Vintage Bedroom On A Budget: Heirloom Inspired Design

Of late, shows like Fixer Upper and Good Bones have owners scavenging through their local vintage shops and yard sales hunting for stunning one of a kind pieces to decorate their home with. Finding vintage pieces can be expensive. but if you know what you’re looking for and you’re willing to combine a little bit of the old with the new, then you can design your own vintage inspired bedroom. Keep reading to learn our tips on vintage shopping and how to incorporate them into your modern home.

Our Vintage Bedroom Design:

Scarlet Velvet Club Chair – GDF Studio
Marquis Antique Gold Mirror – Overstock
Vintage Peony Decal – Amazon
Floral Ceramic Lamp – Amazon
Carved Wooden Table – Amazon
Crystal Harry Bed Frame – GDF Studio
Nancy Distressed End Table – GDF Studio
Chunky Knit Blanket – Amazon

Keep Your Mind Open

Hunt vintage shops and resale stores with an open mind. Unlike shopping in modern stores, where you pretty much know what is going to be in the store. Vintage shopping is more like going on a treasure hunt.

This makes it more difficult to find something if you are looking for a very specific piece in mind. Instead, start first with vintage shopping for your decor and allow pieces to surprise and call out to you. You never know what the next treasure is going to be or how you will find to use it.

Think Before You Buy

When you find a piece you like, before you make the purchase consider where and how you are going to use it. It is easy to get excited about a piece you find, then get it home and have no idea how you are going to use it.

This is how you can quickly spend a lot of money for a garage full of unique vintage pieces that you have no place for in your bedroom. Instead, consider where you are going to put that piece and how you will display it.

Local is Best

We love shopping local. Typically this is how you will find you best buys. Go to your local vintage shops but also check out online marketplaces like Craigslist & Facebook to see what people have posted on their. Buying directly from the individuals who are trying to re-home their stuff will typically be the best prices out there.

Local thrift shops that people donate to, like Goodwill and Salvation Army, are great places to find some gems for cheap. Again, keep in mind that you will likely walk out empty handed on numerous occasions but there are always treasures to be found. So go check out what they have whenever you can.

Online is Good Too

If you happen to be looking for something specific, searching online might be a better bet for you. However, with shipping costs and the convenience of online hunting, you will likely be paying a bit more. For those who go through the effort of posting something online to sell, they typically know they have something of worth and are willing to ask higher prices for those items.

There are a lot of vintage online stores that have a lot of fun pieces to look out for. However, we suggest only shopping here for your “gem” pieces. These are those conerstone pieces that really have a strong impact and make your room feel really special. These pieces tend to have a lot of character.

Some online stores that we love are Craigslist ($-$$) Etsy ($-$$), eBay($-$$$), Chairish ($$-$$$)

Vintage Pieces to Avoid

Rugs: unless a vintage rug is passed down from you family, the good ones tend to be very expensive. Since they are used on the floor with all of the walking and life lived on top of them, they wear out quickly. There are so many beautiful rugs on the market that have a vintage feel that are a much better investment. You can live you life to the fullest instead of living in fear of staining the carpet.
Bedding: We hope the reasoning behind this is self explanatory. Buying vintage bedding is like purchasing vintage undergarments. Far too intimate, and you it much better to start with a fresh clean set.
Mattress: I mean… Do we really need to explain this one? Dust, skin, sweat, and goodness knows what other yucky germs might be lurking on the inside of that mattress. Let alone the fact that you don’t know how old or broken down it is. Even if a mattress seems clean or gently used, it has likely lived out it’s life.
Cribs: This is a tempting one. Often vintage cribs are absolutely adorable and tempting to add to your child’s bedroom. However, there are a few big reasons why you should avoid this.
1) The paint on the outside may contain lead. And with how kids tend to put things in their mouths that they shouldn’t, it’s not worth the risk.
2) regulations on safe beds for children has changed over the years. Modern cribs have been much improved for the safety of you and your baby. The good news is that there are a lot of gorgeous baby beds made these days in loads of different styles. You are bound the find one that you like.

Vintage Bedroom Vibes:

Soft Colors

Even when mixing contemporary pieces with vintage, one way you can keep that vintage vibe going, is to incorporate soft colors. Layer light grey, ivory, with pastel hues from greens and blues, to light pinks and purples. This soft color palette is no accident. There are three main reasons why soft pastel colors are associated with vintage and antique bedrooms.

The first being the fact that older fabrics and paints tend to loose their color from wear, tear, and exposure to the sun. These pieces were typically not colored nearly as bright as modern dying techniques supply now. The general style and preference for bedrooms in the past were to use softer colors.

We are not entirely sure as to the reasons why but we know that soft colors are great for setting the mood to sleep, bright colors can be overly stimulating for a bedroom environment, so why not go soft?

Layering Textures

Tufted headboard, soft linens, and textured throws. For a Vintage Inspired bedroom, we love all the textures. The more textures you later together, the better. Which is why we love this Tufted Bed Frame. It is the perfect backdrop to set up your bedroom with. The fabrics soften the look of your bed which appeals to the vintage style rather well. We also love cast iron beds as they were very popular in the past, however that starts leaning the style more toward Modern Farmhouse.

If you love the Farmhouse look, then you will love our article all about it. Visit our page Modern Farmhouse Bedroom On A Budget to get all the tips on how to create the farmhouse bedroom of your dream without breaking the bank.

Vintage Touches

Incorporate vintage pieces among modern and vintage inspired pieces for a seamlessly eclectic look. If you curated a bedroom made completely out of vintage pieces, you would likely run out of money rather quickly.

By integrating lower cost new items with thrift, and vintage you can end up with a beautifully eclectic room. It will also keep your bedroom feeling slightly more up to date and contemporary in order to avoid feeling like you stepped into Grandma’s house.

Re-purpose, Recycle, Re-use

If you find a single unique stunning vintage dinning chair that you adore but it’s matching mates are long gone, find a new way to use it.

For example, in the photo on the right where this adorable chair is being re-purposed as a nightstand. It both serves a new purpose and provides plenty of character.

Similarly when people re-use retired window frames as wall decor. It is all about finding things you love and creating a new way to use and enjoy it.