An eclectic look (one merging a variety of decorating styles) can have an amazing energy about it that one-note rooms simply cannot match. But creating equilibrium can be a significant challenge. How can you pull off blending traditional antiques, contemporary pieces and finds from your travels in a way that feels curated and interesting, rather than chaotic and cluttered? Here are nine tips that will assist you hit just the ideal note.
Horton & Co.. Designers
Be purposeful with color. A considered color palette is a tool that could create a sense of management in an eclectic house, letting you curate your home’s look. You can have a great deal or a little color — the secret is to have a strategy; otherwise you run the chance of end up with a mishmash of bizarre bits that do not harmonize.
From the area shown here, pink, blue and purple are repeated in the art, cushions, throw as well as the back of a book along with the small potted plant on the coffee table, producing a lively yet collected color palette.
Shirley Meisels
Group items to make a collection. If you have three of something, you own a collection — for higher impact, put those items together rather than randomly spreading them on different surfaces. There will be the clear collections, such as vases, however, you can also think creatively and set other sorts of items together to offer them more presence and purpose: Attempt grouping items by color, shape or motif. This works for objects as well as artwork.
Leslie Glazier @ Properties
Balance decor styles. If your eclectic pieces don’t seem to be playing nicely together, have a quick head count and see how many items of every style you have in the room. Whenever there is only 1 piece in a certain fashion, it could stick out more than if it had a tiny firm. From the room shown here, for instance, the great big chinoiserie panel in the wall is subtly echoed from the lacquered side table with pine legs, helping the bigger piece feel more at home.
Helping a sole thing match in can be as simple as adding one or two small accessories, like a candlestick or vase, in the same fashion. It’s important to do this in every room, which means that your entire area has a balanced eclectic feel — having totally different styles in each room will provide you design whiplash!
Michael Tavano Design
Build a bridge between styles. Another great way to bring divergent styles together is with one piece that functions as a bridge between the two. The antique armchair shown this was painted electric blue and re-covered at a fresh striped cloth, but you could just as easily go the other way, pairing a contemporary piece with a conventional cloth and colours.
Wish to Inspire
Utilize high contrast. Juxtaposing two bits that are really different usually works better than pairing pieces that are just type of distinct. Inside this kitchen a classic kilim rug and antique cabinet are put off with a slick swoop of ultramodern Panton chairs. Try using a gold-framed baroque mirror over a clean-lined console, a farmhouse table with Eames chairs or a carved wood daybed with a Lucite coffee table.
Artisan Books
Balance textures. Too many chipped, aged and rough textures in 1 room can make your room feel more like a flea market than like the fresh, inspired room you were searching for. Balance worn and obsolete bits with crisp, glossy and glistening surfaces to hit the ideal balance.
Horton & Co.. Designers
Move your furniture. The soul of eclectic design is about more than the bits that you choose — it’s about the way you use them. Try using a side table or seat as your nightstand, a nightstand for a side table, table as desktable as console and so forth. There’s not any rhyme or reason to this; just put some music on and start moving things around to learn what works … you may surprise yourself.
Corynne Pless
Relax your distance with neutrals and naturals. If your area is still feeling too haphazard, consider toning it down with big expanses of neutral color on the walls, flooring and large pieces of furniture. Bringing in natural materials and textures — such as sisal or jute rugs, real or faux sheepskin and neutral-hued wool, linen and leather — can also go a long way toward producing harmony in an eclectic house.
Sally Wheat Interiors
Edit, edit, edit. Paring down and giving the eye some white area to rest on can help make your house feel calm and a pleasure to be in. If it makes it easier, allow yourself to eliminate things temporarily — only to determine how the space looks and feels with them, before letting go indefinitely. Roll a rug, remove a piece of art or throw a large white sheet over your most vibrant part of furniture to get an notion about what the space would look like without it.
Inform us : What’s the biggest challenge in creating an eclectic look?