Vintage Pieces For Your Shelves

I am sharing a handful of my favorite vintage pieces for your shelves. These are my ‘go-to’ items that I literally use all the time!

Have you ever just stood in front of your shelves and wondered …. what can I do here? Over the years I have done just that … many times! But I have learned along the way that there are a few pieces that are my ‘go-to’ saving graces. You know … the pieces that just make your life (and the process of decorating a shelf) easy! Today I am sharing 6 vintage decor finds for your shelves! I think you will love them!

It seems like I am rearranging some set of shelves almost daily. My husband may think I am a bit crazy, but I think that I am just ‘crafty.’ I love to twirl my things – it is fun for me. And, maybe it is fun for you too!

I am sharing all the vintage pieces for your shelves – that I love and use to make my home interesting and inviting.

Stoneware

No matter what shape or size, I seem to always use a piece of stoneware on my shelves. And it may come as no surprise that I prefer old stoneware pieces. What is stoneware you might be wondering? Stoneware pieces are made form stoneware clay that has been fired at a temperature between 2150 and 2330 degrees Fahrenheit. Stoneware is thicker and more durable than other things like porcelain. You can read more about stoneware here. I really love to use a variety of pieces on my shelves – from tiny little stoneware bottles to large stoneware crocks to wide stoneware bowls … I do NOT discriminate! l do tend to lean towards pieces like this that are natural in color because they will blend in with any of the other decor pieces that I am working with.

I will use tiny stoneware pieces like this.

And I will use larger stoneware pieces like this.

If I had to choose, I think I would prefer these types of stoneware pieces the best! The handles are cool!

If you were to take a stroll around my home you would be able to tell, I really do love it all.

Books

I love using books – old and new – on my shelves! The best thing is that you can use ones that you already have that laying around you home! If you don’t like the book spines then just turn them around. I love to stack them, flip them around, show off their covers – the sky is the limit. To me, they also serve a great purpose … I love to use old books as risers to ‘raise’ another piece!

I recently found an old book like this and I loved the graphics! Perfect for any shelf!

And these book sets are so great to put on display.

Old Bottles

I love a good old bottle. I use them everywhere. While they are common, old bottles of any shape and size can pack a big punch on any shelf! In the photo above you can see several different variations: from amber bottles to clear milk bottles, they are all so fun to use on your shelves.

I like to use these bottles in the fall!

I like to use these bottles in the spring!

I like to use these bottles in the winter!

I like to use these bottles year round!

Old Wooden Pieces

I don’t think I have a shelf anywhere in my home that doesn’t have a slab of old wood somewhere sitting on it. From old vintage boxes to old wooden salvage pieces – I just can not get enough! Like old books, I like to use old wooden pieces as risers and to add interest. I particularly like to use these as risers (and I have shared on Instagram how I use them on my wall as well.) I also love using these boxes – as seen above!

This wooden piece has amazing graphics and would be so great on a shelf.

This wooden piece would be great leaning on the back of a shelf!

I use these tiny wooden pieces to raise up smaller items in shelves!

These salvage pieces would be so much fun to add to any shelf!

Spools

While the majority of the spools that I use are indeed wood, I felt they needed to be mentioned here because I use them A LOT! And, I use all shapes and sizes. I use them to fill ’empty spots’ on my shelves. I use really small ones to add interest by simply tossing them into a bowl. I use really tall ones to add height to my the vignettes I create on my shelves. The sky is the limit.

I like these industrial spools.

I like these spools that have jute wrapped around them.

I like these as bowl fillers. And the larger version of these are so great!

Filler

Lastly, I like to add filler onto my shelves just to add interest. The items that I use as filler usually change seasonally while I have some that I reach for year round! Again, these filler pieces are kind of like the “icing on the cake” so to speak – they are the items that I add in at the very end, once I am all done styling the large items!

I love using this and this and this throughout the year!

Wrap Up

I hope you are now inspired to tackle your shelves! I simply love all these vintage pieces for your shelves – they are easy to incorporate and look great too! As we ease towards the fall and then into the holidays I plan to share a lot more vintage shelf styling tips and tricks. Until then, you can check out how I styled the shelves inside my cabinet last year using copper pieces – click here to check it out! I love the way it turned out. Thank you for checking out the blog today!