Did you just shift to a modern apartment or home but have a vintage cabinet for your kitchen? A common belief is that old-style furniture and modern décor don’t go well. However, that is not the case. You can surely adorn your kitchen with antique cabinets from any period. But the vintage cabinets have to be displayed in a certain way.
Here are a few tips that will help you to do that.
1. Find the Right Balance
When you are combining your vintage cabinet set with modern pieces, almost everything will go. Your home has to be a collection of things that you find meaningful and love, not something that is catalog coordinated. So, you need to make sure that you are arranging the new and old in such a way that they appear fresh instead of shabby.
You need to focus on the importance of scale when you are placing furniture, particularly vintage cabinets. This is because these vintage kitchen cabinets had been made to fit different lifestyles and spaces.
2. Function Versus Form
If you plan to keep or integrate an older kitchen cabinet piece into a modern design, make sure that you don’t forget about the form and function. Vintage-style kitchen cabinets often display fine craftsmanship and intriguing details that you hardly come across today. You will not find such detailing in modern-day furniture.
It is all about playing with the lines when you mix vintage with modern. This will ensure that you have a healthy mix of streamlined.
3. Refinish and Repurpose
While nothing beats the aesthetics of retro-style kitchen cabinets, the reality is not all vintage things are valuable or should be preserved in their original state. In case you have inherited a piece, take a step back and try to imagine how it is going to look stripped to its bones, transformed, or refinished with a fresh coat of paint.
4. Unify Color
You have to decide how to combine style and period to make it work. Not paying attention to this can lead to a cluttered look. Even the most eclectic-looking kitchen requires harmony and balance. At times, the best way to integrate disparate elements is to bring them together with the help of the same color palette.
For instance, you can use vintage white cabinets and combine them with colorful stools or a center island. It will help in marrying periods and styles by keeping the emphasis on form.
Tips to Keep Your Vintage Kitchen Cabinets in Top Shape
Once you have decorated your modern-looking kitchen with a retro kitchen cabinet set, you need to make sure you are keeping it clean.
- Some experts say that you should wash your retro kitchen cabinet almost every alternate day. However, we need to be realistic. We have busy lives and soaping down the whole kitchen from top to bottom might not be on the cards. In case you cannot pull off scrubs on the cabinets every alternate day, try to dust them down on a weekly basis.
- Apart from dusting regularly, spot-cleaning spills and food stains can keep the cabinets looking fresh. However, when they require more thorough scrubbing, you should get a cleaning solution and microfiber cloth that is right for the finish.
- Most cabinets, modern or vintage are not going to like too much liquid. Excess moisture is capable of damaging the paint or finish job. In certain cases, it can warp less durable materials. Also, you shouldn’t let water run into the hinges of the cabinet as that can lead them to rust. Apart from spraying cleaner on the cloth instead of directly on the cabinets, wring it out in the sink.