Modern and classical can be friends, too

I’d tell you that the style of my home décor is eclectic, but eclectic has become so trite. Everybody’s eclectic these days! I think shabby-chic describes it best because some of our things are shabby… and some of them are chic. We weren’t going for a certain “look.” What resulted is an intriguing amalgam of interesting pieces that just so happen to cohabitate under one roof.

Photo Credit: The Pug Father

Many people feel restricted by their style choices and are a little afraid to break away from their contemporary neo-modern or arts-and-crafts styles, and then feel like they’re missing out when they see furniture and décor that they like. It doesn’t have to be that way! Pieces from the 18th century can mingle nicely with furniture from our millennium. Items from the Far East can feel at home with furnishings from France. It’s all about how you pull them together, which can be done tastefully in several ways:

• Creating a unified look through the use of color can be simple and inexpensive. All you need are one or two colors that you can thread together throughout the room, and they don’t need to be big & bold. Pull a pleasing color from your drapes and use similar-shaded accent pieces to dress up other items in the room. Seat cushions, throw blankets, accent pillows, lamp shades, area rugs and tablecloths are all tools for incorporating that color into different areas of the room.
• If you can’t find same-color accent pieces, choose a complementary color and splash the two hues around or select a nice fabric and make your own accent pillows, lampshade covers, etc. out of the material. The key is subtlety here – the last thing you want is to downplay all of your great pieces with too much matching. The use of color should be very understated; just make the pieces look like they were meant to live in the same room and not like they came from the same manufacturer.
• Be whimsical. Especially if you have one or two very antique or traditional-style pieces of furniture with staid colors and stern lines, it’s easy to make them look more relaxed. By adding some accent pieces in bright colors, it’ll help the piece look modern and inviting. Hang contemporary artwork above the furniture and a bold, playful area run underneath, and you’ll instantly transform your serious piece into something fun and fancy.
• Size matters. When you furniture shop from now on, select items that are about the same size. Pieces can be from different centuries, but so long as they’re more or less the same height or width, your room will be balanced. This creates symmetry and ties it all together.
• Just stick with what you like – pieces that make you smile or sigh in relaxation – there’s always a way to make it work.

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