Mixing the Old and the New in Home Decor

Image courtesy Wheeler Design Group

Our friend Jim Gallagher of Garden Court Antiques has some thoughts on how you can a home more striking by opening your mind when it comes to choosing furnishings.

Having worked in the interior design industry for nearly 30 years, I have watched design trends come and go. For example, in the 1990s, rustic, Tuscan-esque motifs dominated as massive Mediterranean homes popped up all over Sonoma and Napa. Come the early 2000s, Silicon Valley’s steel-and-glass homes invited a more austere, modernist look. Each of these styles has their moment until people become bored and want something different; that’s when the pendulum tends to swing back in the other direction. 

The secret to having a truly great home is not committing to a single, monolithic design, but in finding a balance with a diverse, more eclectic style. One effective way to do this is to combine old and new elements.  By blending in wonderful old, unique pieces with more up-to-date (and frankly more comfortable) contemporary fabrics and upholstery, you can create a more interesting and inviting home that becomes timeless. 

Imagine a home solely furnished with period antiques. It might be fascinating for a weekend getaway, but over time it becomes heavy and dark and ultimately not that inviting to relax in — like living in Downton Abbey.  By the same token, a stark, white home with acrylic furniture is beautiful to photograph, but it lacks coziness and a sense of comfort — no one wants to live in Logan’s Run, either. In either case, each example lacks a sense of individual style.

The best designers that I have worked with over the years know how to blend these styles. By adding a wonderfully worn and massive piece of Baroque furniture into an otherwise clean and contemporary room shifts the dynamic of the room and the piece. The room becomes warmer and more interesting, and the piece of furniture takes on an almost sculptural quality. Similarly, by introducing some brighter, more modern fabrics and clean-lined contemporary pieces, you can make a more traditional home seem less stodgy. By juxtaposing contrasting elements, it brings each into focus. Choose elements that speak to you and showcase your style and interests.

Thoughtfulness is always the common thread. The most memorable homes aren’t rigidly of a single style or period — they mix old and new with ease, are both interesting and comfortable, and often include the occasional delightful detail that makes you pause and smile.