How to Style Vintage Brass

I thrifted a bunch of brass, and it hits different in the 2020's

Jun 09, 2025

I’ve thrifted a bunch of vintage brass items lately. I grabbed two little brass gourds with curlicue stems at an antiques booth at the strawberry festival I attended with my daughter a few weeks ago. I put them on my mantel with two brass candlesticks that were my grandparents.’

Recently, I found a few more items at Savers that fit perfectly with my updated dining room vision, and I’m loving how the pieces look together AND I have a plan for my fireplace and dining room makeover which I’ll share more about later.

For now, let’s talk about pairing brass with woven textures.

Top left: my mantel collection which is a mix of baskets I brought back from Bali and a couple thrifted ones paired with inherited and thrifted brass pieces, bottom left: brass candlesticks from Sazerac Stitches, bottom right: basket wall art from Pottery Barn, top right: brass-look candlesticks from Z Gallerie to hit the high/low.

A woven basket gallery wall feels timeless to me. I have always loved baskets. I grew up in a rural area in far Northeastern California that was rich with Native American culture and I remember being so inspired by Native American baskets. A highlight from my trips to Bali was both visiting basket weaving workshops and bringing back beautifully handmade baskets.

I love that cultures worldwide have found endless uses and innovations for artful basket making. One of the best gifts ever given me was a big handwoven herb-drying basket and loads of parsley from a friend’s farm. Baskets feel intentional and meditative, full of history, culture, warmth and the hope of abundance and usefulness.

I also love brass (or items with a brass look, as I’m certain some of my thrifted items are) paired with woven textures. It’s more than okay to mix elegant, higher-end pieces with found or thrifted items, and since a storied, collected look is my favorite look, I actually recommend mixing old and modern, high and low cost, found and purchased items.

Okay, short note about design plans for the mantel (I can’t wait to get into this project!): 1) I’m going to strip the paint off that beautiful wood mantel that’s likely original and very old, 2) I’m going to stain it a color that coordinates with the original floors - kind of a light honey tone, 3) Since someone painted the fireplace bricks white, I’m going to warm them up by painting them a deep taupe, and 4) I’m considering painting the walls and ceiling a soft green to help pick up the color of the green marble slab at the base of the fireplace and contrast with the wall art in the room.

I know the boho vibe is making a comeback, and honestly, it’s a vibe that I’ll probably never completely part with, regardless of whether it’s trending. I guess, as a California girl, I come by it naturally. My grandparents used to have a giant vase full of pampas grass at their lake house and I always loved that they cut the oversized wands of grass themselves from the side of the road. Guess I come by that little hobby honestly, too.

As a child born in the early 80’s brass was very prominent in home decor during my childhood and into my teens. I felt very lucky to scoop up pieces from that era recently to add some shine to my mantel. I wear variations of gold hoops almost daily, and little touches of brass feel like the gold hoops of my fireplace. They add just a little glimmer.