| Frequently when people set out to decorate their | | | | prints by color or shape to make a bold accent for |
| living room, they think that they need to choose a | | | | your room. |
| particular style. Then they think that they have to | | | | Consistent Scale: If you have a favorite piece of |
| strictly follow the "rules" of that style. While it is | | | | furniture that you want to include in your living room, |
| absolutely fine to do this, you run the risk of creating | | | | make sure that you do not have all of your furniture |
| a very two-dimensional room that does not reflect | | | | look the same. You want to balance the proportions |
| your personality at all. On the other hand, if you mix | | | | your furniture and have some taller pieces with some |
| aesthetics, however, you do need to take care not | | | | wider pieces to lend visual interest to your furnishings. |
| to create a incoherent mess. Here are some tips to | | | | One Main Genre: While mixing genres is absolutely |
| help you determine where mixing genres will and will | | | | fine, you do want to pick a primary genre to add |
| not work in your living room. | | | | weight to your room. You do not want a fifty/fifty |
| Unite with Color: The best way to create a cohesive | | | | mix of two different genres. Instead you will want |
| look in any room in any genre is to have furnishings | | | | one main genre with just a few pieces from another |
| relate to each other. While style and genre relate | | | | genre peeking out around the room. They should add |
| two items together, you can also relate them with | | | | a little element of surprise to the furnishings. |
| color. By using color to unify your room, you can | | | | One Item Pops: Better yet if you choose one main |
| intersperse different period pieces into the room, and | | | | genre and simply use one piece from a different era, |
| if you marry them with color, they will work as a | | | | you will lend importance to that piece. For example, if |
| harmonious unit. | | | | you have a completely traditional living room, and |
| One Piece, Two Styles: Another way to combine | | | | then you hang a large modern artwork over the |
| genres and still remain cohesive is to add an element | | | | fireplace, you create a charming and unexpected |
| of one genre to a piece of furniture from another | | | | focal point. Or from the other direction, in a very |
| genre. For example, you may want to add Victorian, | | | | sparse modern room, you may elect to hang an |
| crystal knobs onto a modern armoire. Or you could | | | | ornate and elegant crystal chandelier as a magnificent |
| take a traditional wingback chair and upholster it in a | | | | centerpiece of the room. |
| bold, geometric print. | | | | Mix and Match: Another way to have furniture relate |
| Focus: Another way that you can successfully mix | | | | to other pieces in the room is to have them made |
| genres is to blend them into one main focal piece in | | | | from the same materials. For example, a wooden |
| the room. For example, you can fill a wall with mirrors | | | | piece fits into a traditional room with a lot of other |
| in the same colored frames from two different eras. | | | | wooden furniture regardless of its genre, while it |
| Or you could make throw pillows from vintage fabrics | | | | would be much harder to fit plastic into the same |
| from different decades and again unify the different | | | | room. |