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Bringing Vintage Style to Your Home Office

Using vintage décor in your home office can turn a simply functional room into your favorite place to be. That’s a pretty good investment if you work from home! Learn how to set the stage with these home office decoration tips.

Hallmarks of Vintage Style:

Vintage style, for interior design purposes, refers to incorporating old things that are not necessarily antiques but are still valued because they are classics or “representative of or dating from a period long past” (Webster).

Vintage interior design may be more narrowly defined as duplicating design styles of the 1940s and 1950s. However, flip through interior design magazines and you’ll find there’s a blurring of the lines for the term vintage. It seems to morph into so many categories: retro, romantic, traditional. However you choose to go with vintage decor, the interior design police are not going to knock down your door if you decide to follow an eclectic vintage approach.

Your home office can adopt a vintage look with period furniture, light fixtures, wall decor, and a few carefully-chosen style elements.

Picture the Scene:

If you are still in the planning stages for your home office, close your eyes and picture how you want it to look. Do you want your home office to be intimate and cozy, posh and pretty, or functional and innovative? Do you want it to be like a corporate office from yesteryear? Or perhaps you want to recreate a scene or favorite room from your childhood memories. If you live in an older home, you can find inspiration in the origins of its design: Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, or Colonial Revival. You might also find inspiration in classic movies or a current television series like AMC’s Mad Men. Wherever you find your muse, develop a plan for your home office and then collect the elements that will suit the script.

Begin with the Backdrop:

Period wallpaper is an excellent choice for any vintage room. Because older homes were made with plaster walls which were difficult to finish perfectly smooth, wallpaper was the easiest choice for a smooth surface.

A simple color scheme (cream and black) is an equally wise choice, especially if you want to showcase carefully chosen home wall decorations and vintage pieces without competition. But even simple color schemes need an accent color to bring the room to life; take your cues from vintage pieces you own or want to find, such as a vintage typewriter in aqua, Jack Daniels tin signs or classic early American collectibles.
Find inspiration for using authentic color schemes from painting guides of vintage periods.

Focus the Spotlight on Vintage Lighting:

The lighting in your home office is as essential as the furniture for functionality and achieving the vintage look you want. Desk or table lamps can provide a stylistic focal point. Select lamps with proper proportion and sufficient lumen output (equivalent to at least 60 watts).

Wall sconces are often overlooked, but they provide crucial ambience to the room and, if positioned right, task lighting as well. Wall sconces were common features of older homes in every room. Brass and wrought iron wall sconces work well for most vintage periods. Vintage light fixtures from flea markets or thrift stores can be beautiful, but play it safe and ask an electrician to check or rewire any type of vintage lighting for current electrical code regulations. Reproduction light switches, fixtures, lamps and wall sconces are the safest, and sometimes less expensive option for vintage lighting.

Add the Final Touches:

The paint is dry and the vintage furniture is in place. Now it’s time to add the finishing touches to give your vintage home office the flair you pictured. Select one or a few of the following ideas to provide a focal point or to add interest, detail and texture throughout the room.

Family heirlooms

A collection of family portraits in black and white or sepia

Vintage typewriter

Replica telephone

Decorative tins, cigar boxes repurposed as office organizers

Hat stand with vintage hats and trench coat

Framed antique world map

Vintage tin signs or framed advertisements

Framed art from or of the period you are replicating

Old books

Vintage clock

Decorative metal trays, repurposed as message boards with vintage magnets to hold photos and reminder notes

Nostalgic collectibles

Classic Victorian angel stool

Hide electronics in closets and old cabinets. Drape vintage tapestry covers over desk top technology while it’s not in use.

And, Curtain!

Just like any room, creating a perfect home office is a work in progress. Once you have the basic elements in place, some careful editing will help to polish your efforts. Take your time to find just the right pieces that reflect your take on vintage design.

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