The best accounts to follow on Instagram for vintage interiors finds

The best reason to slide into someone’s DMs is arguably to buy a vintage home furnishing from them. Eleanor Cording-Booth of @aconsideredspace is here to guide your online homeware hunt
Eleanor Cording-Booth

A couple of years ago, there were a few front-running vintage homeware sellers who built successful brands through Instagram (such as @tat.london and @francesloom) but you could count them on two hands.

Fast-forward to April 2021 and after a year of not really being able to shop physically, our interiors being thrust into the spotlight as we spend more time at home and people newly out of work and looking for a way to make money, it seems like suddenly everyone on Instagram has a side hustle as an antiques dealer.

This accessible way of shopping makes acquiring vintage homeware as easy as sliding into someone’s DMs at 2am after a late-night scroll.

I know because I do it myself. As I write this, two boxes have just arrived containing candlesticks and a trinket box, neither of which I remembered ordering, but am nevertheless delighted to see.

Shopping via Instagram is completely unlike shopping in your local antiques shop or auction house.

Hysteria around specific trends such as bobbin legs, coloured glassware or bamboo furniture means sellers are sourcing to meet demand — they know what followers want to see and so the stock from many accounts ends up being strikingly similar as sellers scour the internet and antiques markets all looking for items that are guaranteed to sell in minutes.

Pieces can sell so quickly (they’re being shown to thousands of eyes at the same time, after all), panic buying often ensues.

This FOMO from buyers has led to many vintage accounts releasing their new stock in well-promoted, regularly timed drops so people know when to check their apps (or phone alerts) for new pieces from their favourite sellers.

With so many accounts to browse, it’s a difficult task to narrow down the best sellers but here are some favourites that launched recently and specialise in specific items.

For striking lighting and accessories:

A lamp from Willow Wolf Interiors
Willow Wolf Interiors

Charlotte Chamberlin-Taylor runs Willow Wolf Interiors alongside her day job working for a jewellery brand, so she has a well-honed magpie mentality.

Chamberlin-Taylor’s account caught my attention because her eclectic glassware and lighting reminded me of being in Palm Springs.

Her Instagram is organised by colour, meaning pieces are held back until the right moment to post them, which feels like a refreshing way of sharing new stock.

Willow Wolf Interiors does have a website but stock is posted on Instagram first, in the evenings, and people can DM to purchase.

Chamberlin-Taylor gets to know her customers’ tastes and will give them an early heads-up about pieces she thinks they might like.

For more 20th-century vintage also see: @anemone_interiors, @sauce.ldn, @maudvaughaninteriors and @thecharlesedit

Furniture from Pato Interiors
Pato Interiors

For traditional antique furniture:

Launched on a whim when a friend was selling a barn full of vintage furniture, Katherine Westmacott took a risk, filled a van load and Pato Interiors was born.

Where many new sellers go down the small accessories route, Pato Interiors stands out to me as having one of the best edits of antique furniture from the Edwardian/Victorian/Georgian periods.

Westmacott’s sharp eye for form and detail means that whether she’s selling a painted cabinet or a ‘brown’ chest of drawers, she’ll find stand-out examples.

New stock is typically uploaded to Instagram on weekday mornings and anything that doesn’t sell immediately via DMs will later be added to the Pato Interiors website.

Old Yarns is a top tip for rugs
Old Yarns

For Moroccan rugs:

I trust the quality of Old Yarns rugs implicitly as I know founder Dee Miller sources her rugs from the High Atlas mountains in Morocco, where the wool and the expert weaving is exceptional.

Miller buys her rugs (a mixture of vintage and new) directly from the area where they were produced and she has a great relationship with her suppliers so she can be sure that weavers are paid fairly and only natural materials and dyes are used.

The rugs shown on Old Yarns’ Instagram feed are beautifully photographed by Miller in her home, which is helpful for styling inspiration and a sense of scale.

Rugs are posted throughout the week and they can be secured directly through Instagram DMs; this is also how to ask about pricing and personal rug sourcing requests.

For vintage Moroccan rugs, also see: @edit.58, @larusirugs, @beldirugs and @june.and.blue

Neutrals at Kiln Home
Kiln Home

For calming neutrals and wabi-sabi:

Founder Emily Coram sets the tone for Kiln with mood board-style imagery of calming spaces in pared-back neutrals.

I’m instinctively drawn to colour, so Kiln isn’t an obvious choice for me but I really appreciate interior designer Coram’s ability to take a restricted palette and still make everything look warm, tactile and interesting.

Specialising in century-old terracotta pots, wooden serving boards and small, handmade furniture such as chairs and stools, Coram seeks out natural materials and artisanal pieces for their patina and character.

Kiln has timed stock drops and shows item previews on its grid and Stories before new pieces go on sale via its website. The next monthly collection is launching in mid-May.

For neutral decorative pieces, also see: @patinahome_, @matthews.room, @eesomeshop and @shopmantel

Vintage oil paintings at Tarn London
Tarn London

For Swedish oil paintings:

It’s been a joy to see Tarn London founder Tanya Zendra grow a 13,000-strong following only 10 months after launching.

Selling her vintage stock solely through Instagram DMs (if it ain’t broke) and with several pieces arriving each week, Tarn London specialises in elegant Georgian furniture, brass sconces and Modernist Swedish oil paintings.

Zendra’s followers have their fingers on buzzers for her well-edited selection of tonal abstracts, often selling within a minute or two of being posted.

New stock is shared as and when it arrives but Zendra will shortly move to timed stock drops, so people know exactly when to speed-type in her DMs and nab the best pieces.

For Swedish oil paintings and brass candleholders, also see: @keptlondon, @medium_room and @shiny_things_london

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