Let’s talk about mixing styles! It’s a bit of a scary concept isn’t it? We’ve all seen excellent and awful examples of mixing styles. A lot of my interior design clients want an impactful, memorable space. For me, one of the best ways to achieve that is to blend styles in a way that is interesting and also defies trends. I love working with a challenge like this. Here are some ways I like to blend styles with different clients and why they work…

Express different parts of a client’s personal style:

It’s crazy to me that clients really think we need to settle on one style and stick to it throughout their entire space. Redecorating and renovating is a huge commitment - it’s not likely something you do every year unless you’re lucky! It shouldn’t be so limiting. Unfortunately, the furniture industry gives us these “out-of-the-box” styles to choose from and many people feel limited to just that. As a luxury interior designer, I love to help clients break out of this and bring different elements of their personal style and tastes into their space to create their own style. For example, me personally, I have a love for very traditional elements mixed with glamorous, modern pieces. The result is something that fits perfectly with my Connecticut home but also expresses the fashion-loving side of me. When working with a client, I love to explore what their tastes and preferences are and incorporate that into a cohesive, timeless look that expresses them. 

Here’s a look at my kitchen at home. See how beautiful these heavy traditional wood elements blend with stainless steel and mirrored pieces?

Incorporate original and new elements:

I work with a lot of residential estates in the Connecticut area that are older and have a very distinct historic style and value. Of course, we want to preserve that. It’s always a shame when old architectural homes lose a piece of their value to a temporary remodel. Mixing styles is a way to do that while adding some appropriate, modern updates. Homeowners can keep beautiful architectural characteristics while adding in their own personal style. 

Take a look at this kitchen or example. Who would have thought with these traditional cabinets we could elevate the whole look with a mirrored backsplash? This makes these elements more timeless as well. We can bring them up to date without getting rid of them by blending traditional and modern styles through floor and window treatments, paint updates, and blending furniture and accessory options. 

Stick to the classics while incorporating bold trends:

We all love and hate trends. There are trends we love and ones we wish would go away forever. Regardless, as long as there are furniture markets and social media, there will be trends. And it’s ok to work with trends! Home renovation and design is an expensive investment but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun and make little tweaks and updates. It’s like your wardrobe: you want some basic, go-to quality pieces and then you can always accessorize on top of that. My rule of thumb when incorporating trending pieces, colors, etc. is to have a good, timeless foundation. Have large elements like flooring, large furniture, etc. that is classic, clean, and valuable for a long time. On top of this, we can add trendy pieces and accessories. Even paint is super easy to change so we can experiment with color. 

Take a look at this example from a client’s home. This beautiful home bar and entertaining space has traditional elements that have been updated with dark paint and clean elements like the bar and stone floors. On top of this we’ve added some really fun pieces and accessories. I love the zebra chairs and skull rug! At any point, we can switch out the smaller pieces and completely change the look. A win-win for my client. 

If you’ve seen my work, you can see blending styles effortlessly is a challenge I love! If you’re interested in working with my team and I, please feel free to book a free consultation here. We look forward to hearing from you!