- October 30, 2023
- Diane
Do you struggle to find you “design style”? Maybe you love some of the new modern looks but have a few pieces in your home or a family heirloom that you couldn’t part with. Perhaps you find yourself drawn to antique shops on the weekends but do not feel it fits with the new trends of your home. Rest assured…… incorporating old and new for a collected design is possible. Here’s how!
Tip #1: Intention is Everything in Collected Design
When designing a space, every component in the space matters; when you are choosing pieces, the stories behind those pieces also have weight. Maybe you want to elicit a specific feeling when people walk into your home, something beyond the general awe of the beauty of the space. You want your design to be eclectic but you want to ensure it doesn’t look like a mish-mash of patterns, colors, and textures without a guided purpose.
Tip #2: Rules Should Be Followed in Eclectic Design
We’ve all heard the saying “rules are meant to be broken” and with many style rules there are times we deviated. In spaces blending old and new, you are- in part- already breaking a design rule and would want to continue on the “straight arrow” for the rest of the deign. Try to find common elements in the old and new items that help to merge the two time periods. If you are adding color in neutral spaces, try to limit to small pops of color as to not overtake the design or give an unruly look.
Tip #3: Texture is a Powerful Tool in Blended Design
Another common element that can be used to meld the old and the new is texture. When dealing in antiques, flea market finds and heirlooms, texture trumps color. Finding pieces that have similar ornate designs, pieces with the same visual appearance and/or pieces with the same physical feeling help to bring the space together. Creating a room full of texture with an eye to color, but not focusing on it, can be a great technique to create cohesion when visual variety exists.
Ready to get to work designing a space that is both meaningful and yet blissfully modern? That’s our specialty. Give us a call!
