MIX...DON'T MATCH!

One of the questions our customers ask most often is how to combine antiques with modern or traditional interiors. Our answer? Mix...don't match! Forget matchy matchy! Decorating a home with different furniture styles, colors and patterns can sometimes be hard to do, but "casual elegance is all about the mix," according to interior designer Charlotte Moss.

Designers mix antique furniture with modern and traditional interiors to create a look that appears as though it's evolved over time. Antiques add texture, contrast and depth and are a wonderful addition to any room. Mixing antiques into your design brings balance and an element of the unexpected. They make a room feel more interesting and elegant, beautiful but not overdone. It's essential to mix different styles together and incorporate multiple levels to enhance a space. Mix hard textures with soft textures such as rustic leather with upholstery, and combine different furniture shapes together, like round coffee tables and square side tables. While some people prefer to decorate their home in a particular style (Traditional, Mid-Century Modern, Industrial Chic, Country French), blending styles is a wonderful way to create a unique space that makes a statement about your personal style. 

Here are a few tips on using old+new to create an unexpected mix that is
 fun+fabulous instead of chaotic+cluttered:

A. Be Creative. The problem many have with antiques is keeping them from looking outdated and uncomfortable. But you don't have to do away with the old and only bring in the new. Use what you have and add to the mix to create a fresher style that is uniquely yours!

•  A Louis Philippe mirror looks great over a Mid-Century Modern chest. It looks equally as great over an antique chest when there's a contrast in shapes and textures and colors. 

Dana Wolter Interiors mixes light and dark woods, smooth and rough finishes. 

Photograph by Jean Allsopp.

• A French farm table paired with industrial style aluminum chairs creates fabulous contrast. The same can be said of an industrial table paired with country French chairs. 

Wood and Metal Contrast.

• A modern light fixture hanging in a room full of rustic antiques makes a powerful statement. An antique chandelier in a modern room stands out and adds character, as well. 
• A modern Lucite or glass dining table surrounded by Louis Ghost chairs and an antique French settee is WOW when paired with an ornate crystal chandelier. Louis Ghost chairs look just as WOW around an antique farm table. 

Interior designer Michael Moloney's dining room mixes a whitewashed antique French settee
with Philippe Starck’s "Louis Ghost" chairs by Kartell.

• Mix an Art Deco armoire with modern furnishings for a clean, classic look with a modern twist.

A Delightful Mix of Modern and Art Deco with Parisian Flea Market Finds.
By Beth McMillan of McMillan Interiors. 

B. Change. One of the easiest ways to add antiques into the mix is to update them. But don't just restore them to their original condition. Use bold, modern fabrics and bright, vivid paint colors to add a contemporary twist. Don’t be limited by a piece’s original intention or definition. 

• An antique buffet or sideboard can be just as much at home in a sunroom, living room or bedroom as a formal dining room.  

This Louis XVI French Buffet makes a perfect sofa table
in our living room because of its size and scale.

The contrast of textures and colors works well, also.

• Reupholster your grandma's chair in an ultra modern fabric. Paint it bright orange or hot pink. 

This definitely isn't your grandma's chair anymore!
Chair by Design Industry Workroom. Interiors by Barri Thompson. Photograph by Graham Yelton

• Place a beat up antique chair in its original condition beside a modern piece.
• Again, Louis Ghost chairs are the perfect example of an "updated" antique.

Louis Ghost Chair is a modern take on a Neoclassical Chair.

C. LOLO - Leave Out [at] Least One.  Leave out at least one item to avoid clashing styles. Keep things simple. Less is more. Too much clutter and too many tchotchkes and too much matchy matchy is...well...JUST TOO MUCH! Grouping too many accessories of opposing design styles together can leave your living room looking like a vide grenier. Remember the LOLO rule: Leave Out [at] Least One.

• All it takes is a single piece of modern art mixed with antiques to make a room pop. Less is more.

The nickel sculpture really pops against the black and white. Louis XVI commode with bronze ormoluand wreathed drawer pulls resting on fluted tapering cylindrical feet with gilt-bronze collars and sabots.
Photo by: Fran Parente

• A fireplace mantel in a modern room can really become a focal point if there's a single, ornate, antique piece placed on it.

A beautiful mix of old+new.

Antiques can be a subtle background decoration or the focal point of an entire room, but without proper handling they can just as easily become forgettable or distracting. If you remember to make them a part of the interior design plan, and not just a tacked-on afterthought, then they can easily become the highlight of any home. 

Á Bientôt!

Lolo & Mimi