Everyone has their own style preferences when it comes to interior design. Some people enjoy the nostalgia of retro designs, with fun colors and patterns you just can’t find anymore. Others prefer the sleek metal of modern schemes. Blending Vintage and Retro Styles for an Eclectic Interior is the trending design for today’s contemporary living.
There are some who like to blend the two. It can be tricky combining different design styles, but with the right planning and preparation, it can be done.
Discover you preferences
Modern or retro, first you need to look at that you want. This is a pretty obvious first step, but it can be an overwhelming one. There are a lot of options. Retro materials aren’t as rare as people sometimes think, and can be found online, at estate sales, yard sales, and antique shops at often reasonable or even bargain prices.
Modern styling are also readily available, either direct from the source or via similar secondary markets. With so much to look at, discovering what really tickles your fancy will help narrow down your options so your place doesn’t grow too cluttered and crowded.
Find the common themes
Having looked over all your potential options and selected your ideal items and furniture, whether modern chairs or handcrafted loveseats or sofas, you need to find the common themes amongst your choices.
Both new and old can blend together, but it takes some coordination. For example, if you’re a fan of old cookie tins for decoration, these can be used as accessories to a dining room featuring modern metal furniture.
The same holds true for color coordination. Modern styles tend towards black and other cool colors, whereas vintage styles are usually brighter and warmer. These are not absolutes, however, and finding the right mix of both in your preferred colors is possible thanks to all that research you did earlier. Besides, a little contrast in accessories can make for some very nice and attention-grabbing accents.
Consider a neutral foundation
While retro styles can be bright and colorful, and modern styles cooler in coloration, there are more neutral options. These sorts of colors and designs can make for a good base to build from, especially if you prefer a more neutral look in your room.
Colors in the beige and warm white wheel might look boring at first, but they can make for a great start to expand on, especially when mixing styles of normally contrasting colors and looks. Finding accessories and furniture in more muted colors and designs isn’t difficult, and you probably ran across some while looking for new accessories when first setting out to mix your styles.
Mixing it up
Having acquired your coordinated pieces in both retro and modern, from older lamps to a bed from AmishFurnitureFactory.com, it’s time to get mixing. How you decide to blend the two styles is up to you, and will depend a lot on what items you have in which style.
For example, a set of retro style chairs with a modern dining room table can work if the two styles are somewhat similar in materials and coloration. You might need to play around with your accessories and furniture to find the right mix, that’s part of the fun of blending styles.
Timeless looks
Even when mixing up older styles with new, some stuff has a timeless look that never falls out of fashion. Older furniture with a simple build or sleek pieces with metal accents are good examples. These sorts of furniture and accessories are easier to mix and match up to suit your tastes.
A good example is the rising trend of hanging old records or record artwork on the wall. The black vinyl can match well with older furniture in darker colors, or can contrast lightly colored modern pieces. The trick is to make sure nothing draws the eye in a bad way, as that means you overdid it.
More modern or retro?
When mixing different styles, you need to consider how mixed the two will be. Will retro be dominant, modern, or, will the two be carefully blended into an even mix? Any one of these options is valid, and generally depends on how much stuff of which style you have and are willing to put to use or display.
It also depends on what the items are. Even mixing of furniture can work very well, but too much modern or retro accessories in contrast might create a cluttered look that strains the eye. With such design schemes, some trial and error is to be expected. That will make the process a little more involved, but can also make for a lot of fun. Besides, you might get inspired for future design styles in other rooms.
Blending styles can be a lot of fun, but if done poorly can create a cluttered look that can be painful to look at for too long. A strong foundation and careful layout will help the old and new coexist in ways that won’t strain the eye or look out of place.
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