Lewis Hamilton's living space features the most unorthodox furnishing I've seen to date – it invites you to get playful with retro and modern pieces

Nobody introduces vintage furnishings in a contemporary space quite like Hamilton – you can follow his example (even without the same accessory)

Lewis Hamilton
(Image credit: Ryan Piers via Getty Images)

Working on Homes & Gardens' celebrity style desk, it's certainly not uncommon to find some uniting threads between the ways notable figures decorate.

I love it when I see a common theme between celebrities, whether that's through kitchen cabinet colors or candles in their bedrooms, but the one thing I enjoy even more is when I see something that's entirely unique – as is the case with Lewis Hamilton's juke box.

While Lewis is in the news for co-chairing the Met Gala, I took another look through his Instagram, in which I came across a corner of his living room decorated with a retro-style juke box, unlike any I've ever seen before. A deeper look at the accessory suggests it's a 'Rock-Ola 440 Jukebox,' originating in the late '60s. Its charming design ensured it was a popular model when it first launched, but I would argue it looks even better in a modern home today.

Shop the look

When decorating with antiques in a modern home, you shouldn't be afraid to mix your older treasures with more contemporary pieces, just as Lewis has done. To make it easier, Sami Jalili, the co-founder and designer at Arcola Studio, walked me through the process.

'Antique furniture and objects have that capacity to transport us and feed our imaginations. They also tell of times when things were done differently; crafts and skills that today aren’t sustainable, at least outside of highly bespoke and costly production methods. While the world is pulled one way and another, antiques stand as markers of a beautiful, certain past,' he says.

'When placed alongside pieces from our own time, magical conversations can occur. As a studio, we often tend towards introducing strong, heavy volumes into spaces and creating bespoke furniture that extends and amplifies our interior architectural choices. Introducing antique pieces into this context adds so much in terms of texture, layering, and often moments of surprise.'

When choosing antiques to introduce to your living room (or any space, for that matter), you should pick the pieces that spark a reaction in you. If you like music (which, I imagine, Lewis does), then opting for a juke box or vinyl player is the perfect choice. However, the opportunities are endless, depending on what you love the most.

'When designing spaces for clients, we are trying to create an extension of themselves in some way, to give them homes that can truly and uniquely be considered theirs,' Sami adds.

'When we include antiques in projects, we are asking those clients to become custodians of those pieces, and to continue their histories.' What more could I hope for a piece of furniture than that?


Megan Slack
Head of Celebrity Style News

Megan is the Head of Celebrity Style News at Homes & Gardens, where she leads the celebrity/ news team. She has a history in interior design, travel, and news journalism, having lived and worked in New York, Paris, and, currently, London. Megan has bylines in Livingetc, The Telegraph, and IRK Magazine, and has interviewed the likes of Drew Barrymore, Ayesha Curry, Michelle Keegan, and Tan France, among others. She lives in a London apartment with her antique typewriter and an eclectic espresso cup collection, and dreams of a Kelly Wearstler-designed home.

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