Antique Shop Décor

by Sherry Holetzky | More from this Blogger

17 Jun 2006 07:03 AM

If you enjoy visiting antique shops, you can find a lot of great stuff for your home. Antique items can easily be blended into different decorating styles, and that includes furnishings as well as accessories.

You can also make great stuff for your home by finding creative uses for interesting pieces. Old keys are a good example. Large "skeleton keys" are uniquely shaped and have an interesting appearance. I've seen one hung directly on the wall or a collection of them placed behind glass in a shadow box, backed with vintage fabric.

Antique bottles are another great find. They can be arranged to form a vignette or simply lined up along a shelf or window sill. Bottles, jelly glasses, and great old jars also make great bud vases and candleholders.

Handmade baskets are also charming and can be used in a variety of ways. They make good accessories, but they can also double as cute storage containers.

Antique wine glasses and other barware also make attractive additions. A crystal decanter can be filled with liqueur or simply displayed with other interesting pieces. Pitchers, glasses, shakers, and serving trays also make nice touches, and antique plates can be used as wall hangings or chargers.

Some of the most creative accessories are made from pieces that originally served other purposes or that aren't even readily recognizable. They are a great source of decorating inspiration and many times an old tool or a gadget can be used as a one of kind décor element with little work if any. They make fun display pieces.

Small furniture pieces also make great accents. An antique iron table once used in a garden might make a perfect bedside table in a French Country room for example.

The key to finding great items in antique shops is looking at old things in new ways.

Learn more about Sherry Holetzky

Sherry Holetzky is a work at home mom and freelance writer. Married to her best friend, Sherry and her husband are raising their family in a quiet rural setting in the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

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