vintage living room lighting

hi, i’m rebecca hay and i’m the principal at rebecca hay designs here in toronto, and we are standing in my dining room. so the dining room in my home is really inviting, it is a modern mix of traditional and contemporary. i sort of like to call it classic design, if you will. so we have lots of individual items in this space that might be contemporary or traditional, but blended together they really seamlessly create a classic look. so there are a few vintage finds in this space, my favorite ones are the head chairs at the dining table. those

are original knoll chairs from the 60s, we found them online, secondhand and they had a terrible orange fluffy fabric on them. so i had them recovered with a really fun, modern print. and they really add a lot of interest to this dining space. the other vintage find that is very near and dear to my heart is that bar cart. this bar cart is a vintage brass, it’s unlacquered brass, so it has patinated with age. it’s from the 1920s, i love the brass and how that detail is repeated throughout the space and adds to that nice, historic feeling. this dining table i had

custom-made, i really wanted something that would last a lifetime. so it is solid maple, it has two extension leaves at the end, so it can seat comfortably up to 12 people, which is great because when my whole family gets together, usually at christmastime, it’s a lot of people. so it works really well. it doesn’t dent easily, and even if it does get damaged, you don’t really notice it because it has that natural wood, rustic feeling. so it really works well for the space. another element in this space that i absolutely love is the sparkle of the lighting.

the chandelier in the dining room is really, really pretty. it was a splurge. it is polished nickel, but actually when the lights are on, it looks gold because it reflects the warm yellow. i love that — it’s a statement, everyone comments on it. we also have these beautiful lamps on the sideboard, they have a gorgeous flower shape to them, which makes them look sculptural and almost like a piece of art. the sideboard in the dining room is not vintage, though it does look it. it is a mid-century-inspired piece. i love it, it houses all of our fine china and crystal.

it ties in with the rest of the sort of vintage finds that are within the rest of my house. the old gold mirror i found, that’s also a vintage piece, and i just couldn’t resist it. so i stuck it up there, and it’s really nice. it helps to open the space, because it’s a really narrow, old toronto home. the house is 100 years old. so it’s very traditional in that sense, that we have walls around every room. having the mirror there really makes the dining room feel so much wider and more spacious and light. the art on the walls are prints from california.

my husband loves this artist. kinsey is his name, and he does these really unique prints. what i like about them is they’re very graphic. i love the blue, and they really frame the entrance to the living room beautifully, ‘cause it’s totally symmetrical. because this is an old traditional home, we have a unique situation, where you cannot see the dining room from the kitchen, which actually, is wonderful because when we entertain and guests are here at a dinner party, nobody feels the need to get up, help with the dishes or move out of the space.

it’s really enveloping and cozy, and people will sit here for hours and hours, which i love as an entertainer. i love to bring people into my home, and this dining room is just a perfect spot for us to sit and enjoy our company.

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