Design Tips For Blending Outdated Furniture Sets For A Unique Home Aesthetic

Creating a stylish room with lots of different moving pieces can be a challenge, whether it's choosing smaller decor elements or larger ones like floor coverings, wall colors, and furniture. Furniture can often be one of your biggest investments, making pre-chosen and designed sets a tempting way to take an aesthetic shortcut. Not only are these sets often more budget-friendly than individual pieces, but there's a guarantee they will coordinate with other pieces in the set effortlessly. While you can decorate an entire room with a furniture set in one fell swoop, you may want to avoid the matchy-matchiness of tired furniture sets for something more layered and eclectic to avoid a dated look. While blending furniture may seem more difficult than ready-made matching pieces, it can be easier than you think if you keep a few things in mind regarding commonality or juxtaposition of characteristics like color, stain, size, style, or scale.

Many designers favor a tasteful blend of old and new when it comes to choosing furniture. This approach can make it look like the room was carefully curated over decades rather than purchased from a showroom or department store. Pulling from a variety of aesthetics can also avoid a dated look or your current set going out of style before you are ready to change it. The key to a timeless room that avoids dated trends is in blending different eras of furniture.

Combat your space looking too uniform by mixing different design eras and styles that speak to each other through similar colors, shapes, wood tones and repeating motifs. Mid-century modern pieces, which have straighter lines and simpler details, are great to pair with ultra-modern furniture that has rounded, organic lines. Industrial details and rustic style pair well because of their distressed finishes and sense of age. Coastal and boho pieces work well in tandem due to their breezy and casual look. 

While there may be a temptation to decorate with a set or strict adherence to a given era like Victorian or mid-century modern, too much of the same can leave your home looking more like a museum than a chic and fresh space. Even more contemporary styles can look sterile and lack personality if there isn't anything to provide contrast. Look for things that juxtapose dramatically yet still look great together, like a modern abstract painting over a Victorian velvet settee or industrial style stools mixed with farmhouse accents. The contrast tells a much more interesting story than a room decorated in one consistent vibe. You can also get a richly layered look by playing with scale and proximity. A bulky piece like a sofa or large chair can be offset by a daintier side table to keep an area of the room from feeling too heavy, while a chunkier piece can help anchor a room with smaller furnishings when arranged strategically.