Buying a whole set of furniture at once can be intimidating. If you purchased a chair or couch but are unable to get the rest of the set because it sold out, don’t worry. You can make a mismatched design look like something you stole off a furniture floor showroom. Some furniture stores display living room sets to show the versatility of their couches, chairs, and tables.
Whether you’re trying to complete your living room set or need to replace a piece from a set you bought long ago you’ll find that mixing furniture styles is the new normal. Customizing your design allows you to put your personality into each of your spaces. You don’t have to settle for traditional designs if you’re willing to mix and match. Consult top tips for mixing and matching your furniture to get started. From choosing a theme to playing with patterns and textures, these tricks are guaranteed to help you make any space look as if it came out of a magazine.
Use Color To Tie Your Room Together
Settling on a color scheme is a great way to tie any room together. Experts suggest you choose two neutral colors and two accent colors. Pick your favorites or by using the color of a focal piece, such as your fireplace, to tie things together. When choosing colors, pay attention to how they affect your mood. Warm colors—such as red, yellow, and orange—evoke an exciting and cozy energy while cool colors such as blue and green are soothing and calming.
Use Texture in Home Design
Texture is often an overlooked aspect of home design. Some textures are so prominent they can play into your visual theme. Hard fabrics and textures such as leather, wood, and metal stand out when paired with bold colors. Any color palette has a finish, stain, or sheen to go with it. Try experimenting with softer textures such as wool, fur, and velvet. Items that help add texture to your home include:
- knitted blankets
- tasseled pillows
- layered rugs
- curtains
- unique architectural details
- stone tile
Mix and Match Patterns
A good pattern can create the illusion of texture in your home. Find subtle patterns as opposed to bold ones so that they blend into your design. Patterns look best on smaller surface areas such as ottomans and accent chairs. If you’re adding a piece of furniture to an already existing set, choosing a piece with a pattern is one of the best tips for mixing and matching your furniture. You won’t feel pressure for your new furniture to exactly match your original set when that isn’t your goal.
Use the Same Shapes
If you love the look of a mismatched style but would like your design to mesh, you can accomplish a pleasing flow by paying attention to the shape of the items you place in a room. Bring a room together with pieces that are shaped the same. Furniture with the same feet or arm shape will match even if they have different fabrics. A similar style unifies your design even if the colors and patterns aren’t exactly alike.
Choose a Design Theme
Sometimes you must mix and match furniture if you’re attempting to design your home around a theme. Finding a store to furnish your entire modern gothic- or Renaissance-style living room might be difficult. Furthermore, you may end up with an unoriginal and unimaginative design if you don’t gather a medley of pieces. You may even want to investigate getting custom pieces made. Many themed homes end up being the most unique in the neighborhood.
Decide if you want to design your space around a specific theme. A historic focal point—such as an antique table or chandelier—is a good guiding light for a theme. If you’re combining themes, such as traditional and modern, follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your design will follow one of your themes while 20 percent should follow the other theme. You’ll create a pleasing aesthetic that honors both themes with this method.
Strike Visual Balance
One of the most important things to note when designing any space is the visual balance. It’s easy to get carried away when you start playing with textures, patterns, and themes. Make sure you take a step back every so often to take stock of the balance of your design. You don’t want to overdo it and overwhelm your space. Identify the focal point of any room so you can place furniture on either side of it.
When you’re mixing different styles, don’t divide the room strictly in half with one style on one side and the second style on the other. You also don’t want all your furniture in one style and your decorations in another. That would create jarring visual disharmony. Balancing these elements helps bring symmetry to the space.
Pay Attention To Scale
The size of the items you choose for your design is also important. Pay attention to the scale of furniture being placed next to one another. A large sectional won’t look good next to a small end table. Similarly, a giant chair will look cramped in a small corner of the room. If you have good-quality furniture, place pieces next to it that look equally superior.
Pro Tip: Don’t be afraid to introduce pieces of furniture to your design that seem somewhat unrelated. If the fabric or another material matches your couch or another prominent piece in the room, you’ll probably find that it fits in.
Big families need big furniture regardless of the size of their homes. You must have enough spots to sit everybody and their friends; one of the best ways you can do this is with a sectional sofa. The Great American Home Store sells many different sizes of sectional sofas in Memphis, TN, which you can match with accent chairs, ottomans, side tables, and so much more. Our experts know all the top tips for mixing and matching your furniture.
