How To Mix Antiques with Modern Decor

When I am not in the Chick Fil A drive thru, school pickup line or hanging out on stories with y’all, you better believe I am out and about shopping for antiques! Since our home was built in 1903, implementing antique pieces throughout was a no brainer! However, I didn’t want our home to feel like a museum and I still craved that modern, chic look! I found the easiest way to supplement both of my interests was to style the rooms of my home with antique pieces while keeping the overall traditional/modern. That’s how I describe it anyway. 😁

Last summer, we added another antique piece to the master! If you are into antiques you know it can take months, even years, to find that perfect piece! The hardest part for me is being patient until you find it! I found this barley twist drop leaf table at a local antique store and immediately scooped it up! It came from Rock House Antiques if you’re local (one of my faves.) I also find a ton of pieces I love anytime we can slip away to Asheville for the day and shop at Antique Tobacco Barn! While I still have a couple more pieces I’d like to add to the master, I wanted to showcase a few other ways you can style antiques throughout the rooms in your home!

How to style modern pieces with antiques

Mix your older pieces with the new

If there is one misconception I’d like to debunk, it’s that you have to keep your antiques separated from your newer modern pieces. Keeping them separate instead of layering and pairing them together is the biggest mistake you can make! When you’re buying antique pieces, you want them to be able to stand alone but you also want them to be able to blend with present day items! This brings out the creativity and creates a visually appealing look to the rooms of your home! For instance in my office I scored all of these books from antique shops and thrift stores.

Group Items Together

As I mentioned above, I’ve found when mixing modern pieces and antique pieces together, it is better to let the antiques stand alone and/or be the focal point of your decor. Scattering them throughout can make things feel clunky or disorganized. By lumping them together or letting them stand alone, your attention is immediately drawn to the older pieces and the fluidity of the room.

Some areas of the house that I like my antiques to stand out are:

• Corners of your rooms (you want these pieces to be able to stand alone)
• On shelves (if the pieces are small enough)
• On a fireplace mantle
• In your office

In our dining room we have our antique table paired with new black Windsor style chairs and it’s always a favorite combo!

Trial and Error

When it comes to mixing modern and antique pieces together, you will be able to feel if the pairing is correct! Oftentimes it takes a lot of trial and error (and searching for the perfect piece!) before landing on what lights you up! You’ll instantly know when you’ve found the right pieces and arranged them correctly. Trust your gut!

In this area we have an antique arts and craft cabinet from the late 1800’s (also from Rock House Antiques.) On the hearth is a reproduction of an antique well bucket from Antique Tobacco Barn that hides the toys. 😁 That’s a blog post for another day!

If you have any questions, know of any must have antique shops I need to make a trip to, or anything else feel free to drop them in the comments below or shoot me a DM on Instagram!

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