Set along the shores of Lake Como, George and Amal Clooney’s Villa Oleandra makes antiques feel inevitable.
The rooms are filled with damask walls, dark wood, gilded frames, and other details that reflect the villa’s Southern European history. Together, they give the interiors a sense of having aged with grace, while still feeling uniquely lived-in.
However, while their villa is the perfect stage for such pieces, experts say an increasing number of homeowners are decorating with antiques as we look to the year ahead. To get the look, opt for crafted vintage silhouettes like a pair of French Art Deco mahogany dining chairs (at 1stDibs), whose dark tones and aged upholstery interplay modern design with authentic depth.
Crystal Olenbush, a real estate expert at Austin Real Estate, points to a growing interest in vintage and antique furnishings. ‘A designer survey done this year shows that 36% of items used in 2025, on average, were vintage, the highest percentage since 2021,’ she says.
‘The use of antiques that were created prior to 1920 increased from 56% in 2024 to 63% in 2026. This shows that designers are intentionally adding older items to their work to increase the sense of layering and unpredictability.’
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Oval Upholstered Wood Frame Dining Chairs
Inspired by the Art Deco chairs seen behind George, this vintage pair brings a similar old-world character to a living room. The oval upholstered backs give them a tailored look without feeling overly formal.
Much like the pieces in George's home, this mirror has a time-worn character perfectly suited to an Italian villa. It exhibits an ornate frame and an aged finish that suggest a piece collected over generations.
You can introduce the grandeur of an Italian villa into your home with this sofa. Inspired by the regal interiors of Villa Oleandra, it features velvet upholstery, deep button tufting, and rolled arms that are utterly timeless.
Few things elevate a room quite like an ambient sconce. Just like the one behind George, this candle-style fixture brings a sense of Italian charm to even the smallest of homes. Its antique-inspired finish is truly impossible to resist.
Bettie Tapenade Yellow Velvet Round Pillow
Just like the warm ochre tones of the sofa in George's villa, this velvet cushion is an easy way to introduce the same elegance into your living room. Upholstered in velvet with a sculptural silhouette, it's one of the easiest ways to follow his lead.
When I picture a Persian rug in my mind, this is what I envision – a beautifully detailed rug finished in deep shades of red and blue. This Persian-inspired style would add immense warmth to any room in which it's introduced.
There’s also a practical reason why decorating with vintage furnishings and antiques works so well in otherwise polished spaces. As Crystal explains, they make a room feel perfectly imperfect.
‘An antique will shift the notion of perfection in a room,’ she comments. ‘If a new piece of furniture has scratches in a neutral living room, people might view them as damage. But scratches and other marks on antiques look like patinas, thus adding to the cozy atmosphere and making us treat each room as livable rather than perfect.’
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‘The issue with many neutral interiors is that all objects in such rooms have similar surfaces and shapes, smooth and round,’ Crystal says. ‘Antiques, in their turn, introduce elements that cannot be easily reproduced and thus break up the perfect picture of a digital design.’
However, the answer isn’t always to overfill your space with such pieces. Often, one well-chosen piece is enough. ‘It’s not necessary for the antique to blend in well into the neutral color palette. On the contrary, it will usually look better if it interrupts it a little bit,’ Crystal says.
A mahogany table in a cream room, a gilt mirror above your sofa, or a pine cabinet against plaster walls can each provide that contrast without changing the character of the entire space.
As mentioned, this look is perfect for Villa Oleandra, but it doesn’t require a Lake Como address. You can bring the best of George and Amal's space into the most modern of spaces – just be sure to choose pieces that tell your own story.