Create an inspired mix of modern style and vintage finds

Living...
Place a single vintage chair or a battered leather footstool in among modern furniture for a relaxed, quirky look.

Add storage in the form of an old trunk, a blanket box, or a junk-shop filing cabinet. Repaint, or sand and varnish, to bring out its good looks.

Look in charity shops and boot fairs for 1950s glassware. Pick one colour theme to bring an eclectic choice together. A collection of green glass would look fantastic, for instance, on a white modern floating shelf.

In a room full of plain shapes and simple white fabrics, go for a curvy, ornate chair made from wrought iron.

Add vintage-style ribbons and beading to the edges of curtains, lights and cushions. Lighten heavy, dark antique furniture with light, bright new covers and throws. Repaint old garden metal and wood chairs and benches to match your indoor colour scheme.

Vintage cheats... Leave budget wicker chairs to age outside in the sun for a battered vintage effect. Just add faded print cushions for extra 'authenticity'.

Cooking and eating...
New appliances look great teamed with vintage cooking implements, old silver cutlery, biscuit tins and flour jars. Mix a modern dining table with old chairs, but make sure the heights match up – keep a tape measure with you when you're browsing.

Modern kitchens can be square and full of hard lines. Soften the look with old-fashioned curves – old-style Parisian café chairs, for instance, or retro pastel coloured food mixer. Play around with the knobs and handles on old cupboards.

Look in junk shops and antique markets for chintz-printed tea sets, which are a real talking point in a modern white kitchen.

Try mistmatched clear glass tumblers and wine glasses.

Mix modern fitted units with old dressers cupboards and open shelves.

Vintage cheats... Soften the hard lines of a modern kitchen with a pair of 1950s vintage-style print curtains.

Sleeping...
An old wooden ladder or a tailor's dummy are great as clothes hangers, or storage for jewellery. An enamel jug is great for flowers. Add a vintage sideboard as an unusual storage solution. Or an old anglepoise lamp to a modern bedside table.

Vintage cheats... Antique beds look beautiful but modern ones are definitely comfier. Accessorise a modern bed with a vintage-style quilt, and layers of blankets.

Bathing...
Mix dark, warm woods with palest turquoise walls. You can build your own wash stand from a junk shop desk stripped back to the untreated oak, then topped with a modern porcelain sink, with wall-mounted taps. In a modern bathroom add an outsized vintage gilt-framed mirror for a touch of decadence. Keep both old and new things clean and cherished with new Flash Clean & Care, the multisurface cleaner that's perfect for use on treasured vintage pieces and delicate items.

Vintage cheats... It's hard to track down old roll-top baths, but you can mix a freestanding reproduction with ultra-modern taps for a great look.