Museumcore - Vintage Collector Interiors
Museumcore is an interior design aesthetic for eclectic people who love to display antiques and vintage curios in a captivating way.
Today, I am coining a new term in vintage interiors: Museumcore. I've come up with this new term because I couldn't think of an existing term that suited my friend's interior design style. Clare Broom Glastonbury of The Broom Cupboard kindly permitted me to share the photos of her home...so here they are!
I've been marveling at these photos for months now and thought they were so good they needed to be seen by a wider audience. There's so much to Clare's style, from a love of antiques and vintage items, nostalgia, traditional handmade gifts and a general feeling of quirky and colourful non-conformity.
The reason why I settled on Museumcore is because of the amazing range of different items, each one worthy of close inspection and each one with history or at least a story. This is the opposite of HighStreetCore, another term I just came up with this second but will not be writing an article on!
Clare's appreciation for beauty isn't restricted to expensive antiques but also includes the wonders of natural creation.
Next time an acorn crosses my path I will pick it up and study it!
A previous vintage centre dealer, Clare loves her display cabinets. They certainly save on dusting, protect treasures from breakages and help create the museumcore vibe. This cabinet is an exhibit in itself due to being an original Rowntrees Chocolates dispensing cabinet! I wonder if it smells good inside...
Mixing it up a bit helps to avert fuddy-duddyness and Clare manages this not only with her up-to-date wall paint colours but also her soft furnishings.
Museumcore creates the impression the owner has traveled extensively and collected artifacts along the way. Hand carvings of wild animals, African busts and native handicrafts bring interest and visual appeal.
Ornate decorative items conjure up images of skilled craftsmen working masterfully to create their wares.
Rich colours offer boldness and warmth.
Here we see William Morris curtains alongside a very quirky animal head...
not the expected scary looking horned creature but a very innocent sheep.
Every little thing has been carefully sourced at antique and vintage fairs, each item special in some way.
There's not a lot of silverware in Clare's home but a lot of warmer metals, such as brass and copper.
Rather than being macabre, here Clare is showing her appreciation for babies and children and a desire to preserve history, even when it's incomplete.
The Broom Cupboard is Clare's little sideline.
She makes soft toys, bunting and other handmade items. A talented lady!
While sourcing items for her home, Clare also looks for items she can incorporate into her craftwork,
such as these vintage buttons.
Museumcore is really about expressing a love of history and an appreciation for the superior craftsmanship, aesthetics and way of life of previous generations.
Dolls made my Clare at The Broom Cupboard.
Museumcore is not a serious or austere interior design style but more of a jovial one:
an antidote to our increasingly dehumanised world.
Displaying antique and vintage tools is certainly in-keeping with the Museumcore aesthetic as it adds interest and history, they often look good and they generate a desire to learn how they operated.
A touch of the unexpected shows a sense of humour!
With Museumcore, it's ok to not be perfect!
Clare even has a display of vintage children's books.
Here are the main aspects of Museumcore:
- Each item is special with a story to tell.
- Items are displayed in groups in cabinets or on shelves or mantelpieces.
- Ornate, handcrafted, different textures and patinas.
- Natural and manmade beauty.
- Rich and varied colours and metals.
- Bold statements and slightly avant garde quirkiness.
- Something new and unexpected around each corner.
- Eclectic and nostalgic coupled with a rich sense of style.
I hope you enjoyed this photographic tour of Clare Broom Glastonbury's home and also approve of my labeling of it as Museumcore. Let me know what you think by leaving me or Claire a comment. You can follow Clare's photographic journey at Instagram here.
Looking to source unique vintage and antique items to create a Museumcore look in your home? Take a look at the online vintage shop, Fab Fings.
If you would like your home to be featured by Fab Fings, please contact me HERE.
Display prices in:GBP
