MATCHING ANTIQUE WITH MODERN FURNITURE
It’s all about opposites attract. Make your home décor eclectic, unique and reflective of your style and taste. When you inherit antique furniture that is handed down from three generations, they invariably hold sentimental value. This means you will need to match these heirloom pieces with the more contemporary furniture you may have in placed already. This mix of contrasts calls for some creativity to make the best match in the overall décor. By trying out a few combinations around a room with vintage / antique furniture or accent pieces with the more contemporary effects, one can arrive at the most flattering combination or placement. It is all about finding the best place for your choicest piece, that makes a space come alive.
The idea is to furnish not just one room, but different rooms with these antique or vintage pieces in combination with the existing more modern or contemporary effects. Specific furniture may have use in one particular room. It is a good idea to move furniture around periodically and see what looks good. Sometimes such movements can drastically change the look of a room and make it look new.
‘Opposites attract’ rings true when you juxtapose antique bedside tables with modern lamps that livens up the decor. The effect can be dramatic, when grouping different and contrasting periods together. For example, a heavy fourposter bed can only belong to a bedroom. Similarly, accent pieces and other collectables will have use in a bedroom or maybe the dining room depending on its function or look and the ability to blend with a décor
Keeping a room looking fresh and new with contemporary pieces, and timeless at the same time is possible by using the 80/20 rule to amalgamate old and new styles. This means keeping 80% of the room predominantly one style, and adding accents of the other, in the remaining 20. The room pictured above has been decorated with 80% modern furnishings, the resplendent antique crystal chandelier creates a fine finish of this 80/20 rule. Simply stunning.
Conversely, the 80/20 rule has been followed by using 80% to be predominantly vintage as in the heavy wooden furniture and the balance 20% devoted to modern elements like the industrial pendant lamp, and the bold lettered signage. Modern pieces are added such as the dining chairs. Looks cosy and charming.
Effective and appealing styles come about while combining antique with modern is to see that certain elements are repeated. Every element should ideally have a pair. The blue from the painting in the centre (image above) finds it’s match in the sofas and cushions arranged in the room. Including the flower vase placed on a table in the centre of the room. Repetition then is key. In this mix and match exercise, pieces don’t really have to match perfectly, but some of the finishes need to be replicated in the room by different items. The wooden side table is made to match the wood tone of the dining room chair legs seen at the back.
If there is an odd man out in the room, make that a shiny focal point. A fine example is the mirror with the antique frame, with no other item to pair it with. Anything which is outsized will automatically attract the most attention and so we have this Chinese pendulum lamp and the Baroque mirror in the room (image above) as examples of focal pieces.
Try layering. Its an effective way to mix and match old with the new, especially when you make use of blended combinations. Here, farmhouse furniture as in the dining table, has been paired with plastic moulded modern chairs, and kept in the foreground. The backdrop consists of traditional landscape paintings with an antique sideboard table below.
