While a vintage, classic piece may appear timeless, the reality is that anyone who desires to buy and sell antiques needs to stay on top of the latest trends. Just because you come across a gold couch from 1965 for a steal, doesn’t mean it’s in style today, or ever will be again.
Here are some helpful tips for buying antiques and also selling antiques in order to ensure that you’re up to date with the latest 2014 trends.
Determine What’s in Style and What Isn’t
The first thing you need to do is to determine what style you want to incorporate into your home. In Sri Lanka, people use a variety of different styles that reflect other cultures from all over the world. Another option is to use the predominant style relative to your local area. Browse through magazines, TV advertisements, and various websites online to discover the latest trends. If you notice something in the media over and over, it’s likely due to its overwhelming popularity.
Talk to local realtors who are used to dealing with high-end residential homes and therefore see trends all the time. Ask them about the hottest, most popular homes and the design of their contents. Do you like the Parisian style or the look of New York City’s upper east side? These particular looks and trends seem to never fade or go out of style. Look online at different popular high-end blogs and sites to determine the latest minute-to-minute trends like HGTV, House Beautiful, or Houzz. Explore a variety of different European websites that feature unique architecture or provide 360 degree home tours. Overall, whether you prefer global or local flavor, take your time to figure out what works best for you in terms of both style and scale before you try to implement the latest trends into your home.
Antique Pieces
Throughout 2014, simple, uncluttered, and smaller is the trend no matter where you live. Do you like antiques? This could mean shopping for physically smaller pieces in order to stay on trend. While the typical antique piece may be somewhat heavy and large, look for items like a smaller classic table that would normally go next to the sofa, but instead use it in front of the sofa as a coffee or tea table. It’s usually convenient if smaller sized tables or cabinetry have cubicles or shelves below, since you’ll likely wish to store your home goods or decor.
Another plus side to having a smaller antique piece in your home is that it creates more visual space throughout, and makes the overall room appear much larger than is actually is. If you can’t find enough space to place all your favorite pieces, it may be time to start thinking about selling or donating your rarely used items. There’s a big market for furniture for sale in Sri Lanka, or practically anywhere for that matter. Also, antiques for sale are easy to find virtually anywhere.
Use Statement Pieces
While going somewhat smaller is a popular trend right now, it’s also important to add a few statement pieces into the mix. These pieces can be larger, expensive, and more intricate in detail. One hot trend is dining room tables. A small table won’t suffice for large family gatherings. Large, solid wood tables with elaborate carvings are currently hot. Use pieces that harmonize with the rest of your decor and overall color scheme for the best choice.
Also, if you have any furniture for sale, many times you can swap pieces with others who are trying to sell their theirs. Selling antiques requires knowing the latest trends in order to bring the most money. Why would anyone want to buy an antique that’s has no interest, quality, or character? One last thing to keep in mind, using a few key larger pieces in the room means the remaining items should ideally be somewhat smaller or less detailed, or else the room will feel crowded and cramped.
Buying Antiques
One of the best things about living in beautiful Sri Lanka is its ideal location. It has easy access to a variety of cultures and countries. In fact, a big trend is to incorporate different cultural styles into your home by purchasing antiques for sale from other diverse foreign lands.
Consider buying an interesting Chinese vase or authentic African painting. Vintage accent pieces can sometimes cost a little extra, but make a room feel unique and out of the ordinary. Also, if you follow small furniture trends, an attractive wall hanging placed over a few key pieces can work to pull the room together and make the space feel finished. These kinds of items let you introduce punches of color without getting too dramatic.
If your furniture primarily consists of lighter colored woods, tans, or whites, don’t be afraid to add splashes of color here and there throughout the space. A good guideline to follow is to use three closely related colors in your space to make it look cohesive and harmonize well. For instance, warmer colors like red, orange, and yellow work great together, and seem to always be on trend. By keeping your accent pieces within the same color families, you’ll create an inviting, polished, and trendy look.
Once you determine what trends you want to follow, start creating your unique look by implementing each piece as you go. If you intend to buy an antique piece online, be sure there’s a clear photo of the piece and ask the seller about the refund policy up front. It’s best to know ahead of time whether the sale is final in case you don’t like it. Before you buy anything online or off, make sure you correctly measure the space where you intend to place your piece so you’ll know if it fits. Nothing’s worse than falling in love with an item only to later learn that it doesn’t actually fit in your home. Antique shopping online is fun and exciting and can keep your home full of the latest trends and style.
