More on mixing modern and antique

So you’ve decided whether or not you wanted a modern room with antique accents or a vintage room with a modern feel. You’ve made that list of characteristics you like in each style and now you’re ready to go shopping.

Well, not quite yet. When attempting to combine modern and antique in one space, you’ll also want to decide on a unifying theme for the entire space that will be your “blueprint”.

Perhaps it’s the color palette. (Any color palette will do). Maybe yet you’ve decided on a great fabric that you can upholster all your pieces with, modern or antique. You might even take the idea a step farther and declare only straight lines in your space. You can even choose to go only with one material, say a particular wood color or all stainless steel.

Keeping one unifying idea in a room where you’re trying to mix modern and antique pieces will help create a designed space, and not just a hodge-podge of furniture and accessories (which sometimes can work just fine too).

When you’ve decided on what’s going to be allowed in your space, choose pieces that express the same idea, only in different styles. There are plenty of examples of antique styles whose hallmarks were clean lines and vise versa. Choosing pieces that mirror some aspect of the other are a good way to make a connection between the two.

Or, alternatively, choose pieces that offer completely opposite styles. Pair a very ornate antique button-tufted sofa with two modernly shaped side chairs. Seem too dynamic? Make the opposites work by connecting them through a common thread. Whether that thread is the wood tone, the paint colors or even complementing fabrics, finding something that the pieces in your space can relate too will give your design a thorough and thoughtful feel.

*photos found from various locations in the wonderful world of the web