I was living in San Francisco at the time with my husband and we had just discovered the wonder that is the Alameda flea market. Have you ever been? It's just on the other side of the Bay Bridge across from San Francisco and it's huge! At the time, I don't think I had any antiques or vintage pieces in my home - it was all West Elm, Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel with some Ikea thrown in of course! And I still love and own a lot of those pieces too - no shade to the big stores!
But my first trip to the flea market blew my mind. So many beautiful pieces for your home, well made and made to last. Sadly, I had to leave a few of my most treasured finds behind when we moved back to the UK as they were electrical, but my vintage painting is still with us!
It's a nude portrait of a woman and I picked it out from a plethora of vintage artwork on display that day. Something about the curves and the lines of her body, and the raw yet graceful quality of the painting really spoke to me. We had it mounted and framed and it still takes pride of place in our living room - i'll have to get you a good photo of it!
The Alameda flea market really sparked my love of vintage homewares and this intensified on our regular holidays to France once we were back in Europe. Fast forward a few years and Considered Living was born!
Ironically, even though it was a vintage painting that started my journey, I traditionally haven't been known for vintage and antique art and signage. However that is changing as I've been quietly curating a collection of art that I love for sale. So that you can enjoy unique artwork in your home too.
Here a few ways to use vintage artwork in your home:
Use vintage art in unexpected places in your interior design
People are always surprised when I suggest using vintage art in the kitchen! But it's typically such a utilitarian space that adding some touches like art can really help add personality and character. You don't have to be too precious about it either. Prop up an oil painting next to your wooden chopping boards or hang a watercolour above the veg drawers!
Comments will be approved before showing up.
