6 ways to style heritage elements in your home
Adding heritage elements in your modern home may be tricky, but not impossible with these tips.
By Home & Decor Team -
Our homes reflect who we are and our heritage. Many homeowners want to include unique elements that speak to their culture and history, whether it’s a beautiful heirloom dining table passed down, Peranakan tiles in the flooring or memorabilia collected over the years. Retro and vintage elements can, however, make a home appear dated or over the top. We show you how to integrate heritage elements into a style that fits your personality.
Curate a palette rather than have a mishmash of things
Vintage homeware can look dated and untidy if not properly curated. To create a visually balanced room, consider sticking to two or three dominant colours, as well as a neutral shade. The same applies to textures. For example, if your wooden dining table has a pronounced grain, other wood elements in the room should also echo this look.
“Paint ventilation blocks or use tiles of the same colour scheme to ensure harmony. Everything should tie back to the overall look of the home."
Amanda Pang, principal designer of AMP Design Co
Keep slim profiles and contrast them with clean lines
Boxy, dark furniture can visually weigh down an area, so opt for furniture with a slim profile where possible. Mixing clean, contemporary lines with antiques will not only modernise a space but will also highlight the antique piece. Think arched doorways with retro bead curtains, minimalist lamps on old side tables and contemporary sinks with a vintage faucet.
When displaying memorabilia, choose your spots wisely
If you’re a collector of vintage items or heirlooms, make sure you have enough dedicated shelf space for them. If you’d prefer to display them around the home, choose areas with sufficient lighting and arrange them in small groups of three to five items, interspersing them with other elements such as plants. Avoid having too many objects on display together. It can be visually overwhelming and make the home feel like a museum.
Pay homage to the building's history
If you live in a building with a storied past, such as a pre-war shophouse or a walk-up apartment, you can echo its architectural elements in the home. Details like an exposed brick wall, a stone column or ventilation blocks help the home feel more cohesive inside and out.
Add flair with accents that don't take up much space
Looking at jazzing up your place, but don’t have much room? Vertical elements such as rattan screens, Peranakan tiles and even vintage shutter doors add flair to a room without taking up much floor space. However, to make them stand out, you should only add them to an area that’s not already too busy.
“Whether classic or porcelain, large format or small, any other tile will work with Peranakan ones."
Simon Cheong, Business Development Director of Hafary Group
Let the light through
Lighting is instrumental in making a space look bright and airy. If you’re looking for a partition or divider, concrete ventilation blocks are great for letting both light and air through. Other options include rattan screens, glass mosaic blocks and fluted glass panels that grant privacy and block visual clutter at the same time.