Tips on How to Achieve an Eclectic Mix of Traditional and Modern Furniture Styles

One of the greatest things about interior decoration is being able to let your imagination run wild and organize the elements to your own liking, especially if you’re dealing with your own home.

You can finally combine pieces your favor, regardless of their style. However, achieving the right balance of contrasting and miscellaneous elements requires some expertise and knowledge of the basic rules of eclectic design. Here are the main things you should pay attention to.

The gist of it

The eclectic arrangement relies on a variety of sources and styles to accomplish a unique, custom look. It stands for a mix of intricate and simple, traditional with modern, and oriental with western. The style should lean in different directions but commit to none completely. The whole setup is supposed to depict your personal preferences and instill a playful or dramatic air. Let’s take a look at some of the signature traits of this style.

• Contrast
• Surprising combinations (mixing vintage and contemporary, etc.)
• Personalized touch
• Medley of textures and fabrics
• Fusion of different tints and patterns
• Utilization of elements that belong to a variety of cultures

Careful planning

The key to successful eclectic home makeover is not forgetting to step back and examine your solution. This will allow you to tweak the layout so it doesn’t look like a pile of good pieces thrown in without a thought. On the other hand, this shouldn’t discourage you from making bold choices and combinations you’ve never seen anywhere else. Lastly, note that color can be a powerful tool in creation of unified and well put-together space.

Mix and contrast

Mixing and matching furnishings from different periods and cultures is what eclectic style is all about. Still, the process requires a great deal of planning and inclusion of common features like texture or shape to connect the space. You can thus create an elegant blend with traditional, darkwood chairs and a modern, sleek dining table.

Making stark oppositions at all costs is not advisable, but a moderate and carefully chosen set of contrasting features can make quite an impression. Think in terms light vs. dark, wood vs. metal and solids vs. statement patterns. For example, white bathroom fixtures can be paired with black wooden door and storage cabinets.

Scale and balance

If you want your motley collection of furnishing items to coexist peacefully, make sure the scale and the item relationships are not off. The elements should complement each other in terms of dimension and room size.

This will subsequently create a balance of sort and prevent the occurrence of “floating”, disjointed pieces and the sense of incoherence. To ground the room’s setup, you can also pick a center-stage, large item that has no style double in the room, but fits the décor splendidly.

The use of neutrals and unifiers

While some people may see neutrals as plain and uneventful, this versatile palette can masterfully enhance any type of arrangement and furnishing style. A beige or grey wall or a large corner sofa can act as a decorative backdrop that allows the inclusion of other pieces with conspicuous designs and striking color schemes.

For creation of stealth cohesive threads, you need to make use of the vignettes and unifying elements. Leather upholstery, metallic finish or glass surfaces are some great examples of unifiers that go well with a variety of styles and textures. Similarly, a bunch of throw pillows with ethnic or geometrical pattern placed around the room can serve as a grounding connection.

Fusion of colors and patterns

Once you decide on the background elements, move on to the creation of playful mix of hues and designs. It’s recommended to choose varied tones from a certain palette and steer clear of the exact same color repetition throughout the room. Dig into the vast offer of cheap modern rugs to set the base, and upgrade the arrangement with patterned pieces of different scale.

All in moderation

With all the freedom eclectic design gives, it’s easy to get carried away during the remodeling process. That’s why it’s highly important to know when to stop, move away from it and perhaps remove or replace a few items to achieve optimal results.

The eclectic mix is a great way to house most of your favorite pieces under one roof. Check out our furnishing rulebook to and pick up some advice to help you in the process.