Decorating
How to Mismatch Interior Furnishings With Finesse
Master the perfectly imperfect look at home with carefully curated mismatched furniture
Not quite eclectic, not quite contemporary – modern interiors have a look all their own. The perfectly imperfect trend enables individuality at home like never before; anything really does go. There’s a difference, however, between a home with a jumble of mismatched items competing for attention and one with effortless swagger. Preventing your home from looking like a dog’s breakfast comes down to order, symmetry and structure. The more mismatched your possessions, the more you need a plan.
Mismatch your kitchen chairs, but keep to a theme
Without a little forethought, traditional kitchens can seem stuffy and overly formal. Add an old farmhouse table and some mismatched vintage chairs, however, and it’s suddenly a place you want to be.
Tip: If you don’t want your chairs to match, group them together under an era (vintage, in this case) or style (industrial, mid-century modern, or traditional, for example) to harmonise the setting.
Without a little forethought, traditional kitchens can seem stuffy and overly formal. Add an old farmhouse table and some mismatched vintage chairs, however, and it’s suddenly a place you want to be.
Tip: If you don’t want your chairs to match, group them together under an era (vintage, in this case) or style (industrial, mid-century modern, or traditional, for example) to harmonise the setting.
Mid-century modern is the chair theme in this dining zone, the combination of Eames and Wegner designs coming together around a table with contemporary edge.
Design classics you may not know are Eames
Design classics you may not know are Eames
Free yourself from an overdone interior style with colour
Scandi-style interiors are hard not to love, but it pays to throw a bit of rebellion into the mix to avoid having your interiors looking too matchy-matchy. A whitewashed floor is just the backdrop these mismatched chairs need to shine – in all their pastel loveliness. The chairs are all the same underneath their licks of paint, a move that prevents the setting from looking too thrown together.
Scandi-style interiors are hard not to love, but it pays to throw a bit of rebellion into the mix to avoid having your interiors looking too matchy-matchy. A whitewashed floor is just the backdrop these mismatched chairs need to shine – in all their pastel loveliness. The chairs are all the same underneath their licks of paint, a move that prevents the setting from looking too thrown together.
Mismatch your modular sofa in unexpected ways
Minimalism can be a wonderful thing, but not if your rooms end up looking boring and devoid of personality. Modular sofas aren’t just useful because they can be configured to suit the space and occasion (TV watching, guest sleepovers, gathering for pre-dinner drinks with friends), but they can also be ordered in a wide range of fabrics. As long as you avoid primary colours (unless, of course, you’re a fan of Mondrian colour blocking), you can’t go wrong. Imagine this living room with an all-beige sofa – still beautiful, but terribly bland.
Tip: If you’re keen to maintain a grown-up look, choose colours with the same chromatic intensity, or tone things down by pairing a neutral shade with a brighter or more saturated colour.
Minimalism can be a wonderful thing, but not if your rooms end up looking boring and devoid of personality. Modular sofas aren’t just useful because they can be configured to suit the space and occasion (TV watching, guest sleepovers, gathering for pre-dinner drinks with friends), but they can also be ordered in a wide range of fabrics. As long as you avoid primary colours (unless, of course, you’re a fan of Mondrian colour blocking), you can’t go wrong. Imagine this living room with an all-beige sofa – still beautiful, but terribly bland.
Tip: If you’re keen to maintain a grown-up look, choose colours with the same chromatic intensity, or tone things down by pairing a neutral shade with a brighter or more saturated colour.
Combine old furnishings with new, but use colour to bring unity
This lounge room contains all manner of items and none of them match – or do they? Homeowner/interior designer Amy Dragoo has deftly avoided the uni-student look by unifying the space with colour. The sofas – one a chesterfield whose design hails from the 18th century, the other a daybed with a mid-century modern influence – could not be more different, but a rusty shade of orange inspired by Dragoo’s prized collection of vintage posters ties the look together – it’s in cushions, the orange wool sofa, the rug, and even the flowers.
