Oh I could write about this forever. Shopping for vintage items is one of my favorite things. The thrill of hoping to find something unique when you browse trough a lot of stuff. Dusty items that have been sitting on a shelf for some time now, but you’re hoping to find that one item that will make your interior look even better. Usually I go to the local thrift shops, but I have a great tip for my fellow Dutchies: you could also visit the VerzamelaarsJaarbeurs in Utrecht next weekend (14 & 15th of april) to score some great items. Over 1 thousand people offer their used items up for grabs. A must visit if you’re a fan of vintage :)
In my opinion vintage items are a musthave for a personal interior. These days there are a thousands of (web)shops that offer great items, but if you want your interior to be a little more unique; vintage is the way to go. This way you can have items in your house that won’t be found at all your friends as well, and wouldn’t that be nice? I have collected a number of vintage items over the last few years and I love them all dearly. So I thought I’d write a post on my blog and list my favourite vintage finds.
1. Our vintage persian rug
This was not a hard decision, at all. We bought this rug from an old lady that moved out of her house for an incredibly low price. She was very happy that her rug would find a new life with us, and I couldn’t agree more. We’ve had this rug for over 4 years now and I’m deeply in love with it still. Whenever I post a photo of it on Instagram, there is always someone asking where it’s from. And I can never tell, because it’s vintage. And on one hand I always feel a bit sad I can’t help people to buy a similar rug, on the other hand I love it so much becáuse it is so unique. I had to search a lot before I found my perfect rug, but it was worth the wait. This is my favourite vintage find, without a doubt.
2. This vintage bench from Sweden
I bought this bench via Facebook. I saw a vintage shop advertising it saying it just arrived from a trip to Sweden. I am not exaggerating if I called them up, said I wanted it and put my husband and myself in the car to buy it. I don’t know, there is something about these benches. They are rare – especially in a good condition. I had been looking for it for some time, online and in the local thrift shops, but no luck there. You can imagine my feeling of happiness when I found one. If you wanna see more of this bench, check THIS post. I bought it in a dark shade and painted it, the original color can be seen HERE.
3. This vintage Herman Miller Eames
This chair (the one on the left) was a birthday present from my husband, and should be in my top 5 favourite vintage items. Eames are one of my favourite designers of all time, and therefor if I could, I would own all of their designs. Before they produced their famous chairs in plastic, they were made of fiberglass. And they are so beautiful! It’s not as clean as plastic and therefor has a lot more character. My husband chose this shade of “Elephant Gray” and this color works everywhere.
(PS. Of our current 6 designer dining chairs, 4 of them are bought vintage. I always love that there is a story behind these chairs, that they had a life before they moved into our house. Plus they usually come a little cheaper than new ones. Expect those Herman Miller chairs, those do not become cheaper over time ;-)
4. This gold trolley
This is one of those items I didn’t know I needed until I found one. Bought around 5 years ago, it has seen every place of our house (and our previous) and it’s just such a cool item. I love the gold tone, combined with the dark stained glass. I bought it at the thriftshop and it already looked very worn, but that only adds character. For now it’s in our attic and I love the combination of the gold next to the dark green. This is one of those items that you can buy new in a store, but it doesn’t have that story with it that makes it extra cool.
5. This red kelim
Another thriftshop find. I saw it and bought it. I knew those warm red tones would look so good in our attic next to the dark green, and so it did. Rugs are my favorite items to buy vintage, but the truth is you do need a lot of patience and luck. I’ve visited thriftshops multiple times without any luck, and then one day they suddenly sell an amazing one. So then you buy it, right?
Because we have a lot more beautiful vintage finds in our house, I could make a much longer list. But! These are my top 5 and also the items that always cause the most response whenever I show them on my Instagram. I get that! More reason to bring vintage into your own interior, right? The Verzameljaarsbeurs is on the 14 and 15th of April, in the city of Utrecht.
