How to Mix and Match Furniture Styles for an Eclectic and Cohesive Look

How to Mix and Match Furniture Styles

Mixing furniture styles is a great way to give any room a boost of personality. We'll show you how to mix and match furniture like a pro to give your home a timeless design.

Keyword(s): furniture styles

Newsflash: simplicity and minimalism are out! One of the chicest ways to style a room these days is to give it an eclectic, quirky twist--that is, to intentionally mismatch every piece of furniture you choose.

While it's tempting to turn to a classic furniture set or big-box design, most of these styles are just...overdone and, frankly, a little "blah."

Designing your home with an eclectic, mismatched style in mind can be the perfect way to express yourself using all the things you love, all while mixing things up in a new and fun way. Mismatched interior design combines the best things from all styles of design, and leads to a combination that's way chicer than any one style on its own.

While mixing and matching furniture styles may seem simple (just buy a bunch of different stuff, right?!), doing it the right way takes a lot of careful planning. To learn how you can design an awesome, eclectic space that feels purposeful and balanced--keep reading!

1. Choose a Focal Point

One of the major reasons some eclectic room designs feel disjointed or chaotic is that their designers neglected to choose a focal point for the place's design at the start.

Maybe there's an antique chandelier or a gorgeous vintage armchair you can't stop obsessing over. Draw your inspiration for the rest of the room from that piece. Building the rest of the room off of the characteristics of your focal piece can be the perfect way to strike balance with your room, even when things are intentionally mismatched!

Choose a bold focal piece for your room and draw on the elements of its design that you can use to choose the rest of your furniture. Love that coffee table's rounded corners? Choose a light fixture, a lamp, a sofa that shares its curves!

Choosing a focal point is the perfect starting point when designing a lovely mismatched room.

2. Keep a Color Palette

Another important way to keep your mismatched style feeling intentional and cohesive is to stick to a general color palette throughout the room's design. Even if your whole space is comprised of totally different styles and eras of furniture, a consistent color palette can lend it striking unity and completeness.

If you're working without a color scheme, you might be wondering why that one bright red chair just isn't working for your space; odds are, it's because its color is causing it to seem out-of-place.

Try playing with all black and white furniture, combined with pops of greenery or smaller decorative elements in your favorite color. Maybe you're into a more earthy scheme; stick to the beiges, light greens, and other earth tones to keep things consistent.

Color is the perfect way to unify otherwise mismatched stuff--give it a shot.

3. Keep an Eye on Scale

No, not the scale. Whether or not you've stuck to your diet doesn't matter much to your living room's design.

Scale in terms of interior design refers to the proportions and relative size of the things in your room. When it comes to a mismatched design scheme, the scale can be just the thing you need to strike the right balance that'll make your space seem well-thought-out.

If you've chosen a large, vintage-style couch as the centerpiece for your room, pair it with some less-substantial armchairs and a dainty coffee table to balance out the couch. If you've opted for a pair of over-stuffed armchairs instead of a sofa, try out a bold area rug and a significant piece of artwork for the wall behind them.

If everything in your mismatched room is too small or large, it'll seem unintentional. A good mix of styles and sizes can help strike that necessary balance.

4. Mix, Match, Repeat

When it comes to design of any kind, most people opt to use some level of repetition. You may be tempted, when designing an eclectic room, to throw out ideas of repetition--but hold on!

Mixing and matching furniture and decor doesn't mean you can't repeat elements. And repeating doesn't mean you can't still have that chic mismatched vibe. In designing your delightfully mismatched space, consider repetition as an awesome and subtle way to create unity!

Remember, repeating doesn't always mean having three of the exact same chair; it could mean something as simple as repeating one bright color on two or three walls, or utilizing the same long, straight lines in different areas of your design.

Repetition can be as bold or subtle as your space calls for. Figure out just the kind of repetition your space needs...then do it again!

5. Do Some Research

Before trying anything new--mountain biking, wine tasting, interior design--you should always prepare to do a little research.

Research, of course, can be things like you're doing right now; reading up, learning the principles of design, and getting a basic knowledge of what you're working with. But research--especially when you're learning how to strike that perfect eclectic design--can also come through trial and error, pairing things together, replacing certain elements, and starting over again!

Remember, once you've placed a piece in your design, it's not permanent. It can always be moved, taken out, refurbished, or shifted into another room. Do your research to find out which pieces will serve your design in the best possible ways.

When it comes to the perfect mismatched design, you may want to learn more about individual styles and the meanings and origins of their designs. Research of any kind into the different ways to establish chic mismatched design is super important for reaching an intentional, curated feel in your space.

Want More on Mismatched Furniture Styles?

The awesome thing about creating designs around mismatched furniture styles is that, although the outcome is so natural and lovely, tons of thought and design theory can go into the creation of a mismatched layout.

Looking for more info on mismatched design and other furniture styles? Ready to leap right in and snag some gorgeous pieces of furniture? Check out our site!