Making a room feel more expensive is rarely about spending more money. A sense of age and quality is hard to fake and impossible to mass-produce, which is why a single well-chosen antique can lift a whole room, and why designers reach for old pieces to give their schemes a sense of weight and permanence.
The happy surprise is the price. Antique finds are often cheaper than their high-street equivalents, so there are plenty of bargains to be had at auctions, reclamation yards and fairs.
Ahead, you'll find six antiques that most effectively elevate a room.
1. Kitchen storage
The smartest kitchen storage rarely comes built-in – a little table on castors, a folding trestle, or buffet sideboard does the same job while bringing character and patina that no new unit can match.
Victorian and Edwardian examples turn up regularly at antiques fairs, often for much less than a flat-pack equivalent. Look for solid wood construction, original castors and signs of a craftsman's hand, such as dovetail joints or turned legs.
Pick something moveable and it will become the hardest working piece in your kitchen – wheeled around to create extra prep space, or loaded with the things you reach for daily, so storage and display become the same.
2. Art
Nothing makes a room look more considered and well-decorated than original art, but contemporary pieces can be prohibitively expensive. Antique art, by comparison, provides all the impact for a more modest output.
Panels and oils are often the best value – faded colours, soft gilt frames and a little foxing are features rather than flaws, so resist any urge to have a piece freshened up – and keep original frames where you can, not just for authenticity, but because custom framing costs a lot.
Hang lower than instinct dictates – the centre of your piece should match your eye line – so the art converses with the furniture around it, rather than floating above it.
3. Doors
The luxury of an antique door is all in the weathered paintwork, decorative inlays, fretwork and chunky hardware.
Reclamation yards and architectural salvage dealers are great hunting grounds, and prices are surprisingly gentle – a handsome Victorian door can be bought for under £200 on eBay.
Measure your opening before you fall in love, factor in the cost of track or fittings and remember a heavy door – and antiques tend to be – needs a wall that can take the weight.
4. Lighting
Few things flatter a room quite like great lighting, and while the modern high street is filled with identikit brass pendants and smoked glass globes, antique lighting offers hefty ceramic bases, turned wooden arms, elaborate opaline shades and rich tarnished metals.
The best value lies in pieces you finish yourself – top a weathered stoneware lamp with a generous linen shade and it instantly feels far more luxurious than it is. And if you come across something fabulous but not working, rewiring is a modest job for any competent electrician.
5. Mirrors
Antique mirrors – and Venetian and Art Deco designs in particular – carry a level of detail that feels bespoke, yet such pieces are often surprisingly affordable at flea markets or antique shops.
The clouded and spotted plate that comes with age only adds to the effect, yet it is likely to knock down the price.
Hang one above a basin, mantel or in a dim hallway and it adds a sense of age and grandeur.
6. Rugs
Rugs often have eye-watering price tags – even high street versions can set you back many thousands – so large area rugs almost always give the impression of a hefty financial outlay.
Antique rugs are almost always densely patterned and rich in colour, and layering one on top of the other – a hallmark of grand country homes – looks and feels wonderfully decadent.
Hand-knotted Persian rugs and flat-woven kilims are widely available, and even the most intricate of designs can be bought for under £500.
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Rachel Edwards is the Style & Interiors Editor for Country Living and House Beautiful, covering all things design and decoration, with a special interest in small space inspiration, vintage and antique shopping, and anything colour related. Her work has been extensively translated by Elle Japan and Elle Decor Spain. Rachel has spent over a decade in the furniture and homeware industry as a writer, FF&E designer, and for many years as Marketing Manager at cult design retailer, Skandium. She has a BA in French and Italian from Royal Holloway and an MA in Jounalism from Kingston University. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelaed
