Decorating with family heirlooms and antiques

This season I added some end-of-summer/fall touches to our dining room using my great-grandmother’s painting as an inspiration. I’ve been wanting to reframe the Willy Hermann painting that my father sent me a while back for a long time but wasn’t sure who would do the job right. Willy Hermann was a German impressionist painter who loved to paint haystacks, cornfields, and other landscapes. He was born in Berlin in 1895 and died in Berlin in 1963. Two of his paintings still hang in the town hall of Spandau. And he was actually friends with my great-grandparents.

I have talked about my great-grandfather before who was the director of transportation in Berlin around that time. Also, remember my great-grandmother’s portrait that I recently hung in our kitchen/dining room? I knew that the same framing company would be the perfect fit to help me with the task of finding the right frame for this special oil painting which just happens to be perfect for this time of year.

How to decorate with family heirlooms

The cornfields are the perfect decor for the end of summer/fall don’t you think so? Before choosing a frame I looked at other paintings of his that were sold at auctions and decided that I wanted something similar. With the help of the wonderful folks at pictureframes.com I narrowed it down to a specific gold frame. {another discloure: this is not a sponsored post but I was given the frame and all opinions are 100% my own)

On the back of the painting, my grandmother attached a little note: “Meiner lieben Enkelin Julia zur Freude von Ihrer Oma Hilde Schmidt 1995” (for my granddaughter Julia to give her joy from her grandmother Hilde Schmidt 1995). When I used to visit her, I always told her how much I loved this painting and it means a lot to me to have it now here in our home in the US.

Ever since being a young teenager, I was interested in antiques even though I love decorating with modern and trendy things and as I get older I see myself incorporating more and more antiques and heirlooms.

If you don’t like doing something like this yourself then you have the option to send your painting in through their “Mail in Your Art Service” and they will fix and frame your piece for you at pictureframes.com.

If you are wondering about the other painting that was in the dining room before… well I hung the blue and green pond scene into the hallway for now and will bring it back at some point again. It’s nice to be able to switch them out according to seasons.

The plate to the left is also another family heirloom I brought back from Germany this year. It also belonged to my great-grandparents and I’m still trying to find out more about the Chinese porcelain marking on the back. So far with no luck. I only found it in two books but there are no clear descriptions about it or what period it is.

To the right, you can see the portrait of my great-grandmother again.

{sources: my favorite dark green paint colors | kitchen light | barstools HERE | cabinet color and kitchen makeover HERE | DIY fine art reproduction oil-painting | macrame wall hanging HERE | flooring HERE | DIY wood bead pendant light | kitchen counter is from Quartzmaster | How to install wall moulding | black and white glitter canister HERE in which we keep our pink Himalayan salt | dining room table HERE | dining room chairs HERE | chandelier HERE | faux fiddle leaf fig HERE | salt lamps HERE and how to decorate with salt lamps | DIY black and white checkered curtains}

Also…

I grew eucalyptus in our garden this year. It didn’t get many stems but I have some that I can display throughout the house now. Next year I will try to grow a bigger amount. Also, check out my macrame wreath tutorial. I love it in my kitchen and it is so easy to make.

One more thing I brought with me from Germany to add to my family heirlooms is my great-grandmother’s silver tea set and I love having it on my antique marble and wrought iron bistro table with my cat plates behind it. (I also made my own DIY pet portraits which you might like)

It is also special to me.

We’ve also lived with our new Karndean vinyl plank floor since March and we are so incredibly happy with it. The floor looks feels and wears amazing. Best decision I’ve made all year to switch from laminate to this incredible vinyl floor.

And the cats are still obsessed with the placemats which you can find HERE.

Click HERE to see my macrame leaf tutorial that you see on my below straw purse.

I’m also slowly bringing my area rugs back into the living room. The other side of the room’s big rug is still at the cleaners though which is why I didn’t photograph it.

UPDATE: the painting is now hanging in our hallway above my newly made over the bleached dresser with DIY leather drawer pulls and I love it. 

Summary of my tips for decorating with family heirlooms

Rotate your heirlooms and antiques

It used to drive me crazy when my dad had an assigned spot for things and that’s where it had to remain. In my house, I love rotating and I do that with most of my decor items. It keeps things fresh and updated.

For example, I hung my parents’ vintage Bjorn Wiinblad Christmas plates above the buffet one year and another year I hung them in the living room.

Mix heirlooms with modern trendy decor

For me, this is a must! I do this with my grandmother’s and mother’s jewelry and it includes my heirloom decor too. Mixing your modern and trendy decor with antiques is what keeps everything personal, unique, and interesting. For example, my modern curtains and pillow patterns keep the old pieces from looking too stuffy.

Don’t take it too seriously

By that, I mean that you need to ad quirky and silly things here and there. My cat plates and the Jonathan Adler glitter canister are great examples that a little humor and silliness go a long way.

Mix finishes and don’t be too matchy-matchy

I’ve always loved mixing metals but I also love mixing other finishes like wood and marble, modern and old, leather and fabric, faux plants and real plants, antiques and new… just go with your heart and like I mentioned before don’t take it too seriously.

You might also like my 4 favorite ancestor research tips or how to decorate living room with plants.

Tschüß,