There are few things better than surrounding yourself in an atmosphere that feels uniquely yours, and one of the ways to do that is by mixing and matching styles that make you happy to be home. Thoughtfully combining different aesthetics provides you with a cohesive, yet harmonious look that still feels curated, but personal. Here’s how to be the master of mixing and matching your home style.
1. Start with a Neutral Base
When you have a neutral foundation, you have the perfect canvas to throw in various styles. Pick wall colours as white, beige or gray; and neutral furniture pieces that anchor your space. With the room cleaned, you’re able to make your eclectic mix of styles stand out without dominating the room.
2. Define Your Primary Style
The desire is to mix styles, but it’s useful to settle on a single brand style to lead your decision making. If your home is modern, rustic, industrial or bohemian, this style would be your dominant style, which means this style becomes the backbone of your design and is cohesive with everything else you choose.
3. Pick a Set of Unifying Colour Palette
It brings diverse elements together into a single package. Imagine you’re mixing mid-century modern with a farmhouse style — if that’s the future you’re predicting, opt for a palette that includes warm wood tones, crisp whites, and soft pastels. The repetition of colors among different styles makes a show of harmony.
4. Play with Textures
Textured is added to a mixed style space. Matches between polished sleek surfaces and rough natural materials makes a connection. For example, have a velvet sofa with a reclaimed wood coffee table or put a jute rug under a glass top dining table. Pairing together textures keeps the room from feeling too made up or too random.
5. Combine Old and New
A good current way to generate a dynamic appearance is by combining vintage items along with the newer ones. You can also pick an antique armoire to install with minimalist chairs or you can even choose a modern lighting fixture to give a twist to a room decorated with tradition. Its juxtaposition is visual intrigue and a story that is told.
6. Balance Proportions
Balancing out styles when you blend ‘em is key. Don’t crowd your space with too much bold. But instead, let one or two statement items stand out of the crowd, with everything else in the bulding complimenting them. A bulging, ornate mirror can anchor a room with clean lined furniture, for example.
7. Incorporate Personal Touches
Remember that as your home should reflect your personality, there’s no need to shy away in regards to unique or sentimental items. You can weave into your mixed style decor family heirlooms, travel souvenirs, DIY project or whatever. These are pieces that will really give your space character.
8. Experiment with Patterns
Ins they say, there is a separate art to patterns and mixing them. For a cohesive result, try to prevent sharp pattern clashes and pair only rich patterns with more subdued ones in a consistent colour scheme. For example, floral throw pillows go easily with a geometric rug as long as they have the same color palette.
9. Use Artwork to Bridge Styles
When it comes to art, it’s a great way to tie styles together. Contemporary and classic pieces when combined can work as a unifying element in a gallery wall. Framing is easy, choose frames in a similar finish or color to tie it all together.
10. Embrace the Unexpected
So don’t be afraid to take risk and take in the unknown. In an industrial style loft a chandelier or in a rustic cabin a sleek modern chair can produce wonderful contradictions. If you spend too long trying to find the right piece to match what you already have, then forget it: the thing doesn’t exist and you will never find it, and that’s okay. Sometimes we just have to go rogue and do what feels good.
Final Thoughts
Finding the balance, harmony, coming up with ideas like dot art paintings of how to combine one style with another, is actually the art of mixing and matching styles in home decor. If you start with a neutral base, then define a primary style and unify your space with color and texture, it’s possible to marry various aesthetics. Don’t forget, there aren’t any hard rules here, it’s just your home, and it’s your unique interpretation of what that should look like. Go have fun and unleash your creativity.
