The Emily Retro Story: How I Fell in Love With Vintage Decor

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I get asked all the time what made me fall in love with vintage home decor, fashion and the lifestyle. I had a lot of important influences in my life, especially my family. It may surprise you to find out that I used to hate antiques and anything old. I’ll explain how I went from absolutely hating vintage decor to making it a passion of mine. Here’s my vintage love story.

It all started with my Oma and Opa

My Oma and Opa (The Dutch translation for Grandpa and Grandpa) would watch me every Monday and Wednesday for my entire childhood until my Opa’s death when I was 15. They were my second set of parents and I love them so much.

Pictured above: My Opa, Opa, Uncle Pete and my Dad

My Oma and Opa immigrated here from The Netherlands and took European home decor with them. They had a mix of 1950s-1980s home decor but I most vividly remember the orange 1970s pieces. They had these orange striped vintage sheets that I adored and that’s where my obsession with vintage sheets comes from.

Pictured above: My Oma and little me

My Oma and Opa also gave me the most magical Christmases every year. Their Christmas tree had vintage ornaments and I adored them. I thought they got sold off in the estate sale when my Opa died. But two years ago I was at my parents house on Christmas Day and my Dad told me he thought he had their ornaments in the basement. He pulled them out and I’ve proudly displayed them in my home ever since.

Pictured above: My Oma and Opa with my Dad and Aunt

My Mom’s a master decorator

The other major influence I had in my life is my vintage loving Mom. She had a booth at an antique mall for most of my life (Read about my favorite West Michigan antique shops, including the one my Mom has a booth at). I remember spending summers going to yard sales on Saturday mornings and flea markets on Sundays.

Pictured above: My Mom’s house

Our house was filled with antiques. My Mom is an incredibly talented decorator and gardener, though the gardening gene did not pass down. She’d always put so much love and effort into how she decorated our home. Fall and Christmas were always cozy and homey because of the hard work my Mom put into decorating. She also wasn’t afraid to use color. She’d paint the walls yellow or green and have colorful vintage quilts draped on cushy armchairs.

Pictured above: My Mom’s putz house display

Vintage decorating runs in the family

My Aunt Pam and my Grandma are both great at decorating too. My Aunt’s home has lots of blues and is nautical with a cottage feel. My Grandma loves antiques and had a tea cart when I was growing up which held teacups. My Mom is a mixture between cottage and primitive farmhouse. Every family gathering since I can remember there’d be a magazine exchange where they share home decorating magazines.

Pictured above: My Grandma and Grandpa

But I wanted nothing to do with antiques

I didn’t appreciate how my Mom decorated as a kid/teenager. I didn’t understand why she’d decorate with crusty old tins when she could buy new items instead. I went through a little phase of buying very modern black and white decor at Target when I was a preteen. Now that I look back on it, I don’t think primitives sparked joy for me, which is what my Mom loves. But I did always love the 70s pieces in my Oma and Opa’s house.

Pictured above: My Mom’s house

My gateway vintage drug

When I was 14 my Mom bought me a vintage 70s flower power suitcase. I LOVED that thing and used it to pack my belongings in for every sleepover. In fact, I still own it and cherish it.

My Mom also found a small cardboard jewelry box that was covered in a blue flower power print that I still have in my bedroom to this day. Then my Mom gave me some super cute vintage wood toadstools that used to belong to my Grandma. Now it’s very obvious that my favorite things are 1970s flower power and mushrooms.

Pictured above: Grandma’s wooden mushrooms in the top left corner

Home decorating growing pains

I moved out right at 17 and lived in 4 different apartments/rooms for rent in 3 years. I couldn’t figure out my design style but I slowly started embracing my love for vintage. I went with my Mom to Allegan Antique Market in the summer and I started buying things that made me happy (Check out my blog post all about the Allegan Antique Market).

Pictured above: My first home with primitive farmhouse decor

When I bought my first house I started decorating in a primitive farmhouse style because that’s what I knew from my Mom. After two years of decorating in that style I figured out it didn’t spark joy for me.

Pictured above: My first home with primitive farmhouse decor

Finding my love for vintage

I sold my first house and bought the house I’m in now, a 1960s ranch. This is where I figured out what design style brings me joy. I love floral teacups just like the ones my Grandma had. I have the Christmas decorations from my Oma and Opa and my house is filled with vintage sheets. I’ve embraced color like my Mom and pushed it even a bit further. I started liking 1950s and 1960s on my own and fell in love with the 1970s again.

There you have it! How I went from hating vintage to loving it. Now I can’t imagine my life without shopping thrift shops and flea markets every weekend. If you’d like to see what I’m currently shopping for check out my current Vintage Shopping Wishlist.