paint is still in good shape. As long as the paint/glitter is in good shape, it means they haven't been exposed to too much moisture. Antique stores tend to be a little pricier, but also will have better quality and selection. Maybe start your collection one at a time by buying a quality, beautiful piece per year. Either way, just get started.
Here are a few of my favorites from our tree!
If you still want a touch of vintage to your Christmas decor, but don't have the time to shop and hunt at antique stores or flea markets or estate sales (believe me, that WAS me for the last 4 years - babies and toddlers do not equal good shopping partners at these places!), many mainstream stores and boutiques offer vintage inspired new decorations. Jo-Ann Fabrics has consistently stocked many choices of very vintage inspired fabric perfect for tablecloths, napkins, place mats, etc. On a recent trip to picturesque Chagrin Falls, at a small boutique, I found these beautiful sheets of wrapping paper with amazing graphic quality. They are absolutely too perfect to ever wrap anything in, but they are the perfect poster size for framing and hanging on our dining room wall for the holiday season. They were only $5 a piece. Easy-peasy and CHEAP way to look vintage.
Also, don't be afraid to mix true vintage with new/re-produced vintage. Here's a part of my buffet scene...alittle true vintage and little new vintage.
The elf, snow girl, reindeer and moose all came
from my grandma's collection. The house I
found for a STEAL at an antique show.
The small bottle brush trees are
new vintage. Bottle brush trees
are REALLY popular and easy to find.
My rule for vintage, as always, if you LOVE it, BUY it! It probably won't be there if you wait. And you may never find it again :)
No comments:
Post a Comment