How to Mix Antiques with a Modern Decor
Conventional thinking is that modern décor and antique furnishing do not mix when in reality, the combination of the two can create an astonishing outcome. But to successfully mix and match, you need to first understand what works and what does not. For instance, sisal rugs go really well with Turkish furnishing, but don’t work as well beside Persian furniture. Once you learn about the different combinations that work, which may take a while, you can mix and match different styles to create new design patterns in your interiors.
This post will tell you how to do it.
Tips for Combining Different Decorating Styles
To be able to combine different types of décor styles, you first need to understand some basic rules of interior decoration. If you prefer to just stick to one particular style of decoration, that is fine too. But mixing can help you achieve a lot of variety with very little effort. All you need is to know what kind of look you want to achieve for the room and then proceed accordingly.
There are different combinations you can try before coming to a decision. In general, there are 4 basic types of combination pattern you can achieve:
1. Mixing contemporary style with some antique décor accessories
2. Adding modern contemporary accessories to an antique décor
3. Pairing all the items around one particular item, whether antique or modern
4. Decorating based on themes, such as shades of blue, shabby chic and many more.
Depending on which combination pattern you choose, you can start to explore the items. Of course, you have to be extremely careful while doing so, unless you want your home to look like a museum.
Here is a guideline to help you avoid making such mistakes.
a) All Antiques in One Specific Place
Keeping all the vintage items in one particular area of your home is one sure shot way to prevent your house from looking like a museum. On the positive side, you can utilize these furnishings for enhancing the room décor. For example, the living room, or the place behind the sofa are some nice place for placing some antique decoration.
b) Colour-Coordinated Arrangement
You do not need to follow any strict parameters when trying to decorate your home with some antiques. The most you can do, however, is to keep the similar type of decorations closer, to create a sense of uniformity to the eyes. For example, combining a contemporary coffee table with a matching antique lighting set will produce a simple yet beautiful result. This rule of uniformity applies to all décor, not just the antique ones.
c) Utilization of Leather
This may come across as a surprising option for many of you since the usual choice for vintage furnishing is either wood or ceramic items. But leather works really well, especially for office space. Just try accessorizing your desk with some leather mouse pad, document case, and leather sofa.
d) Keeping Antiques Nearby
Keeping the vintage items out of your reach is a common practice many people have out of fear of breaking the expensive decoration. However, if you really want to avoid the museum like appearance, then why not take a different approach? Keep the antiques nearby, taking greater precautions of course, to create a more comfortable appearance.
It may not always be easy to mix and match using decorations of different time period unless you have an eye for detail. Rushing, in this case, is the worst decision you can make. Just remember that the vintage items are there to accentuate your modern décor, and you need to create a visual harmony among them. Striking a balance between the old and the new with high-end furniture and décor accessories may take a while to master, but in the end, the result will be satisfying.
