Blending styles can give a space character
Blending styles creates personality without breaking the bank,
Combining two households; cherished heirlooms that have been inherited; a tight renovation budget; a desire to escape the throwaway society: There are many reasons why we’ve ditched the idea of furniture “sets” and embraced a mix-and-match attitude with our decor — and doing it is all the rage.
“Mixing styles is quickly becoming the essential go-to look,” says Dean Large of Astro Design Centre. “(It’s) far less contrived than just sticking to all modern, all midcentury or all traditional.”
He is seeing a return to buying fewer pieces, but higher quality, rather than endless throwaway ones. And the only way to make sure those investments don’t grow tired is to draw inspiration from many styles, making it difficult to tell when the home was designed.
Plus, all that blending gives a space character. “It’s so much more interesting to design and live in a space with blended items,” says decorator Emily Tait, whose projects often revolve around an item a client wants to refurbish and give new life to. “It either has a story or memory attached to it, something with meaning, which is so important when styling your own home.” A home can feel like something is missing without at least some items that tell a story, she notes.
Designer Michael Courdin has always preferred to blend styles. “It shows interest and diversity and not lack of imagination.”
That blending is particularly evident in his own home. “In my living room, I have an antique Chinese rug, a fabulous 1940s lounge chair, a Biedermeier-style chair, (and) a 1950s chair (paired with) with a modern coffee table and a contemporary sofa.”
Designer Henrietta Southam has a penchant for blending styles in her home as well, marrying pieces she has inherited from her mother, her father and her Norwegian grandmother with her own more modern style so that a 19th-century tobacco jar turned lamp, for instance, is combined with Russian painted boxes.
“People say it’s eclectic, but to me it looks very much the same; it all works.”
Decorator Maureen Coates is another who takes a mix-and-match approach in her own condo, where her living and dining room combines antique, vintage and contemporary pieces. “A space has more personality and perhaps more function when blended styles are mixed cohesively and with intention.”
The same goes even for the kitchen, where we typically think everything should have the same style or finish.
“Throwing in elements that juxtapose in style adds a unique feel to the space,” says Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Centre. “Feel free to throw in an antiqued armoire for your pantry amongst a sleek slew of cabinetry.” Or replace a fixed island with movable wood or metal tables. And for lighting, hardware and faucets, “mixing metals is a welcome change.”
When it comes to renovations, often so much is put into the construction that there can be little left in the budget for new furnishings, says designer Penny Southam. Pieces are repurposed, reupholstered and find new ways to be incorporated.
“Mixing old with new, breaking the rules, thinking outside the box, you never know until you try it,” she says. “If you don’t like it, move it and try a new grouping.”
Ultimately, there’s no right or wrong, as long as a look works for you, says Kristi Blok of Kiki Interiors. “Through the hybrid looks, you’re really able to get a comfortable, yet still very attractive, style.”