Vintage Travel Theme Home Decor

With the grand reopening of Old Crow’s Antiques in Golden, Colorado, and my new booth along with it, which I have dubbed the “Traveler’s Library,” I thought it was high time to give you a taste of the style and aesthetic I’ve really honed in on this year. It’s what I’ve envisioned from the beginning, but got a little lost in all the fun things there are to collect. The past event designer in me does best with a theme though, so I’m really going for it here. You’ll always find globes, maps, pennants, landscape paintings, books, brass, clocks, luggage, planes, trains and autos, card catalogs and everything tiny drawers. Somehow mixing a whimsical, yet Ralph Lauren/CB2 academia vibe. Come see for yourself - I think it works! And you’re in for a treat with dozens of other vendors and a ROOT BEER BAR! 💛🐦‍⬛

If you’re not able to visit in Colorado, I will also have plenty available here in my online vintage shop, so check back often! Read on for more background on the items I feature…

Vintage Globes

When you spot a globe in the wild, do you immediately try to determine its age/era? Oh, that’s just me?! (nerd alert!) Globes don’t have dates printed on them, but there are some handy charts on the internet that will show you when certain countries changed from an old name to a new name, and when you know what year that happened you can start to narrow it down. For me personally, I know there are several large and easy to spot African countries that had major name changes in the 60s, so I tend to start there. This particular globe is the oldest I’ve found, dating to the late 1930s! Ethiopia was occupied by Italy and renamed Italian East Africa from 1936-1941, so that’s my biggest clue. I just love the mystery and detective work! You’ll always find a selection of globes in my booth, and especially the little cute coin bank ones!

Vintage Landscape Paintings

I talk a lot about how I focus on places and time and places IN time. And this gorgeous little painting is what I mean by that. This place may still exist in our current time, but these people, this clothing, these boats are in the past, and I love showcasing their particular moment in history. So in my shop you’ll find paintings and pieces that show and celebrate eras gone by.

Vintage Books

I had a librarian mom and she taught me right and now bookstores and libraries intoxicate me. How could I not create my very own in my booth?! Curating book sets is high on my list of favorite things to do - the themes! The colors! The wear and tear and history. Who has held this and read this and been moved by these words? So my Travel Library will always feature all the old books, travel-related and not. And all the card catalogs I can find! Come visit!

Vintage Travel Pennants

No travel library vibe is complete without vintage souvenir pennants! Their history, colors and graphics fascinate me. I’ll always have a large selection on hand for cities all over, but especially try to offer them for my local Colorado folks. They make the best decor for walls, hanging from a shelf, out of a drawer. Such great mementos of your travels or special places. 🌎

Vintage Maps

Maps maps maps. I never tire of them, I seek them out, the history of our places and how they’ve evolved fascinates me. I especially love finding the historical bird’s eye view illustrations of our cities. In my booth you’ll find a combination of old vintage and antique maps and also new reproduction prints of them so more than one person can have them. I especially focus on local Colorado and Golden area maps, but also have them for regions, states, cities all over the world, as well as prints featuring science, space, flora and fauna, hobbies, and culture. You’ll also find them in books and atlases I collect, like from this gorgeous photo.

Vintage Brass Decor

Vintage brass is a forever fave in all of its forms. In my booth you’ll find it however it supports the “Travel Library” vibe, which is a lot! Globes, compasses, weathervanes, flora and fauna of all the places, candlesticks to set a mood.

Vintage Mail and Postage

As a former custom stationer, snail mail is a thing for me, and during those years we used a lot of vintage postage to send some beautiful packages. Mail and travel are so deeply intertwined. Mail travels over distance. Whether by ground, air, or sea, the delivery of physical mail inherently involves a journey from sender to recipient. And that process honestly fascinates me! So in my booth I’ve created a Map & Mail Supply with stationery items, vintage postage scales, letter openers, map pins, wax letter seals, old postcards (and vintage postage stamps coming soon!).

Vintage Decor, Not Vintage Values

Can I just have a peace sign in the middle of a cloud background?! Can my booth and shop just feel like that? In the midst of this Ralph Lauren academia thing I have going, I also just want a little whimsy and a big “everyone is welcome and safe here” feeling. The current line in the industry - vintage decor, not vintage values - could not be more relevant here. That’s who I am and what my business is and I hope you’ll always feel it. 💛 Come visit my Traveler’s Library at Old Crow’s Antiques in Golden, Colorado!