Nowadays, traditional furniture styles are coming back to life, stronger than ever, but the modern ones look amazing, as well. Therefore, deciding which type to incorporate in your living space is really hard and many people are trying to mix these two styles. That is very tricky for if you fail to create a proper balance between them, you will surely end up with disappointing results and a huge waste of time and money. However, if you manage to do it right, it will look better than any of these styles alone, since their distinctiveness is enhanced when old and new styles are showcased together. Read on and you will many ideas that shall lead you to succeed in your little creative adventure and be more adept at decorating your home interiors.
Getting Started
First of all, you must know that getting involved in something such as redesigning a room requires a lot of inspiration, not to mention effort and resources. Be sure you are in the right frame of mind, with your imagination all prepared to be heavily exercised. After all you are the one who will be spending most time in that room, so the most important thing is to decorate it in keeping with your own sensibilities.
When you start thinking about combining traditional and modern styles, you will realize that the possibilities are simply endless and even if you lack inspiration, just checking out the available options will give you so many brilliant ideas. The essential thing is to be completely spontaneous and make a choice instinctively – the first thing that catches your eye is almost always the right one. Planning to furnish your home for a long time in advance can lead to creating a chaotic environment, since having too many options and solutions often counter-productive to your purposes. Finding more than one products you like will make it very hard to decide and having constantly second-guessing your choice can only give you an unwanted headache. Also, always tend to be cautious and not buy more stuff than you actually need because creating a harmonious, sophisticated living space and not a mess is what your objective is.
Traditional or Modern?
You should decide right at the beginning which style is going to be dominating in the room you are about to furnish. If you try to make them even, you will be missing the point – it is not about putting many disparate items in the same room, all of which crave for attention. Instead, one dominant style should be brought to the foreground by subtle highlights from the other. Achieving this should not be a tough, since they are totally different and, naturally, you will pick the one that appeals to you more. When you have chosen the style that is going to be prominent in your living space, you will need to carefully think through how the other style should be adapted to it.
There is another unavoidable dilemma when it comes to mixing styles and it is the one about colors and items. If you want to create a peaceful and calming place, they ought to be in harmony; warm colors with matching furniture pieces. However if you fancy an exciting environment, go for the various strong colors and different kind of chairs, tables, etc.
Traditional
Should you go for traditional looks with modern accents, it will be amazing to find an interesting object that will define a focal point in the room. An interesting fireplace or an old-school center-table could work wonders. Buying a suitable rug can also significantly improve the appearance of any environment. To add to that, a big wardrobe with a huge mirror can phenomenally fit into this kind of styling. Modern things in a vintage looking room ought to be small, but striking. For example, you can use contemporary lighting solutions or curved chairs that will look futuristic albeit in an understated manner.
Modern
We all know how a modern living room looks like and what can be found in it, so let us focus on the traditional elements that can look really good within the modern room. For instance, a carved desk is a classy addition to a modern space. The same goes for glass topped coffee tables, old wagon wheels, big mirrors with even bigger vintage frames or some rustic themed wallpapers/decals. Do not forget that rustic furniture can be redone to get a truly modern look. Reupholstering chairs in some trendy colors or painting drawers and adding shiny metal handles to them can totally change their appearance. However, do not go overboard with the vintage accents for it may create an overwhelmingly dramatic look.
Combining traditional and modern furniture styles is an extremely interesting thing to do and the joy you feel when the work is done is simply indescribable. But make sure that you follow the advice and find out much more about this vast domain before embarking on your mission – you do not want it to turn into a nightmare!
Contributed by Diana Smith
