In recent decades, prospective homebuyers have largely been met by the color gray when touring houses.
“Often, there’s this concept that something completely neutralized appeals to people,” said Andrea Belanger, a real estate agent for 10 years.
But Belanger, who has long gravitated toward vintage, never felt at home among generic spaces. And in recent years, she’s noticed more people start to feel the same way.
“Vintage is seeing a massive resurgence right now,” Belanger said. “So many of the antique malls across Rhode Island and into Massachusetts are filled up.”
Last year, Belanger began curating antiques and other found objects for her e-commerce store, Penny & June Vintage, and observed a quick sales demand.
“I think it is a response to that neutralization of space,” she said, “I really feel like the COVID years changed peoples’ relationships to their homes.”
“I think this love of vintage and unique is the response to all of these fix-and-flip properties that have been done over the last few years with gray walls and gray floors,” she added
Belanger is converting her home garage to a “yard-sale-style storefront,” which she plans to open to coincide with the nearby Hope Street Farmers Market in Providence.