Mixing Modern & Traditional Styles

[Julie-Ann]

Mixing different decorating styles can add a lot of your personality to a room. But there is an art to it. It can very easily turn from a stunning and exciting room to an absolute chaotic mess. But don't worry here are a few golden rules to mixing decorating styles together successfully.

When you mix traditional and modern furniture styles you can create an individualized, multilayered living space. Furnishing your home should be more about developing your own personal style rather than adhering to any single style unless you are truly passionate about it.

That said, combining modern furniture and accessories with traditional ones can result in chaos if not planned in advance. There are three major considerations to make before you decide to mix modern and traditional styles.

Modern or Traditional?
First of all you need to figure out if you want your space to be primarily modern or primarily traditional.

Figure out which style should dominate. It can be a modern space with antique accents or a traditional space with contemporary accents. Letting one style dominate is crucial, because you don’t want to create a space where everything is fighting for equal attention.

Why You Love it
Once you’ve figured out where your loyalties lie, find out why either style appeals to you. Look at the visual attributes of a piece of furniture. When you find yourself attracted to a piece is it because of its shape and lines, or do you admire it for its color and texture?

There is no wrong answer, so spend as much time as you need to. Whenever you see some furniture you like, note it down. Notice how you describe it to some one else. Do you talk about its sleek lines or rich texture? If you collect pictures of furniture you like, you will begin to see a pattern.

You can then begin to tie in pieces of different styles through their shapes, or material or color and texture.

Harmony or Contrast?
After figuring out what you like and why you like it, it is time to settle another important question. What kind of a look are you going for: harmony or contrast?

If you want to create harmony and a restful look, select furniture pieces that are more alike, or just a few degrees apart. For instance, for a harmonized look you may want to pair Hans Wegner chairs with a more traditional wood table. Although these chairs have a very modern sensibility, they are made of wood, which can harmonize with the table.

To create contrast and excitement, juxtapose colors and textures, such as Eames molded plywood chairs in different colorful stains, or the Tolix chaise in steel or colored metal with your traditional table.

Mix it Up
Now that you've figured out which elements are important to you, go ahead and start mixing it up.

Let one style dominate, and use the other one for accents.
Tie different styles together with the same color, texture, or shape.
Get different nuances by creating harmony or contrast when you mix different styles.
Pictured here is the Michelangelo wardrobe from Selva, which is based on a sixteenth century design. In front is an iconic modern piece from the 20th century. The two work together because of an emphasis on line, and a very formal quality that both share.

Can you add any tips on how to create this look?

[rosierose]

Great useful info J-A............

[thisisme]

Thank you so much for that!!!

[Julie-Ann]

Does it makes sense to you Thisisme? I think what they are saying because the fixtures in your home are very modern you should keep the bulk of your choices modern. But then add traditional accents like the hurricane lamp. The hurricane lamp will also go very well because it will relate to all the silver/stainless steel used in the house. So you take this concept and use it for adding other traditional accents in the home. So for your bedroom you could have it all very modern to go with your bed. But in the corner you have maybe a black painted french style chair. The black of the chair will work with the black of the bed. Let me know what you think.

[thisisme]

It does make senses Julie-Ann
Thank you.

But do I feel confident or know what I'm doing? No *shy*

[rosierose]

Don't sell yourself short....you know what you like and we are always here to give extra help with every step...

[rosierose]

Arrh that icon again....just ignore my phone wants me to show the embarrassed icon......grr

[Julie-Ann]

Originally Posted by rosierose

Don't sell yourself short....you know what you like and we are always here to give extra help with every step...

Exactly Rosie

[clp]

Thisisme - I know it gets stressful but try and have fun with your place as well - after all its going to be your home - its not a project you are finishing for anyone else and in the end its for you and MrTIM to love. Don't worry about things being perfect because even professional designers make mistakes along the way. Remember decorating changes and your tastes will change over time.

The reason you read in so many magazines etc about having individual pieces its because thats the thing which differentiates your home from a show-room. Things which have significance and meaning for you - which maybe remind you of something - they evoke senses more than just catalogue pieces. But its too expensive and not practical to simply fill your house with quirky icons (not to mention the fact its hard to decorate around) so generic design basics (like Freedom and IKEA) are fanastic for creating a unified look and can gradually be replaced over the years with things you fall in love with.

Your house won't look perfect - no one's does - not even homes in magazines look like homes in magazines most of the time.

I think as long as you have architectural elements you are happy with (like style of windows, ceiling height, built ins, floor etc) it should be easy enough to make your house look great.

[Di]

I agree with CLP, you need to have things in your home that make it your home not a showroom that is cold and without character and all perfectly matched. Yuck.