When most people think of antique silver, they probably think of older decorating styles. This is unfortunate, as well-maintained silver can make a home look luxurious and stylish. Whether you’ve inherited a large collection of silver antiques or are looking to start collecting, follow these amazing tips for decorating with antique silver to dazzle your next visitors.
Make Use of Silver’s Brightness
Polished silver is naturally very shiny, so be sure to use this to your advantage. Place your silver antiques so that they reflect light from natural sources like windows and skylights. This will brighten up your home, making it look more spacious and inviting. Even a very small room can look bigger using this trick.
Time To Polish?
If your silver isn’t looking its best, polish it before putting it on display. Thankfully, you can clean most silver at home instead of taking it to a professional cleaner. All you need is a cleaning solution and gloves to protect your hands. For large pieces, you may also need a silver cleaning cloth.
Group Items Together
Another amazing tip for decorating with antique silver is to group items together so they provide more visual interest. Put silverware inside a silver vase, or group silver salt and pepper shakers together on a platter. In groups, silver antiques will enhance each other’s sparkle.
Design a Gallery Wall
We’ve all seen gallery walls with paintings and photographs, but did you know that works with silver, too? Silver platters and serving dishes make for a beautiful, mirror-like gallery wall that opens up your space with additional light. Putting a gallery wall perpendicular to a window is a fantastic way to get the most out of a room’s natural light.
Replace the Vase
Silver cups and pitchers aren’t just useful in the kitchen. They also make for wonderful flower vases that add an aura of vintage luxury. Don’t overlook smaller vessels like sugar bowls and gravy boats. They’re perfect to hold succulents and other short-stemmed plants.
Create Your Own Feature
This tip works especially well if your decorating style combines modern design with eclectic décor. To make your own feature, like a wreath, all you need are antique silver pieces of the same kind, like a group of silver plates or flatware pieces. You can even get more creative by combining the silver into a sculptural design that is truly unique.
Designing a Feature
It’s much easier to get an idea of how you want things arranged if you lay everything out on a clean sheet or blanket first. If you’re tech-savvy, you can even photoshop your feature layout onto a picture of your wall space to see how everything will look once the piece is complete and mounted.
Don’t let your silver antiques sit in storage collecting dust! Use them to add brightness and luxury to your home. If the antiques are from a family member, putting them on display is a wonderful way to keep that family member close to your heart, no matter where they are.
