Most of us do it. And most of us really don’t have much of a clue how to do it right. I’m talking about mixing decor styles. There are a few decor rules that will help you mix the decor styles you love in your home and do it brilliantly! Today let’s talk about mixing decor style and doing it right!
Today I’m in the J and J guest room at StoneGable to show you just how easily style can be mixed together to make a cohesive and unique look.
THE 80/20 RULE
The ratio of 80/20 should always be kept in mind when mixing styles in your home. 80% should be one style type, and 20% makes up of the rest of the style (s) you lean towards.
Most of us love more than one style and celebrate it in the way we decorate our homes. But just like all things we need to think about a balanced approach to mixing those styles.
Choose one style to be the predominant style and then add in other styles you love in small doses. The 80/20 rule is a great rule of thumb is an easy way to remember that about 80 percent of a room should be in one style and 20 percent in others. And 80/20 works! It’s tried and true and a safe bet for those of us who are not seasoned home decorators.
And here’s a great tip… it is easier to mix decor styles if most of your furniture is updated classics. Choose larger or big ticket items that are classic and accessorize with other decor styles.
CONSISTENT COLOR PALETTE
Using a few central colors help will help a space looks more put together and cohesive even when the styles aren’t. Too many colors and too many decor styles can be a distracting cacophony.
The tighter the color palate the further apart on the decor spectrum your style can stray. Yes, you can have a mid-century modern room with bohemian and farmhouse accents if your room has a very cohesive color palette of three or four colors. Just be very selective how you use your accent pieces in a mostly mid-century modern room.
This bedroom is very neutral with just a pop of saturated mustard yellow. Lots of white make the room look airy even though the furniture is very dark.
BALANCE
Balance is a key word when mixing different styles in your home. The styles you choose for a room should be distributed throughout the space.
If you have a bit of farmhouse on one side of the room make sure there is a bit of it on the other. Or better yet, triangulate the items!
Who knew decorating was truly a balancing act?
Balance should be carried to the floor and the walls as well. Use rugs, flooring, wall decor, and shelving to balance the styles in the room.
It’s pretty obvious that my larger traditional pieces of furniture are distributed about the room this guest room. The bed, the dresser, the black chair with the rush seat are all pretty traditional. The more modern items… the round mirror, the contemporary chair, the funky nightstand are on opposite sides of the room to balance the room.
The sisal rug and white cotton drapes are a neutral nod to a more updated look.
FOCAL POINT
If you have an “oddball” or a very large piece of furniture, let that be the key piece or focal point in the space. By establishing the focus, you can easily place other complementary pieces throughout the room to create a perfect mixture.
Yes, this really works… and works like a charm. If you have an outlier piece of furniture it can be the focus of a room and the rest of the room built around it.
I have a friend who had a huge Italian stone mantel and wanted to bring it into her living room. At a glance, it did not look like it belonged alongside her mix of traditional classics and French country. But when it was placed in her living room on her longest wall it created a focal point for the rest of the furniture to be built out from.
The odd little table that I found at HomeGoods years ago adds a bit of spunk and fun to this rather calm bedroom. It really calls attention to itself and therefore is a focal piece!
BUDDY UP
Accent pieces should have a “buddy” so the space in a room feels balanced and cohesive. They can be matched based on color, shape, size, or the overall style. Feel free to play around with the placement of decor and smaller pieces until you see the space fitting of your personal style.
SAME VIBE
Nothing will throw a room into confusion like mixing the mood of a room. If the room is casual keep the elements in it casual. Juxtaposition has its place in decor and does work successfully in a room with different styles. But for a less than seasoned decorator, it might be hard to pull off.
If you want a no-fail approach to mixing styles keep the mood of the furnishings the same.
If your room is beachy and breezy keep things beachy or neutral. No moose heads and seashells. Got the idea?
PILLOWS BRIDGE DECOR STYLES
Pillows are your friend when mixing styles! They are everyone’s favorite and can not only add style but color to a room. And it’s so much easier to mix in pillows with a different style than furniture!
Pillows can get away with breaking a whole lot of decor rules. And they can also bring together many styles too! Make sure to incorporate pillows into every room!
The yellow pillow works great in this guest bedroom to give it a punch of color and a taddy bit of farmhouse style. And even though the starfish pillows can look very beach cottage, they work with this room bringing a fun whimsical element to it like the animal print table next to the bed.
The last word…
Most of us have homes that exude more than one or two styles. And guess what? That makes our rooms and homes so much more interesting and personalized!
Just follow these simple rules when mixing decor style that works together and look fabulous!
You might like to follow me on Pinterest and see what I’m finding to pin every day HERE.
You have such a simple but understand approach to decorating that helps your readers “get it.” I appreciate that in a blog. This bedroom is so airy and beautiful.
Your J&J suite is so calming and beautifully decorated. I am about to begin redecorating my son’s room – he moved across the country- and this is such timely advice. As usual Yvonne, you nailed it! What I haven’t seen in your home yet Gigi is a nursery for the grandson- any plans for one?
I love your home and enjoy reading all your post.Your Sunday post are heart warming. thanks
I love this bedroom! Everything goes together so well. Thanks for sharing your wonderful decorating tips with all of us!
This room flows together seamlessly and I wouldn’t know why. Your blog post helps me to see why it does. The tones of your accent table to the wicker type shade on the opposite side of the room seem to play off each other. Even the plates on the wall pull it together too. I’m sure your guests feel welcomed and restful in this space. Thank you for giving us so much good advice.
