I was driving along the other day and was seeing all these Antique shop signs and started to think about the term antique vs. vintage. I use the term vintage as it relates to my business instead of antique. Primarily I chose this due to the fact that the word antique reminds me of “fuddy duddy” furniture. {Mom I apologize since I know your entire house in done in antiques}.
I appreciate antiques and have a couple in my home but it’s not my style and I wouldn’t paint many true antiques. The though of painting anything in my mom’s house I think would make both of us cry! I thought I’d do a little research and see what the actual definition of antique vs. vintage furniture is….
– Antique furniture must be over 100 years old
– Vintage furniture is furniture that is between 30 to 100 years old. However, technically, the term vintage also refers to furniture that best represents the prevalent style of a period. So simply being old will not make it vintage.
Vintage furniture is very popular primarily because ….
- It gives you the chance to decorate in your own unique style
- It is less expensive than buying new furniture of the same quality.
- It is one of the greenest ways of furnishing your home, as you are saving furniture from the landfills, and even toxic finishes are not off-gassing any longer.
I always wondered about this, thanks for sharing.
Vanessa
Hi, when people put the word antique on anything that’s just 20 yrs old. I always say when people ask what’s the difference and I tell them what you’ve mentioned above. I know I have “Vintage” furniture in my house, but, not “Antiques”.
They believe that if they put the word antique in front of it, they’ll get more money. I found it funny when I was on craigs list and saw an item that was antique. I went to it and it mention that the item was made in 1962. I laughed because I was born in 1962 and was never called an antique!! It made for a good laugh!! Have a great sale on the weekend!!
Pam