Mixing Different Types of Furniture Styles in 2019

Remember your first apartment? Chances are it was a jumble of furniture styles -- hand-me-downs, garage sale finds, and cheap big-box store merchandise. Once it's time to furnish your home with the furniture you love, it's natural to want to leave that look behind, but don't be too quick to discard the idea of mixing different furniture styles. With a little planning, an assortment can elevate your home's look. Just follow a few design principles to mix things up for a home décor that is dynamic and sophisticated.

Different Types of Furniture Styles

The best place to start is to identify the style of furniture you like the most. Consider this your base look – the primary design that will pull the look together. Even consider what sort of wall art you want at this point. Here are some general styles to consider:

• Traditional – This is classic, somewhat formal furniture, with graceful lines and subdued ornamentation

• Antique – Usually ornate, antique furniture has a lot of wood elements

• Rustic – A relaxed, farmhouse/country sort of look, with natural elements and simple design

• Modern/Retro – Also called mid-century modern, this look has clean lines and bright colors

• Contemporary – Mid-century designs that are sleek and simple, with stainless steel accents and often gray, white, or black

Mixing Furniture Colors

Why do some rooms incorporate lots of colors and look beautiful, while other rooms look like a jumble sale? There are a couple of ways to bring different colors into your space and still keep the look cohesive.

If you're going to bring together different colors, choose furniture with similar shapes. A monochromatic look needs a lot of texture to prevent a plain look and feel, and the opposite is true of marrying different colors in a cohesive look. This is a time to stick closer to one style, so your furniture all has comparable lines.

Next, try to repeat colors. This doesn't have to be rigid, but if you have one color on a sofa and add throw pillows in the same color to a chair on the other side, it makes the color scheme look intentional rather than messy.

Mixing Leather and Fabric Furniture in the Living Room

Adding a leather piece like a bench or sofa to a collection of fabric furniture is a great way to freshen up a stiffly matching look. Make sure the different pieces have similar proportions, so they look like they belong together. The colors don't have to match, but they should complement each other. Different shades in the same color family can be lovely, but that's a tricky look to pull off with a bold color, like turquoise. It's best to keep a mix of leather and fabric furniture in more neutral shades, then add bright accent colors with pillows or rugs.

Mixing Bedroom Furniture Styles

A bedroom is a great place to play with trends. To mix different styles of your bed and headboards, nightstands, dressers, and other furniture, you want to combine them together to create a harmonious look. To do so, the primary thing you need to remember is to match style or finish. In other words, if you have furniture that is all the same style, mix it up by making some of the pieces a bright, contrasting color in a glossy finish. If you want to add pieces in a different style, like a relaxed, rustic bench at the foot of a contemporary bed, make sure the colors are similar and the finishes are close in texture. Throw pillows and blankets are a great way to echo the colors from other pieces of furniture, to bring the look together.

Mixing Antique and Modern Furniture

Both of these styles can become a bit overwhelming on their own. An overload of antique furniture feels fussy and uncomfortably formal. Too much modern décor can look cold and stiff, but breaking up one look with a hint of the other is an excellent way to highlight the best of each style. Try to find a piece that reflects some of the design elements of the other look. So if your furniture has a lot of sleek, modern steel lines, bring in an antique mirror in ornate silver to match the metal tone. Intricately carved antique wood chairs look fresh around a modern wood table with a minimalist shape.

There's no need to feel trapped in a single décor. Mixing pieces that you love can give you a look that is stylish, interesting, and uniquely yours. Browse our wide selection of exquisitely made furniture and take a look at pieces that catch your eye. If they're outside your comfort zone, they may be exactly the thing to add to your home for a look you will love.