Old & New: Modern Makeovers with a Vintage Twist

Homogeneity is out, and we're not just talking sexuality, baby. Here we are, smack dab in the middle of the decade and suddenly the possibilities seem endless. Same sex marriage is legal, trans actors are all over the media, we just might get a woman in the Oval Office and the hottest thing in home design is mixing it all up. Combining old and new in d�cor is officially big, thanks to all the love eclecticism in general is being shown by trend-definers like the Beekman Boys, whose new book, Beekman 1802 Style: The Attraction of Opposites (September 2015, Rodale Books) celebrates the aesthetic.

Creating a space with both antique as well as modern pieces has long been a no-no, according to John Wade, who with partner Carlos Lopez owns The Sherman Inn. The couple designed the interior of the Ogdensburg, New York, bed and breakfast themselves, breaking with long-established design tradition and artfully blending old and new for a relaxed, welcoming interior.

"My parents have a Victorian-era home," notes Wade, a former corporate visual merchandiser with Bed, Bath and Beyond, "and when my mother decorated, she used all pieces from that era. So it felt like a room from the 19th century. Younger generations don't want the house to feel like a museum. They don't want a whole bunch of old furniture. They want to be able to purchase new furnishings they really like and then accent it with period pieces."

Time After Time

The structure of the Inn itself blends eras and encourages design creativity. Erected in 1897 as an elementary school, it was rebuilt following a 1949 fire. In 2013 the school closed its doors and Wade, who attended classes there as a kid and couldn't bear to see it meet the wrecking ball, snapped it up for a song. He and Lopez have ingeniously retained relics from the building's school days, like chalk boards, maps and electric wall clocks in the four guest quarters fashioned from former classrooms.

The fun doesn't end there. In a nod to the building's long history each space is styled to recall a different era: Victorian, 1930s, mid-century and contemporary. "It's paying homage to that time period with a bit of an update," explains Wade of the look and feel of the rooms. "We didn't want the time period to overwhelm. So with the Victorian room not all the pieces are of that period, but they fit in to the Victorian aesthetic."

For anyone looking to marry contemporary and vintage elements Wade suggests using smaller decorative pieces such as armchairs, side tables, framed art and table lamps to give the room period character. Couches and beds, which need to be sturdier and comfortable, should be new -- though they can evoke the era through their materials or design. Wade and Lopez purchased a wood bed for the 1930s room reminiscent of the shade of walnut so often used in that decade. The couch in the mid-century room is modern, but its chocolate-colored fabric recalls that infamously nubby, prickly material beloved in the Eisenhower days.

With a Twist

"So many people become way too literal when they decorate," says Wade. "You have to be able to throw in a twist. For example, in the Victorian room we have this big, gold sun mirror, which is very ornate. You would find large, gold-framed mirrors in Victorian homes, so it still suits the aesthetic, even though its design is very contemporary. And in the mid-century room we mixed in some contemporary Asian pieces because there was a lot of Asian influence after World War II."

Wade also researched popular color palettes of the day, using them as a starting point and then selecting more contemporary shades a few pantones away for each room's walls. Likewise, the hue of the window treatments suggests the proper time period, but instead of fussy lace or pinch-pleats, the curtains feature grommets for a clean, modern vibe. Wade advises that home decorators looking to meld old and new should study bygone furniture ads and even out-of-date Sears and Roebuck catalogues.

"You always see images of the rich and famous who were able to afford all these high-end pieces," he explains "but finding those pieces today and trying to purchase them, it's way out of your price range. So we tried to replicate the look of what was being sold to the everyday family in the 1930s, but with modern comforts, like the couch and the bed. Not only does it have more of a cozy, comfortable feel, it's also more affordable."

But most important, stresses Wade, is simply "going with your gut. So many people rely on design magazines! It's your home -- it's about making you happy. If you stand back and you smile, then you've done your job."