6 Antique Interior Design Features Designers Still Love
If walls could talk, yours would likely tell you all about your home’s eras. From shifts in architecture and design to upgrades in everyday function, are personal quarters have changed a lot over the years, decades, and even centuries. Sometimes, it’s a good thing. Simply put, it’s hard to even think about navigating our modern routine without high-tech appliances or Bluetooth-enabled accessories—let alone a mere internet connection. But other times? Watching beautiful, beloved decor details fall out of fashion can be a shame. In fact, ask some designers and they’ll tell you those bygone features never should’ve gone out of style in the first place.
Ready for a well-appointed walk down memory lane? You’ve come to the right place. We asked a handful of interior designers to share the antique and vintage details that have some serious staying power. As expected, their responses are as vast and varied as a home’s many eras. Some designers are ready to trade in all-encompassing great rooms for well-defined spaces that will bring a little more formality to the day-to-day. Meanwhile, other industry insiders miss old-school amenities that haven’t lost their function.
That said, these hot home takes can offer a lot more than a boost in your interior design IQ. While decorating trends often come and go in the blink of an eye, many have a way of making a comeback. Who knows? With any luck—these antiquated ideas may just find a way to fit into your home’s current era.
Breakfast Rooms
Open floor plans might be the layout du jour, but Rudy Saunders of Dorothy Draper & Co., longs for the days of well-defined spaces—specifically, breakfast rooms. “There is something really special about a smaller, more intimate setting when it comes to having a breakfast room,” he shares. “They offer privacy for quiet moments and help maintain clutter-free spaces.”
Saunders explains that prior to World War II, many homes featured a long hallway with very distinct rooms for entertaining and more private matters. However, as more flexible floor plans became trendy in the 1990s, the breakfast room became a thing of the past. In fact, dining rooms are on the brink of becoming an endangered species.
“Many dining rooms have been taken over for home offices—and worse, pool tables,” he says.
Don’t have the dedicated space for a breakfast room? Saunders encourages you to make even the most mundane meals feel magical. “Regardless of where your family is dining, it is important to take a moment more and set the table,” he says. “Use your china and fabric napkins. This really goes a long way to making the everyday feel special!”
Butler’s Pantries
Butler’s pantries aren’t exactly extinct—plenty of larger homes still have this cherished area—but designer Gary McBournie wishes they were as popular as they were in the 19th century. Typically sandwiched between the kitchen and dining room, these slim spaces often served as a staging and serving area. Unfortunately, as more people moved into smaller homes and city apartments, a butler’s pantry was deemed non-essential.
That said, if you happen to have a butler’s pantry in your home, heed McBournie’s advice and use it. In fact, the Boston designer reveals that he notoriously adds butler’s pantries back into his projects.
“We like to create these spaces but usually make them a little more public and incorporate a bar, typically with a small sink and a wine fridge,” he shares. “It is an opportunity to create a small, sexy, entertaining spot.”
Follies
Breakfast rooms and butler’s pantries might be relics of bygone interiors, but New York designer Phillip Thomas thinks its high time to bring back garden follies.
“The creation of structures known as follies was supposed to focus the eye on certain features of a landscape,” he muses. “The follies themselves were often used for frivolous activities, such as tea houses, they were purely for joyful activities.”
Though these bucolic builds were once a status symbol in 18th-century English gardens, they’ve since fallen to the wayside. However, you can bring this pastoral element to today’s backyards by installing a shed or converting an abandoned stable as Thomas did here.
“It’s a place for friends and family to gather for cocktails and dinner throughout the year,” he explains.
Dramatic Ceilings
According to Margaret Naeve Parker, interior designer and founder of M.Naeve in Houston, the dynamic ceilings of yesteryear have since become “a lost art.”
“In many older homes, architects were known for creating drama and defining rooms using ceiling heights,” she explains. “An entry with an eight-foot-tall ceiling might make way into a living room with a soaring 15-foot-tall ceiling, which can draw you into a space in a really interesting way.”
Now, Parker say, residences play it say with single-height ceilings. While it’s not necessarily a design faux pas, it’s not exactly rife with visual intrigue. If you’re building a home from scratch or kicking off a major renovation, Parker begs you to ask your architect if it’s possible to take your ceiling to new heights. Literally.
“It’s important to think about in the very beginning, as it affects framing, rooflines, and many other significant factors,” she shares. “Sometimes during remodels, vaulting a ceiling is possible in rooms where roofline trusses can accommodate a pitch. It’s almost always something to take advantage of when possible.”
Stained Glass
Who wouldn’t want to look at their space through rose-, amber-, or lapis-colored glasses? Though we occasionally see glimpses of stained glass in modern homes—such as this Chicago retreat designed by Summer Thornton—it’s not nearly as popular as it was in the 19th and 20th centuries.
“These works of art add so much character, color and story to a property,” says Claire Staszak of Centered by Design. “They are also a wonderful starting point for storytelling and color palette development.”
Unlike the biblical scenes we typically see in historic churches, stained glass that rocked residences during the Arts and Crafts movement often boasted geometric and nature-inspired patterns. However, just because sleek floor-to-ceiling windows are having a moment doesn’t mean you can’t include stained glass into your interiors. “Add stained glass panels to cabinet doors, or replace a special interior door with an antique door that has stained glass,” Staszak recommends. “You can find them at many salvage places!”
Laundry Chutes
Anyone who dreads schlepping a heaping pile of dirty clothes to your washing machine likely misses the days of laundry chutes. In fact, Janine Carendi MacMurray of AREA Interior Design says laundry chutes and dumbwaiters would be welcome additions to today’s homes.
“The laundry chute saved countless steps—and backs—by allowing dirty clothes to be dropped straight to the laundry room,” she explains. “Meanwhile, the dumbwaiter made it effortless to move food, firewood, or even luggage without struggling up and down stairs.”
As a staple of the Gilded Age, dumbwaiters were incredibly popular in the 18th century because they offered a way for homeowners and staff to move food and other items between floors without disrupting the main living areas. Meanwhile, laundry chutes became more present during the 19th century—especially in residences with multiple floors.
However, as single-story homes and apartments became more popular, laundry chutes and dumbwaiters weren’t as necessary as they were before. Fortunately, MacMurray says it’s still possible to bring these features into your home today.
“Many closets and wall cavities offer ideal space for installation, so you could integrate a laundry chute into an existing closet or between wall studs,” she notes. “Modern dumbwaiters, now equipped with motorized systems, are a fantastic addition to multi-level homes.”
Kelsey Mulvey is a freelance lifestyle journalist, who covers shopping and deals for Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, and ELLE Decor, among others. Her hobbies include themed spinning classes, Netflix, and nachos.
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