Antique Glassware and Interior Design

If you believe it is too difficult to turn your living space into a timeless work of art, then we are here to tell you it is not impossible. Incorporating antique or antique reproduction furniture pieces is a beautiful start, but you can use many small touches to bring it all together.

Consider antique glassware for your interior design to add that final piece or create the perfect ambiance within your living space. In this article, we’ll share a few tips on displaying the beauty, delicacy, and charm of vintage glassware that can be as functional as it is stunning.

Where to Find Vintage or Antique Glassware

While finding the right vintage or antique glassware takes a bit of legwork, searching, and perhaps a bit of research, the good news is there are many avenues for discovering these treasures.

Look for yard sales, garage sales, second-hand stores, estate sales, and thrift shops for some of the most unique pieces. Regarding online resources, you may find several websites readily available. In most cases, there is an overabundance of glassware items, which often means the price for a single piece can range anywhere from a few cents to a few dollars.

Authentic or Aesthetics?

If you are seeking authentic antiques, you may wish to take your research a step further and learn a few hallmarks and signs that can assist you in avoiding counterfeits and price gouging.

If you lean more toward a particular aesthetic than authenticity, you don’t have to worry as much as you only need to find the pieces you love. But here are a few short tips to help those looking for authentic antique glass pieces:

• Make a list of what you hope to find, including color, shapes, function
• Make note of how much you’re willing to pay and what’s your budget
• Protect yourself by researching and comparing prices; be informed before committing to any purchase.
• Find the right place to shop for you.
• Take your time and be patient when shopping in person: walk through twice or thrice if needed.
• Ensure you know if there are any return policies. Most places won’t accept returns.
• While pottery and kitchenware may come with a stamp or maker’s mark, glassware often does not, but they do often have a trademark, logo, signature, or symbol, most often found at the bottom of the piece.
• Look for structural clues for its age: a pontil mark (or small hole on the bottom) indicates the glassware was blown rather than molded, while a molded piece often shows a mark around the bottom rim.
• Antique glass may also have imperfections, such as bubbles.
• Old glass has a much different hand feel, often sharper and less smooth than new glass.

Why Use Antique or Vintage Glassware?

Decorating with or using antique and vintage glassware at your table has several benefits. You can find exquisite pieces at a fraction of the cost of brand new, allowing you to transform a space on any budget. Additionally, you are reusing an excellent eco-friendly, sustainable choice, and you get unique décor that can personally express your taste and personality and be a focal point while entertaining.

Last but never least, a timeless elegance often comes with retro, vintage, and antique glassware items that can be difficult to find within new, more modern designs.

How to Incorporate Antique Glassware in Your Interior Design

The Dining Room Table

One of the easiest ways to showcase your vintage glassware is to use it to set a breathtaking table for friends, family, or guests. One of the excellent advantages of using thrifted glassware chosen for aesthetics is that you have less to worry about when pieces are broken. If they cost a few cents to a few dollars, you’ll likely be less nervous to use or display them.

Since vintage glassware comes in a rainbow of colors, it’s straightforward to set out a table with a theme in mind, from seasonal to holidays, or to match the décor color in the dining room.

Style a Vintage Bar Cart

A bar cart is the perfect open-shelving choice to display your favorite collection, not necessarily for showcasing your expensive liqueurs but more for featuring your fantastic taste in drinkware. It is a timeless piece of furniture that has been around for over a century and is a staple of the midcentury design era.

Delicate martini, wine, or highball glasses sparkle invitingly, pairing perfectly with different accouterments for making and mixing drinks. Not everyone has space for a bar, so why not use a bar cart?

Decorate the top of the cart with vintage decanters, spirits and spirit glassware, and vintage cocktail glasses for a touch of old Hollywood glam.

Glassware Home Décor Tips for Any Home

1. To create visual interest, try to mix and match to create contrast. If a room feels sleek and modern, display a few pieces of vintage glassware beside smooth wood, couches with clean lines, contemporary artwork, or stark metal furniture to make them stand out. Don’t be afraid to mix shiny with matte or alternate texture, as that adds another layer to visual appeal.
2. Play within your color palette. Whether you choose complimentary, contrasting, analogous triadic (three color variations of a simple triad color scheme), keep it with the original palette for an effortlessly seamless look.
3. Experiment with display styles. Try open bookcases or mounted shelves, use spot or under-cabinet lighting, or even repurposed furniture like antique crates, side tables, or ladders.

Incorporating vintage, antique, and used glassware into your décor can make your space more curated, nostalgic, and unique. There is an endless array of creative, quirky, or timeless means to display them. Whether you choose an upcycled piece, a modern cabinet, or an antique or antique reproduction furniture piece, your antique glassware items will coexist flawlessly with your furnishings and color palettes.