All Things Vintage With Lora Bloomquist

Last Updated on November 1, 2024 by Rachel Granholm

Let’s have a chat about all things vintage with Lora Bloomquist from Create and Ponder!

I am so excited to introduce you to a fellow blogger today who has been in the vintage world for many years. Her blog is full of lovely vintage goodness where she shares beautiful home decorating ideas, tips, and DIY projects. Lora, like myself, hails from the great state of Minnesota. She is amazingly talented, super creative, and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to decorating your home with vintage decor. Join me as I share an interview talking ‘All Things Vintage’ with Lora Bloomquist!

Unveiling the Allure of Vintage Decor

Do you ever feel a burst of excitement when a favorite magazine arrives in the mail? Or your top music-making prodigy drops a new album? That’s how I feel whenever I receive an e-mail from Lora, informing me of a new blog post that she’s just released.

To me, Lora is the epitome of vintage. She lives and breathes it and is SO insanely talented. If you are into vintage just as much as us, you are not going to want to miss this. Join me today to learn her top tips for sourcing, styling, and decorating with old things.

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An Interview With Lora Bloomquist Create and Ponder

Question 1: When did you first start loving antique and vintage decor? How did you get into it?

Lora: I have loved decorating for as long as I can remember. My mom and dad made me a huge Barbie doll house that I would sit behind for hours, redecorating the rooms. In high school, I ripped up my bedroom carpet myself so I could enjoy the hardwood floors. I also stenciled the walls and was always moving the furniture around.

My maternal grandma was my mentor in secondhand shopping; she taught me to identify pottery and china markings and had an eye for spotting potential. She taught me to sew and had a knack for making everything beautiful and yummy.

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 2: What are your top 3 ways of displaying and/or decorating with vintage and antique decor in your home?

Lora: My top 3 ways of displaying and decorating with vintage and antiques:
1) Develop a theme. A theme will help you pull all the right elements together. It’s how I decorated my store and the booths I sold in and how I style my home. It gives you a framework to choose accessories, colors, shapes, etc.
2) Layer. Start with the largest items, then place medium pieces, then small, and finish up with foliage and textures.
3) Use a great piece of vintage architecture as your foundation. By hanging a bedspring, garden gate, bank of cubbies or other vintage piece as wall art, you can swap things up for the seasons without drilling new holes.

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 3: Where do you find most of your vintage and antique decor?

Lora: My favorite place to find vintage and antique pieces is on the curb;) For many years I’ve amassed great finds at city cleanup days in a couple suburbs. It’s amazing what people throw out but I suppose it’s easy for them to just shove it to the curb. Yes, most things need some love to bring them back to beauty but I thrive with that challenge.

I also love church sales and estate sales. And I still shop at small vintage shops because I love to see the displays. In the winter, I occasionally shop thrift stores and check FB marketplace for larger items. My nose is always sniffing out treasures!

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 4: What are your top 3 tips for finding antique and vintage decor at antique or vintage stores?

Lora: My top 3 tips for finding vintage and antiques at shops:
1) Shop around in different towns. Prices are very driven by location and how high the rent is for the owners. Don’t expect garage sale prices at a beautifully decorated shop. All that beauty takes time and there are many expenses when you own a shop. Spend some money to thank them for the inspiration they’re giving you.
2) When you’re traveling in a different state, shop there. Often you’ll find different types of things than you would in your area, which is fun.
3) Bring a tape measure. I can’t tell you how many times we carried out a big furniture piece to find the customer’s car was a Prius.

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 5: For someone wanting to incorporate antique and vintage decor into their home, what would be your best piece of advice for them?

Lora: I think starting with a few larger accessories is a fun way to add some old, especially if you live in a newer home. Large wood crates add great texture and can be used so many ways.

Galvanized buckets with seasonal flowers or branches can be added anywhere, too.

Hanging a great piece of architectural vintage on the walls is the perfect canvas you can switch up seasonally.

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 6: What is the best way that you have found to mix more modern decor with older pieces of decor?

Lora: I love vintage pieces but don’t want my house to look like an antique store. It’s all in the balance. If you own a newer home, adding in vintage will bring in character that your home doesn’t have yet. I live in a 100 year old farmhouse and have added newer pieces to balance out all my vintage.

My leather couches have a more modern, straight-lined look that juxtaposes my vintage wood accent pieces. I love chippy, painted pieces but balance those out with more solid-looking textures. My saying through the years has been, “Give your eye some place to rest.”

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 7: What makes antique and vintage items so special to you?

Lora: I love vintage and antique items because they’re unique and have time-worn beauty that you just can’t imitate. My favorite pieces are handmade; some handyman crafted it to fill a certain need- a stool for his grandkids to use in the bathroom, a custom gift for a loved one. There’s a story behind all that character.

I also am a purist when it comes to materials; I love real wood, real metal, real stone. Fake doesn’t do it for me. They just don’t make things like they used to!

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Question 8: With many different pieces of antique and vintage decor, how do you create a home that still feels cohesive and not too cluttered?

Lora: Yes, I have a lot of stuff I’ve acquired through my years of selling and I’m still finding treasures! My philosophy is when it’s time to dust, it’s time to switch up the decor. I am constantly shuffling. By giving some collections a time out, I enjoy them more when I bring them out again. And using accessories in a different room gives them a whole new look.

Our unfinished basement is a great place for me to store off season items and all of my furniture pieces double as storage. When you’ve sold in the retail world for so many years, switching things up often is a way of life, and a great way to breathe new life into your home.

Photograph courtesy of lorabloomquist.com

Closing Tidbits on Decorating with Vintage

Isn’t she just amazing?! I am so thankful to Lora for taking the time to chat with me. I hope this interview talking All Things Vintage with Lora Bloomquist was helpful and encouraging for you! I’m always looking for home inspiration and seeking out new opportunities for growth, both personally and professionally.

Lora continually helps to expand my horizons through her weekly vintage posts. I do hope you will go visit her blog Lora Bloomquist Create and Ponder. There is so much inspiring content and ideas for creating a beautiful home. Wishing you joy!

If you are new here, I’m Rachel, the writer and content creator here at The Antiqued Journey. I’m so happy to have you! I encourage you to stop by the ‘about me’ page to get to know me a little more.

Here on the blog, you will find loads of inspiration for decorating with vintage and antique decor, simple DIY crafts and many thrifting adventures. If that interests you, I invite you to sign up for my e-mail. You will receive a free digital download as a thank you!

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