Style Report: MIXED-CENTURIES
As an interior designer, it is a wonderful challenge when a client tells you he has a varied collection of mismatched items - inherited and gathered from many different places of interests and historical time periods - all of which he loves and desire to have as part of his daily surroundings. After apologizing that he already knows they just don't go together, your challenge is set. How rewarding it is for him to enter the space you have created that cohesively pulls it all together, like a well-curated exhibit that isn't just meant to inspire awe and wonder, but also invites you to dwell and "be" in its purposed placement. Not only is it beautifully inviting, but many memories and deep emotions are attached, as a result of giving these acquired keepsakes and heirloom pieces their due honor.
Mixed-Centuries style captures eclectic decorating at its best. It involves curated rooms that manage to bridge design styles and sensibilities across multiple decades, even centuries. To put it more simply, these are rooms that marry old and new, antique and contemporary, serious and fanciful. For example, a heavy velvet Victorian armchair may be paired with a Lucite coffee table so as to highlight — through contrast — the independent beauty of each piece. This type of eclectic decorating appeals to some because it provides a dynamic canvas for one's evolving tastes and whims.
"Not too long ago the formula for decorating was: old house = antique furniture, contemporary house = modern furniture. Well, those days are gone. Today designers are putting mid-century modern in an eighteenth century farmhouse or wonderful antiques in a modern setting. If you plan to take the plunge, keep in mind the shapes, colors, textures, and patterns of the mix. Other than that, just have fun!" - Martha B/NIBS
"'Eclectic' is a popular adjective in interior design parlance, meaning a decor that comprises heterogeneous elements — a mixture of textures, time periods, styles, trends, and colors. There is a fine line, however, between a beautifully eclectic room and a room that is merely haphazard and chaotic, with no unifying themes or motifs." - Apartment Therapy
"The most challenging part of decorating with antiques is integrating them with the rest of a home. An elegant fainting couch surrounded by sleek, modern furniture could stick out like a sore thumb, or it can be tied to the rest of a room by picking up on a few key details. If an antique has dark wood, furniture with a matching finish will call back to it discretly. Colors can be played within a similar manner by including little pops of any upholstery’s tone, or using complementary shades. If you have something like a table, which requires other furniture to accompany it, keep things simple to avoid clashing styles." - Beautiful Habitat
"Mix it up. Having an open mind about what goes with what adds to the sense of fun and adventure. For instance, this unlikely pairing of an ornately carved antique library table with a simple, modern, angular chair is new and unique. Don’t be afraid to mix it up." - Houzz
Another trick to mixing things up is to take the shape or silhouette of a traditional piece and give it a contemporary feature (the color it's painted or the pattern in which it's upholstered).
When mixing centuries you can take it to another level when you include furnishings and accessories from other cultures.
Regarding successful pairing, stylist Peter Frank says, "It all comes down to contrasts: mix hard with soft, square with round, blocky with leggy."
Although there are a few articles on-line demonstrating eclectic mix and match spaces, most authors neglect to provide mystified readers with the basic guidelines for successfully blending period pieces with modern furnishing. I for one do not agree with the saying, “a good piece will always go very well with other good pieces, regardless of era.” I even leave room for the possibility that cheap furniture can pair with quality furniture. The fact remains; a room full of expensive furniture is just a room filled with furniture. It doesn’t become a successful living space if nothing harmonizes and it is poorly designed.
Here are some helps to mixing period piece furniture:
Space The most important lesson one can learn about mixing furniture styles is that in order to create a harmonic space where old and new furnishings look great, you must address the entire space. All good design is really about balance and harmony. How does it all work together as a whole? So how do you keep the space in balance?
Proportion The size and shape of your furniture is one of the most crucial elements to consider when mixing period styles. Good balance and proportion between each piece of furniture, each light fixture, even each mirror is one of the first things to consider. For example, if your modern headboard has a lot of presence and weight, it will harmonize with an antique tallboy that has equal presence and weight. If you’re hoping to use your parents’ country French armoire in your modern kitchen, you don’t want it to overpower the space. First determine how much “visual” weight the piece demands. Is it so large that it crowds an area? Is it a lot shorter than your other cabinets? Does it stop the energy from flowing within the room, or does it create good energy and balance? If you’re a natural designer, you’ll feel it!
"Keep the scale of all your decor in the same realm. You don’t want a huge overstuffed chair sitting next to your grandmother's dainty wooden carved love seat." - Apartment Therapy
Color The color of the wood or other construction material must also be in harmony with the color of the other elements of the space. Is it an unadorned country style (which would match the clean lines of your cabinetry), or is it excessively embellished with design elements that demand too much attention? These are the types of questions you should be asking yourself. Colors don’t necessarily have to match, but they should not clash. Curves can blend with straight lines most successfully when there is a common element (color, the metal embellishment, recurring pattern).
"Using a consistent color (whether it's colors in the same scheme like creams and beiges or the same intensity like pastels or jewel tones) helps your decor hang well together and look more cohesive. If you have a traditional armchair, but want to add in a more modern sectional, choose a sofa in the same shade as your original chair." - Apartment Therapy
Good Design It’s not always easy to recognize the harmony between a modern sofa and a vintage coffee table. That’s why people hire designers, even if it is only for a consultation. Talented designers who understand good proportion and balance can make cost-effective suggestions as to how your antique or vintage piece can be made to work in your modern environment. Another thing to consider is that it’s a lot easier to buy new furniture and furnishings that blend well with the vintage furnishings, than it is to suddenly have to add an antique to an already designed modern space.
"If one half of the room is totally mid century, and the other half is entirely Shaker, the sudden difference is overwhelming. But if multiple styles are incorporated strategically throughout the room, it’s easier for the eye to accept." - Apartment Therapy
This "mash-up" of historical time periods is also finding it's way more and more in the architectural structure of the building itself (commercial or residential). It is a way to add interest and intrigue, and allow the designer to think out of the box, while using traditional and historical techniques.
"One facet of residential architecture that attempts a synthesis of different styles is renovation and additions to existing houses. Whether because of the lower investment, aesthetic desire, or the client, the reasons are not readily clear. Many of these projects are striking; all of them are bold. Here are a few of our favorite architectural mash-ups that achieve a balance between old and new, creating a completely new house with aspects of both." - Architizer