Tip: Use symmetry to bring order to a mismatched room. Facing sofas toward each other brings formality to an eclectic space in this living area, as does the alignment of the lamps and the coffee table.
This lounge room contains all manner of items and none of them match – or do they? Homeowner/interior designer Amy Dragoo has deftly avoided the uni-student look by unifying the space with colour. The sofas – one a chesterfield whose design hails from the 18th century, the other a daybed with a mid-century modern influence – could not be more different, but a rusty shade of orange inspired by Dragoo’s prized collection of vintage posters ties the look together – it’s in cushions, the orange wool sofa, the rug, and even the flowers.
Tip: Use symmetry to bring order to a mismatched room. Facing sofas toward each other brings formality to an eclectic space in this living area, as does the alignment of the lamps and the coffee table.
Curtail your craziness to a feature or two
Breaking free of design constraints can be liberating, but the trick is to do it with restraint. A splash rather than a wash of colour can be less overwhelming, but bring just as much personality to a space. The island facing in this all-white kitchen brings a whole lot of happy to the space. Had the splashback also been given the mismatched-tile treatment, the effect would be thoroughly spoiled.
Breaking free of design constraints can be liberating, but the trick is to do it with restraint. A splash rather than a wash of colour can be less overwhelming, but bring just as much personality to a space. The island facing in this all-white kitchen brings a whole lot of happy to the space. Had the splashback also been given the mismatched-tile treatment, the effect would be thoroughly spoiled.
Likewise, a patchwork collection of patterned tiles is the standout feature in this otherwise traditional bathroom.
Tip: No matter how mixed up the colours and patterns of tiles, they must have a unifying element to work. In this case, all the tiles have a vintage-inspired pattern, and each has a matt finish.
Browse more bathroom photos
Tip: No matter how mixed up the colours and patterns of tiles, they must have a unifying element to work. In this case, all the tiles have a vintage-inspired pattern, and each has a matt finish.
Browse more bathroom photos
Bring back the balance with symmetry
The designer of this home has managed to bring plenty of mid-century flair to the interiors, without being a slave to this now-popular decorating style. In the bathroom, a quartet of vintage mirrors marries well with the bathroom’s modern fixtures and fittings, primarily because of symmetry.
The mirrors are all different shapes, but their similarity in size allows them to be hung with precision directly over each basin. A more random placement would have taken the look from offbeat to eclectic in a heartbeat.
The designer of this home has managed to bring plenty of mid-century flair to the interiors, without being a slave to this now-popular decorating style. In the bathroom, a quartet of vintage mirrors marries well with the bathroom’s modern fixtures and fittings, primarily because of symmetry.
The mirrors are all different shapes, but their similarity in size allows them to be hung with precision directly over each basin. A more random placement would have taken the look from offbeat to eclectic in a heartbeat.
Use lighting and accessories to your advantage
Matching bedside tables are the norm in most bedrooms, but sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. If space is at a premium, it can be more efficient to save on width with a narrower design on one side, especially if one partner has less need for storage, or you have a big bed but sleep on your own. Bring back the balance with a pair of bedside lamps that are the same. Easy.
Matching bedside tables are the norm in most bedrooms, but sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. If space is at a premium, it can be more efficient to save on width with a narrower design on one side, especially if one partner has less need for storage, or you have a big bed but sleep on your own. Bring back the balance with a pair of bedside lamps that are the same. Easy.
Here, the bedside tables don’t match, and neither do the lamps, but opting for different versions of the same design achieves its goal – to bring order to chaos.
Your say
Have you had success mismatching furniture? Tell us about it in the Comments.
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Your say
Have you had success mismatching furniture? Tell us about it in the Comments.
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Browse more bedroom photos
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Sleek new kitchens risk appearing cold and unwelcoming, just the opposite of what most homeowners want to achieve in this social and well-used part of the home. The stools in this kitchen are the ideal antidote – their rounded forms soften precise angles and hard surfaces, and two colours are far better than one. The simple act of mismatching the stools brings a sense of life and fun to this otherwise ultra-contemporary space. Judicious pops of colour have been used to great effect throughout this Adelaide home.