Interior Designer Keren Richter’s Tips for Scoring—and Styling—Vintage Furniture
Original article posted at dwell by Jennifer Baum Lagdameo.
Artist and interior designer Keren Richter, who founded the Brooklyn-based studio White Arrow with her husband, Thomas, creates polished, distinctive spaces that have an element of surprise. She’s fueled by a love of vintage furniture and the indie design scene, often pairing pieces like a ’70s chrome dining table by Willy Rizzo with, say, an opalescent pendant light from Berlin’s cutting-edge NEO/CRAFT.
1. Begin With a Conversation Starter
"Key pieces can become the jumping-off point for the entire room," says Keren. For this living room, White Arrow imagined a fashion-forward client, bringing in a vintage metal palm tree sculpture from Mario Schifano to preside over the space. Other vintage pieces include an Adrian Pearsall sofa with custom reupholstery, a Curtis Jere coffee table, and an Artemide lamp. The burl wood credenza is from ModShop, and the Upstate armchair features custom, tie-dye upholstery.
2. Use Similar Tones to Create Cohesion
While mixing furniture and decor from different eras is often part of a room’s charm, it’s important to maintain a cohesive look. In this dining nook, Keren pairs matte black and warm, wood tones to create a conversation between vintage and contemporary pieces. The understated pendant by Rich Brilliant Willing presides over a custom table with vintage Borge Mogenson dining chairs; a vintage Gio Ponti mirror picks up the metallic note of Crate & Barrel candlesticks.
3. Do Your Research to Find Designs That Resonate
Even if you don’t have the budget to invest in vintage furniture, Keren recommends researching designers and styles at your local library, or an online resource like 1stDibs. "You may not be able to afford a Jean-Michel Frank, but you can understand what makes it special and find vintage pieces that speaks to the design language, material, or aesthetics within your budget," she says. In this vignette, a PH 5 pendant by Louis Poulsen hangs above Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Table.
4. Don’t Overthink It
If you trust your gut and go for pieces that you love, says Keren, things will fall into place. "It’s okay to buy what you love, have fun, and let spaces evolve as you do," she assures us. "If you worry too much about things being ‘timeless,’ they won’t be interesting now." Having a mix of design classics and contemporary designs from a variety of vendors and makers will keep a room from feeling stale. In this space, geometric shapes and sculptural curves create a rich living room. A curvilinear Arc Lounge Chair by Moving Mountains sits next to a custom coffee table topped with Rejuvenation’s Whitney Wide Mouth Vase. The muted rug is from Restoration Hardware, and the Linden Table Lamp in cream linen is from Studio Dunn.
5. When It Comes to Art, Think Outside the Box
"Until there are books, plants, ceramics, and art to tie the spaces together, a house doesn’t feel like a home," proclaims Keren. "For those just starting a collection, contemporary, open-edition photography, posters, rent-to-own options, vintage photos, memorabilia, silkscreens, and antique oil paintings go a long way, especially if you’re working on a limited budget." She also advises us to rethink what constitutes art: "We often source non-traditional works—a cool vintage book or pack of matches, a cheeky porn pic, a fiber work, fake food, or a child’s artwork. When custom framed or placed on a pedestal, it’s a great way to elevate the chosen item." In this bedroom designed for empty nesters in mind, a fiber-and-ceramic work by California artist Karen Gayle Tinney hangs above a wood platform bed and matching nightstands from Ethnicraft.
6. Keep Up the Hunt
The key to scoring great vintage pieces is to check multiple sources. "We use auctions frequently—for this project, we ended up buying a great number of pieces and shipping a container over by boat!" says Keren. She suggests supporting local vendors as well as sourcing online through sites like Chairish, Etsy, eBay, Pamono, and 1stDibs, as well as more obscure auction sites, Instagram accounts, and online classifieds. "Find vintage furniture made from real wood, quality joinery, and natural materials that age well or are worth repairing," she says. "I reupholster, repaint, refinish, repurpose. Design intent is everything, and fashioning a room just right is it’s own work of art." Here, a vintage table lamp by Archille Castiglioni and the Whitney Gourd Vase from Rejuvenation adorn a vintage Cees Braakmaan credenza. A framed John Baldessari poster brings the perfectly styled vignette together.