The art of mixing old and new
Are you a collector? A keeper of sentimental objects, travel momentos and special pieces? We love an eclectic home, one that includes a selection of both old and new pieces, creating a wonderful rich, lived-in, inviting space. It offers such an opportunity for personality to shine. However a careful balance is required when creating this look, as it can quickly descend into chaos – a mish-mash of too much stuff and pieces that don’t sit well together. This can end up being quite visually stressful and not pleasant to live in.
Creating an eclectic home all comes down to harmony and finding the right balance between pieces. Bringing in antique or vintage style furniture is a great way to add a lovely sense of warmth to a home, as it’s hard to beat that beautiful time-worn patina they develop. Look for pieces that are sturdy and good quality – if you are not handy, then don’t go for a bargain that needs refurbishment!
Working items into an existing scheme, you want to find a style that fits comfortably with what is already in place. For example, putting a cherry-toned antique timber dresser into a beachy home full of oak timber-tones is not going to create a harmonious look, whereas a rustic pine or painted dresser could work in beautifully.
For sentimental pieces, perhaps that have been passed through the family, that you would like to keep but don’t work well with existing schemes, look at how they could be updated. Can they be stripped back and re-stained to work with your current furniture? Could they be painted or re-upholstered? Updating vintage pieces with a modern colour or fabric can absolutely transform the style, while still bringing that delightful eclectic vibe (and keeping Nana’s cherished piece in the family!).
For smaller cherished items, look to creating vignettes or small clusters of similar or cohesive items to display together. A trick to remember – placing an odd number of items together generally looks best. Some ideas for vignettes are –
• A group of old bottles in similar tones and varying sizes - 3 or more make a collection :) We love vintage green bottles and demijohns! Looks great on a buffet or console.
• A cherished collection of shells, perhaps a mix of vintage and recently found – could be displayed in a beautiful bowl on a coffee table
• Vintage crockery placed together on display in the kitchen - these should most definitely still be used and enjoyed!
If you are mixing a few different items together for a vignette, look for similarities that can tie the group together – colour, shape, function, etc. Also look at sizing, as a nice combination of small, medium and larger items will look best in a group. This will help you create harmony in your display.
When you are curating pieces for your own home, sometimes it takes trial and error to get things right. We are big believers in following your heart when it comes to style choices – only buy pieces that you love and will cherish. If you feel like a piece doesn’t look right in its location – see what you can do to address it. Can you style it differently? Does it need a re-fresh? Would it function better or suit another room more?