Many people are quite confused about the vintage and the antique style home designs. Though they both refer to two eras that have gone by, they are not necessarily the same. Just like you cannot compare the romantic comedies of the 90s and 2000s with the early Charlie Chaplin movies there is also no comparison between antique and vintage, even though their golden period is over. The winter accessory and décor design is a world apart from the antique design theme and ideas. Now, let us first understand that these two are not just simple design ideas. They are, in fact, institutions of home design and have been influencing the lifestyles of the people during their golden age. They can be found in home décor ideas, home furniture and furnishings, decorative items and even the kind of lifestyle that you follow while incorporating them in your lives.
Let us first talk about antique. An antique item is the one that has completed at least 100 years of age. It can be a 100 year old furniture item, a painting, an old equipment, small machine, TV, radio, gun, clothing, home accessory or pretty much anything that you can count. Antique furniture is of two types. First is the real antique furniture that is actually a 100 years old and represents a different generation of design altogether. The second is renovated antique furniture. It is actually a new piece of furniture that has been designed as a replica to some older furniture item or has been inspired by the culture of at least a 100 years ago.
One the other hand, a thing becomes vintage or collectible or even retro in many different circumstances. There is no proper definition of vintage or collectible in general and people use this word in a very generic fashion as well. Here is a small distinction between the two and many more related terms. The term collectible is used for any item that is 0 to 99 years of age. Now, this term is again very broad in sense as any happy meal toy you received about 5 years ago can also be called a collectible. Moreover, a furniture from the 1950s, belonging to your grandfather can also be called a collectible. However, as soon as it reaches 100 years of age, it must definitely defined as an antique.
Finally, we come to vintage. If we talk in a broader sense, we find that anything that is less than 25 years is typically classified as vintage. Your father’s watch can be vintage, his car can be vintage but your great grandfather’s wood chopping axe can be an antique. However, it is also commonly believed that vintage is the turn of the decade term. It can refer to any item that was in fashion less than 25 years ago but is again hitting the vogue. It is also commonly referred for anything and everything that was made in the 1960s, especially the late 1970s which is also known as retro.