Mixing periods and styles of furniture in one big room (mirror, paint)

[no kudzu]

I don't usually follow rules and am not afraid to try new things but I'm a bit perplexed about how to mix some old favorites with new finds. The only thing we have which "matches" is a chest of drawers and 2 bedside tables and 2 recliners.


We are building a new house which won't be ready for about a year and I have plenty of time to get rid of the excess furniture we won't take with us. But every piece I have was purchased for a particular place in mind for my current house and picturing pieces in a new house is difficult.

I have a beloved Ethan Allen rather ornate French Provencial china cabinet and complimentary dining table with 6 chairs which I'm definitely taking but I also want to take a rather plain but large glass and wood display cabinet which will go on the other end of a huge great room. It will be perfect for my special handmade Santas from an Asheville N.C. artist. I can also display other favorites. My husband loves the China Cabinet but he wants a modern glass top table and chairs!

There are other pieces I want to take. I think the basic design elements of scale and function still rule but I want some other opinions. I'm a retired landscape designer so I have good experience with scale, color, shape and texture but interiors are not my forte.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I mix and match stuff and I love the look. Sometimes you might need to change the color of a piece or the upholstery or cover it with a throw that matches the color scheme.

Tell your husband with a glass top table, everyone can see everyone's bellies, legs and feet under the table. And there is no way you can discretely scratch, etc., LOL. And no more playing footsies. He'll end up wanting to cover it with a tablecloth.

In my apartment, I had to downsize in a huge way, and I kept my favorite pieces that were for different rooms and purposes. The color scheme in my tiny apartment is black, gray and red and a smidge of white.

Two of my favorite pieces were a light yellow. One was a table with painted seashells on it. I painted it a solid prime red. The other yellow piece is my pretty single day bed that is carved wood, and I will be painting it a really dark brown with chalk paint, and emphasize the carving with a darker wax. Haven't done it yet.

I have a huge white wicker chair I love, and I left it white. It's covered with a plaid throw that's black, gray, red and white.

There's a huge wooden dresser, and it looks okay, but I'm going to paint it a dark brown to match the bed, and put some red paint on it, that I'll distress under the dark brown (another project). My other pieces are already dark brown. One has a copper front (a converted old fold-out bar, that I use as a pantry).

So, the furniture is all wood or rattan, really dark brown, red and white. The piece with the copper is in the hall, so it doesn't clash with the black and stainless appliances (kitchen is in my living space) & I put large black knobs on it. All goes well with my black, gray and red colors.

I found this article about how to mix and match different styles. I think it's got great advice:

8 Tips for Mixing Styles at Home (Without Looking Like a Crazy Person) | Apartment Therapy

[historyfan]

Sometimes you just have to see the pieces in the new space to know what really works vs what fits & is functional. Keep the items you love because you can use them somewhere in your new place.

I mix all sorts of periods plain & ornate but pull it off by using all jewel tones in mostly velvet upholstery. I consider leather and wood neutrals. There are numerous colors and patterns but it all works together. I also always have one or two pieces of black something which I started doing years ago & it seems ground things ...a small black velvet ottoman, an old wooden trunk with black metal & wood trim, a black leather case in bookshelves.

I detest matchy matchy bought whole look from a furniture store.

The big unifier in our living room /dining room room is a big antique persian rug. I think a rug is the key.

You can always get a glass topped coffee table or side table to use elsewhere to satisfy your husband. A glass sofa table behind a sofa serving as a space definer in an open concept can work great.

[gentlearts]

Ok, so here is my 2 cents. You are moving, so should look at it as a chance to look at your furniture with a fresh eye.
I think big China cabinets are "out", and so are display cases. It sounds like your husband's instincts are good. He feels like a change is in order, and maybe he's right.
I'd sooner have you place a few of your collectibles here and there, like on an end table or a bookshelf, than to place them in one display case.
In general, I have found that anything I love, seems to look fine with anything else I love..just by accident.

[no kudzu]

good points. I don't want to display so much as store. We have cats so trying to put anything I really love on a piece of furniture to display is asking for trouble. Both the china cabinet and large glass cabinet will offer great storage space which I will be lacking.

I've decided the best thing to do is move what I think I want to the new place and if it doesn't work out then we can sell it. I just won't be able to know until I actually see the pieces in place.

I do like the idea of having a few pieces professionally painted so nothing looks matchy matchy. My girls have decided to take my mother's French Provencial dresser and get it painted and pair it with a really different kind of mirror even though we have the mirror which goes with it. Somebody can use it I'm sure.

Thank you for your suggestions.

[Ottawa2011]

There are so many ways to "coordinate" furniture and room accessories... by colour, by wood type, textures, even playing with contrasts. A few antique items in a room that's almost entirely modern, or some softer, playful touches in an industrial decor. I agree that this is a great opportunity to look at your stuff with a fresh eye. Think about mixing and matching items in new ways. It'll breathe new life into older stuff.

[nuts2uiam]

The other trick is simply color. Whenever I want to change things uptime in I run to a local craft store or if you are lucky a dollar store and buy spools of wide ribbon in the colors I have in mind. I then pull off a few feet and tie it to the piece or pin it but I bunch it up to give it some "presence". I then do the same to the other piece I am trying to tie in and it gives me an idea if whether or not that particular color will give me the look I want. I am not big on throws although I have used them at times.

The last bit of advice is one I have told many times before. DH and I were shopping for furniture and I fell in love with two fabrics that while color wise were perfect, one was a damask and the other a plaid. I fretted over that combination for days before putting the damask on the sofa and the plaid on a wing chair. DH said to me, "do you like them together?" I did. "good he said, then buy it I have never heard the interior decorating police were in our neighborhood!" I realized that had to go with my gut with his words. I did have custom curtains made and she was a designer and had done work for other family members and she said to me, "you have guts girl, not too many would dare but it is fabulous together". Twenty years later, I love it even more in the different lighting I have in this house.

[no kudzu]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Sometimes we just have to follow our gut instinct.

[nuts2uiam]

Originally Posted by no kudzu

Thanks for the words of encouragement. Sometimes we just have to follow our gut instinct.

Exactly, but I agree sometimes it just takes some convincing.