How to Recreate a Romantic Vintage Vanity ?

The centerpiece of a vintage vanity is the mirror that sits above it. It’s the detail you really need to pay attention to !

My advice is to go hunt down a unique piece at a flea market or an antique shop. It should be an eye-catching mirror, either a full-length one you can place behind your vanity or a smaller one that sits directly on top.

You have several design options: you could go for something classic, like a mirror with golden moldings, one with a dark wooden frame or my personal favorite the bold triptych mirror that lets you admire your makeup from every angle.

Vanities from the 1920s and 1930s all had one thing in common, they were made from durable materials, most often solid wood. There were always variations in the type of wood used, but the goal was the same: to create a high-quality piece.

These raw wood vanities were as delicate as the women who used them. Craftsmen often adorned the legs and handles with gilded details and carved the wood to reflect the style of the era.

What I love about these vintage vanities is that they had countless compartments, which helped keep the space beautifully decluttered.

Antique dealers offer the best options for those with bigger budgets, as this kind of piece can be quite expensive today. But if you enjoy treasure hunting, I’d suggest heading to flea markets you’ll often find people looking to part with these pieces, sometimes considered bulky, yet they’re true gems.

On the vanities of those Hollywood stars, there was always one detail, a table lamp. Back then, the main light of the room wasn’t enough to see the finer details when doing makeup, overhead lighting was usually dim, so a focused, soft lamp was necessary to see every detail while applying makeup.

These lamps not only illuminated the face but also flattered the features, making them a little confidence boost, a trick still worth borrowing today.

When it comes to the design, you’ll want something delicate and glamorous,perhaps a “jewel” lamp in crystal, one with golden accents or even a Tiffany-style lamp. You can check out my favorite finds just below !

If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed since the 1920s, it’s the mess we leave on our vanity while getting ready. Yet somehow, their mess looked a lot more “put together”..

That’s probably because they didn’t have all the plastic stuff we do today. Instead, they used beautifully crafted objects to get ready, like a fine boar bristle brush with an ivory handle or crystal bottles for their perfume.

That’s the kind of “mess” you want to leave on your vanity. Using beautiful objects in your daily routine makes all the difference, it helps you romanticize the moment and step into the best version of yourself, just like those Hollywood stars did back in the day.