When you mix traditional and modern furniture styles you are doing
away with labels to create an individualized, multi-layered living
space. As it is, furnishing your home should be more about developing your own personal style rather than adhering to any single one unless you are truly passionate about it.
That
said, combining modern furniture and accessories with traditional ones
can often result in chaos if not planned in advance. To simplify the
process, here are three major considerations that might make it easier
to combine the two very different styles together:
Traditional Style
Modern Style
Modern Style
Modern or Traditional?
To
create a really great balance, decide whether you want your space to be
primarily modern or primarily traditional. Letting one style dominate
is crucial, because you don’t want to create a space where everything is
fighting for equal attention.
Once you figure out the dominating
style, you will either have a modern space with antique accents, or a
traditional space with contemporary accents.
Basically you are furnishing in one style, while choosing the other one for accent.
Why Do You Love it?
Once you’ve figured out where your loyalties lie, find out why
that 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 here, and spend as much time as you need to come up
with one that makes you happy. Whenever you see some furniture you like,
make a note of what you like about it. Also notice how you describe it
to some one else. Do you talk about its sleek lines, or rich texture? Is
color what matters to you? If you collect pictures of furniture you
like, you will begin to see a pattern.
This allows you to tie in
pieces of different styles through their shapes, or material or color
and texture, depending on which aspect appeals to you.
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 for a more
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.
