This Once-Dated Thrift Store Find Is Making A Stylish Comeback In Home Decor

Antique finds are always in style, and new trends featuring retro designs pop up year after year. Every now and then, certain outdated items make a big comeback to bask in the limelight of a new generation. Think antique iceboxes, retro stereos, and vintage typewriters. Now, another extinct home gadget has answered the comeback call — the classic landline telephone.

When you think of a house phone, those of us old enough to remember the days before smartphones might think of those painfully bland telephones from the '80s and '90s with the impossibly long curly cord. Or maybe you were cool enough to have one of those clear phones that revealed its inner technology panels in your youth. Phones have assumed many different designs throughout history, dating back to the late 1800s, when candlestick phones with the separate mouthpiece and receiver were first introduced. The more modern phone featuring a handset that connected the receiver with the mouthpiece became popular in the 1930s, but it was only available in one color: black. Other colors and styles started appearing on the scene in the late 1940s, and push-button phones began replacing the rotary dial in the '60s. Of course, these days, even the idea of buttons on a phone is ancient, which makes these telephones of the past relics worth snagging from your local thrift store or flea market. They may not serve a purpose anymore, but they do make for interesting and stylish retro decor.

Of course, not every old telephone is decor-worthy. However, keep your eyes peeled for classic landline phones you can thrift and upcycle. Candlestick phones and other ornate antique phones are obvious front-runners, but the colorful phones of the '50s and '60s would also work well with modern decor styles (like the Princess phone, which came in a rainbow of colors). Even the more utilitarian landline phones of old are vintage enough to offer their own unique style. It's always handy to know the top designer and manufacturer names to look for when shopping for antiques, so keep a lookout for these phone manufacturers: Ericsson, Western Electric, Kellogg Switchboard and Supply, Stromberg Carlson, North Electric, and Royal Victoria.

If you come across a bland retro telephone, you can give it a little zhuzh to make it work as a decor item in your space. Most vintage phones have plastic casings, so they can easily be painted, including the curly cord, though you will probably need to use a good primer first. Style your phone on an antique table, a bookshelf, or, if you still have a wall phone jack serving as an eyesore in the kitchen, cover it with a bona fide vintage house phone. And since it is officially retired from its intended purpose, you can dream up all sorts of ways to put yours to good use around the house, like upcycling an old phone into a stylish lamp.