Vintage and antique workspaces

How to find vintage and antique pieces for a unique home office

Designer Bella Edgley has written this inspiring guest post on finding vintage and antique furniture and accessories to create an individual working environment you’ll love to spend time in:

One of the advantages of working from home is that you get to choose your own surroundings which is great news for all those who like to surround themselves with interesting and unique things.

For example, painting the back wall green and keeping it clear from clutter brings together the assortment of vintage finds in this Amsterdam workspace pictured in the photo.

Choosing vintage and antique items is great fun, makes good environmental sense and is often good value for money as it is possible to find really well made things.

Another advantage is that if you get bored of the item it is likely that as long as you have chosen it reasonably carefully it will retain some re-sale value.

What look to go for?
Vintage and antique can easily be combined with more contemporary furniture for an eclectic look. For example, a simple white minimalistic workspace can offset some more decorative items really well. Or the other way round.

For example, if you have a highly decorative desk you could mix it with some more modern, simple accessories such as plain frames and a minimalistic chair.

If you like your surroundings to feel more co-ordinated then a great trick is to choose a rug or painting that you like, identify the main colours and then roughly try to stick to them when choosing items to buy.

Where to look
Once you have some idea of the look you want to achieve (this might evolve into something totally different once you get started) you can set off on the fun part of searching for items. This does not need to be done all at once.

Great places to hunt are auctions, car boot sales, second hand shops and vintage fairs. Not forgetting online options such as Etsy and Ebay.

If you do not mind getting your hands dirty and have the time to do it, you can transform some of your finds so bear this in mind when you are looking. For example wooden items such as old frames and tables often scrub up well with a bit of a sand and paint.

What to look out for

As any busy home worker will know, it is important that your surrounding work well for you. Vintage and antique items can be really well made and sturdy. But it is important to check out the item carefully before you buy it.

If you are buying on-line and you have a question about the quality that is not in the product description then contact the seller before you make the purchase.

For things that you are using everyday it is better if joints are sturdy and free from wobbles, drawers move easily in and out and doors sit straight in frames when closed. For things that are used less often this might not be so much of a concern.

For example you might be able to live with a cupboard that you love but that has a wonky door that requires a ‘knack’ to open it if it contains archive files that are only required once in a while.

There is so much to choose from when it comes to vintage and antique and plenty of places to buy from. Have fun looking and if you end up not needing it then re-cycle it by sticking it on e-bay, Gumtree or car boot it. Someone else might love it and then you can go on the look out for your next exciting find!.

Bella Edgley is a designer who writes about design and runs an on-line shop called Bou Design. She believes in well made, beautiful products and is currently getting ready to launch a new look website which will start to include the work of other designers alongside the current furniture and prints.

Photo credit: Jeltje Fotografie