Why Interior Designers Are Turning to Vintage Finds
Inside Manhattan’s most inspiring galleries and workshops, New York City-based design duo Husband Wife reveal why interior designers are turning to vintage finds for soul, history and character.
For Justin Capuco and Brittney Hart of Husband Wife, vintage pieces bring something to interiors that modern manufacturing often can’t: emotion, history and individuality. “Vintage really adds texture to a project,” Hart says. “It adds honesty to a project. It’s something that feels very special.” That sense of authenticity is exactly why designers are increasingly layering old with new, creating homes that feel collected and lived-in rather than decorated overnight.
“Vintage really adds texture to a project,” Hart says. “It adds honesty to a project. It’s something that feels very special.”
Their journey begins at P.E. Guerin, the legendary hardware maker known for its extraordinary craftsmanship and historical archive. Standing in the brand’s pattern room, Hart describes the space as “almost a cabinet of curiosities,” filled with “175 years worth of beautiful things.” For designers, places like this are more than showrooms, they’re important sources of inspiration. “I could get lost in here,” she says. “It’s like a candy store.”
That passion for discovery continues at Demisch Danant, one of Hart’s “absolute favourite galleries ever,” celebrated for its post-war French design collection. Here, she notes that vintage finds are less about decoration and more about a conscious way of living. “We are in a field where there’s so much that gets kind of tossed,” she explains. “Having something that is old and feels special… contributes less to the garbage and more to the idea of keeping something and hanging onto it for life.”
At Galerie Gabriel, founded by Nancy Gabriel in 2019, the appeal lies in the balance between contemporary makers and timeless vintage finds. Hart praises the gallery’s “incredible taste and really beautiful pieces,” while her visit to Christopher Colley Gallery in Chinatown reveals how eclectic sourcing creates layered, personal interiors. Colley’s collection, spanning eras and continents, shows how each object has a story behind it.
That idea comes to life inside Husband Wife’s project Residence 111 located in one of the world’s tallest residential buildings: the iconic Steinway Tower overlooking Central Park. Inspired by Art Deco glamour and the 1930s home of Cedric Gibbons and Dolores Del Rio, the apartment mixes rare vintage finds with custom contemporary pieces. “We love the idea of layering in different eras, different locations,” Hart says. “It really does create a ‘no time’ project.”
Among these incredible vintage furnishings are a pair of Jean Royère armchairs, sourced from Galerie Gabriel, which Capuco describes as “incredible pieces of art”. Nearby is a stunning 1980s vintage Murano table lamp by La Murrina, which the pair sourced from Slovenia. Vintage Art Deco-era rugs were used throughout the entire apartment to speak to the building’s architecture.
For Capuco, those details are what ultimately make a home feel layered and alive. “All these little vintage and found-object details add life to a space that we don’t feel you can get by just purchasing from a catalogue.”
