Old vs. New, What do I do?

Purchasing antique pieces can be intimidating if you aren’t sure how to “make it work” in your space. In a world of modern and contemporary furniture, it may seem like your recent treasure will clash, but it doesn’t have to! Our good friend and partner of Iron Crow, Jayne with Jayne Creighton Designs, can surely help. We have asked her a few questions and to shed some light on how she styles antiques in modern and contemporary homes.

From a design standpoint, why would someone want to incorporate antiques into their modern or contemporary home? Jayne says the visual contrast in having both modern and antique furniture can give any room a more layered look. She adds the quality in craftsmanship and materials in antiques far surpasses that in newer materials unless a purchaser is paying top dollar for very high-end designs. Homeowners can place one-of-a-kind pieces as a focal point or even as an accent to tie the room together as well as offer meaningful stories and history. Jayne suggests that combining styles and eras can often work in your favour; such as inserting an ornate Persian rug into a modern sleek living space (below) or even re-purposing an old door for the kitchen pantry.

Some styles from the past can even give off a modern feel such as art deco or mid-century pieces. Using these as a grounding point in your room can bring a whole new look opposite from what is pictured above. By choosing vintage seating furniture as opposed to modern, you can completely change the style of a room. (below)

Both of these designs incorporate modern and antique/vintage pieces, but in completely different ways.
When it comes to styling a room, don’t limit yourself on texture, pattern colour or era. They do not all need to “match” for the space to come together.

This antique harvest table from the 1880’s combined with modern Tolix chairs brings a sophisticated chic to the dining space, along with muted art and vintage candle holders. This look would work in both and old farm house as well as a downtown loft; versatile by design.

There really are no rules when it comes to designing space with multiple genres and times, but one thing is for certain, every decade has something to offer. By choosing antiques in your home, you are helping to preserve history.