Sick of That Instagram-Famous Couch? Learn How to Shop Old
I was an Antiques Roadshow kid, and my early obsession with quilts and straight-backed wood chairs and very small paintings stays with me to this day. A formative memory is sitting on the literal edge of my seat as a woman learned a card table she bought for $25 at a garage sale was in fact a piece by legendary early American furniture makers John and Thomas Seymour and worth nearly half a million dollars. I dreamt then of this happening to me someday, and in truth I still do dream about selling something that's really valuable as the ultimate retirement plan. Tinware, Pyrex, earthenware jugs, novelty glassware with state flags or golfers or fish—you name it, I’ve spotted it in the window of an antique shop and thought, "Will that fit in my apartment?" I am so devoted to the vibe, as they say, that the theme of my wedding was literally "historic house museum in the fall." (I had it in a restaurant that used to be a train depot, and while I didn’t serve wine out of tankards, there was a lot of wood paneling subtly illuminated by candlelight.)
Just because I long to live amongst old things does not mean I do. (I cannot afford it and also, I live in a third-floor walk-up.) Many other would-be collectors are in the same boat—they’d love to have more furniture from the 1960s or little figurines from the 1890s, but where to start when it feels like there’s just so much stuff and so little time with which to sort through it?
I chatted with a number of experts ranging from interior designers to vintage dealers to a friend who posts regular estate sale hauls on Instagram to get the basics on how to learn what you like, how to acquire what you like, and how to find pieces you’ll want to use and love until the IKEA bookshelf upon which they are displayed is also considered vintage.
(Before we jump in, a quick note on antique versus vintage: antiques are typically defined as objects that are over 100 years old, while vintage is a little more flexible, though many prefer to use the word to refer to things between 25 and 100 years old. It’s worth noting that we do march on ceaselessly through time whether we like it or not—things that are vintage today will be firmly in the ‘‘antique’’ category sooner rather than later! Today’s 1970s toadstool wall art is tomorrow’s Tiffany lamp.)
Get acquainted
Finding stuff you like and knowing what stuff you like: which should come first? There’s no right answer to this question when you learn by doing, as Julia Carusillo, a Chicago-based artist who runs an antique booth with her cousin, a fellow vintage lover, did. Carusillo advises anyone new to the game to check out antiques malls, where merchandise is often displayed in context—milk glass goblets and cake stands together, or midcentury modern sideboards with sleek Scandinavian barware. "It's a little easier to see it in the context of your own home," says Carusillo, "as opposed to the concrete and metal and fluorescent of the thrift store, where it might take a little more imagination to figure out whether or not something is right for you."
This can help you start to get a sense of what you’re into and, crucially, what those things are called: maybe futuristic-by-way-of-the-1950s gets you going, or perhaps you light up when presented with a treasure trove of Roseville pottery. And, yes: think about media with a vibe you covet. You are allowed to look for things that remind you of Mad Men or Greta Gerwig’s Little Women or your grandmother’s description of growing up in the 1930s, drinking milk out of old jam jars and listening to big band music on the radio. In fact, I think you should—why not be inspired by the world around you?
For online shoppers, the Louisville-based interior designer Bethany Adams loves 1stdibs and Chairish, two popular vintage and antique-centric housewares sites, for both shopping and learning: "I find that a weekly scroll of ‘new in’ items always turns up something I've never seen before," she says. "I’ll spend some time choosing favorites and then google the designers, manufacturers, materials, etc. until I feel like an expert on Billy Baldwin slipper chairs, or Bernardo Zanetto champagne buckets." Anastasia Casey of Austin, Texas-based design firm IDCO also reminds us not to forget about looking close to home: "Facebook Marketplace is the perfect place to start your search, whether you’re a newbie to vintage or a seasoned collector," she says. To get you started, she also shared some of her favorite search terms when scouring listings: "My favorite search terms for online vintage shopping include: marble, brass, stone, Danish, Swedish, French, Italian, Brutalist, midcentury, MCM, Art Deco, scalloped, hand-carved."
Take it slow
The biggest piece of advice the experts have when it comes to filling your home with furniture and knick-knacks from the days of yore is to not worry about literally filling your home with furniture and knick-knacks from the days of yore. "You're not going to be able to go on a sourcing trip and get your couch, your kitchen table, your bed frame all at once," says Carusillo. "It's going to take time, and that's the thing about vintage—you can see something online that you're obsessed with, but actually sourcing it may be pretty difficult. I’d recommend starting with, say, a cool bookshelf you found, and going from there." This can also be a great way to start thinking about the rest of your space in a more intentional way. "Basing your decor around one object or piece that you love can also inform your design for the rest of the room or the home," she explains.
Writer and cultural critic Sarah Archer’s favorite pieces have also come to reside in her home over a longer period of time. "Some of them are from my family," says the author of books including The Midcentury Kitchen and Midcentury Christmas, "and others—like my most prized jelly cupboard, which is gradually unscrolling its layers of dark green and yellow ochre paint—are things my husband and I have found on routine surveys of the antiques shops in Lambertville, NJ," says Archer. (I had the aforementioned historic tavern-themed wedding in Lambertville, so maybe plan a weekend shopping trip to New Jersey’s loveliest riverfront town?)
Taking your time assembling a collection, whether it’s a whole look for your living room or a shelf you want to dedicate to decorative plates (another aside from me: decorative plates are a great way to get into collecting, especially if you choose a theme—Carusillo likes theme parks, while I would do an assortment from presidential houses and libraries) also allows you to figure out not just what pieces you’re into, but also how much condition matters. "Collecting for yourself can be different than collecting for reselling purposes," says Carusillo. If you’re an easy-come, easy-go decorator who likes to cycle through pieces and styles every so often, it might make sense to focus on pieces in better condition since that means you’ll have a better shot at recouping what you spent. Carusillo, for example, loves hunting for vintage Fisher-Price toys in virtually any condition—those have, perhaps, seen better days, but it could be an opportunity to get something special at a better price.
Work with what you’ve got
The word ‘antique,’’ for so many people, is associated with furniture and decorative pieces you’re not supposed to use, or touch, or even breathe on. you’re sourcing Winterthur-quality Chippendale cabinets, it might make sense to be a little more precious about your stuff, but if you’re not, why not focus on things you’ll actually use? After all, none other than Martha Stewart herself has said that linens that come from grand estates of the 19th century are better in virtually every way. It’s also a no-brainer if, like me, you live in an apartment and share it with another person, putting space at a premium—I might not have room for a display cabinet where I can show off a hypothetical collection of Mod Kitchen Pyrex, but if I found a set of the mixing bowls in decent condition, I could… use them as actual mixing bowls.
Katie McKenzie, a friend from college whose Instagram I regularly drool over thanks to her impeccable eye for cheerful, quirky pieces from the 1960s and 1970s, says that as she began regularly visiting antique malls, thrift stores, and estate sales, she realized her finds were more than just fun to look at. "I soon realized how much I preferred vintage pieces over new appliances and decor because they all seemed to have more personality, a spirit, a life," she says. As an added bonus, she points out that many of her favorite vintage kitchen items have proven more durable than their contemporary counterparts, and they have something extra special, too: "You could buy an avocado green toaster. A sunflower yellow hair dryer. A set of napkin rings that match your placemats that match your electric bun warmer. It may seem quaintly ‘kitschy’ now, but it makes me smile to imagine my chip and dip bowl used at a key party back in the day. Oh, the things that bowl has seen!"
Top photo originally appears in America's Best Independent Design Shops: Lichen
Related Reading:
Published