The 80/20 rule reminds me of the summer camps in the Adirondacks. They seemed to be 80 hunting lodge and 20 Victorian. I lean toward the 80 cattle ranch with the 20 Victorian being the china and glass ware serving pieces with a bit if silverware just to shake things up a bit.
Love all the great ideas!! Thank you… beautiful decorating. 🙂
Absolutely love this room! the first thing that caught my eye…all of the different lampshades in the room – how they all work together and create a perfect blend of texture and color… Thank you for sharing your amazing gift – so appreciated! 🙂
Hi, Yvonne. I like the neutral color scheme of the room and all the added texture. It is a welcoming and beautiful guest room. Easy to add a touch of holiday, such as Christmas for your guests by changing pillows and greens for flowers, etc. Could you kindly share the paint color, as I am struggling with choosing an off white shade that is not yellow on my walls. Your shade is perfect. Thank you
Great advice! I learned quite a bit from your article! Thank you! Always enjoy your blog. Hope you arre feeling better.
This makes me so happy Jan! Then I’m doing my job and fulfilling my blogging goal!
Hi, I like the farmhouse look but it really doesn’t look good with my furnishings. Maybe a tad here and there is ok. I was wondering if you know of any bloggers who have more traditional decor that I could see. I have cherry furniture throughout and a lot of brown. Would like to lighten it up a bit. Thank you so much. I always enjoy your tablescapes. It’s my favorite thing to do.
Hi Terry, try housepitalitydesign.com and celebratingeverydaylife.com Hope this helps.
Hi Yvonne, Beautiful room! So inviting. I love the ratan shades with the white drapes. Where did you get your shades? I have thought about doing this window look in my own home for years, it is just the right vibe. Also, love love love the white bedding.
Best Wishes, Maureen
These rattan blinds are sooo reasonable. They are cut-and-carry and I got them from Lowes.
Good morning. I like your ideas on the mixing of decor styles as long as it still reflects who you are and is not just to follow a new trend.Country French is everywhere but really doesn’t fit into my decorating except for maybe an accent pillow and some french inspired pottery. My home is mix of traditional and country with a few really good antiques.Love the use of neutrals and admire all your thoughts on how to change things up without going overboard.Also understand the need to adjust for our 4 legged friends. They live here too!
Hi Kathy! I adore French decor but it’s not my style either. So seems like you are on the right track!!!
This was a great simple explanation that is really helping me pull some rooms together that seem disjointed…Your floor lamp and it’s textured shade really caught my eye…was it a recent purchase and if so, would you share where it came from? Thanks for all the info you share.
Hi Kitty, I got the floor lamp ages ago and added the shade I found at Ballard Designs. Hope this helps.
Hi Yvonne!….Popping in-between packing and moving things to the rental (The Berry Patch House) to say hello and say that I love how you mix your modern farmhouse style with fun and the things that you love with such beauty and grace. Have a great day and weekend…always thinking of you!
I think the best mix is whatever you like in your home!
Love you site ! I’m doing a coastal house for a Batchelor lots of glass and he favours a minimalistic look . White walls but stylishly divided into spaces . Love your thoughts .
Kristine
Hi Yvonne,
I love everything about this guest room! I have a question about your drapes. They appear to be just an inch or two above the top of the baseboards. I don’t know if you’ve done a post on lengths, but this is one thing that challenges me – the proper length for the type of drape for the room in which they hang. (ie: I’m guessing puddling was not the look you were going for and to the bottom of the sills was too casual — but why above the top of baseboards and not to the baseboard or to the floor?) Can you let me/us know how you made your decision on how far above the floor they would fall? It looks perfect and intentional, so don’t tell me it’s because the rods were up and that’s where they landed! 🙂
Hi Cyndi, the drapes are NOT up to decor standards. They should at least be kissing the floor or even a little longer. My daughter and her husband sleep in here and have a dog that is a bit of a naughty boy at times. The drapes are high so he does not lay and roll all over them and crawl behind them. So they are “highwater” drapes so I don’t have doggie problems. You just have to love some family members, even 4 legged ones, in spite of their antics!
Yvonne,
What a great teaching post about mixing styles in a room. For so many years, rooms where usually furnished and decorated in one style only. I love the tips and tricks you have written about in this post for mixing styles.
Personally, I love the clean lines of Mid-Century Modern but I don’t want a entire room in this style so I do mix it with some French Country or Chinoserie. I have a mid-century faux bamboo dining table/chairs with a vintage mid-century French style buffet and it looks great together. In the summer, I always throw in some coastal, summery elements in my rooms but try not to over-do it. I often find when someone decorates a room in a particular style such as beach or coastal they go overboard and it comes off looking too cheesy if that’s the right term.
Chinoiserie sounds so gorgeous with mid-century!
I love French cottage for my bedroom and natural, earthy tones (Pottery Barn etc) in my living room. do the two rooms need to have some of each in them??
It’s your call here, Susan! I’d love to see just a few things mingled from each room but as long as one room can’t be seen from the other I think you are just fine
Where did you find the white pitcher with the tulips in it that sits on the tray in the bedroom?
Hi Katie, I found this sweet pitcher a few years ago at HomeGoods.
The bed tray is a lovely vignette, especially with the tulips in the pitcher. Do you mind sharing where you got the darling ribbed pitcher? Thanks.
See my reply to Katie above
I have heard of the 80/20 rule, but I’ve never heard it explained where it makes sense. Thank you so much for breaking it down and sharing how you use it in your rooms.
So glad to help.
I love the yellow pillow! But then, I love everything in your home. Would you please share where you found the pillow?
Hi Donna, I found this last year at my local Pottery Barn outlet. Hope this helps.