A Mismatch Made In Heaven. All About Pulling Off A Beautifully Eclectic Look.
Once upon a time, being coordinated, and matched to a T was all the rage. Now, mismatching, contrasting and mixing it up is trending in the world of food, design, and fashion. Travel and exposure to international trends has paved the way for experiments everywhere. So why not turn your home into an eclectic island of perfectly mismatched furniture, patterns, and colours?
It’s a truer way to showcase who you are and where you’ve been, rather than taming your instincts. There is the danger that your home could like a permanent Holi party with an explosion of colours, so here’s how to sidestep the landlines.
FIND COMMON GROUND
Go monochromatic. Use tones and shades of the same colour. A bright blue table combined with cerulean, indigo and cobalt for chairs, upholstery and accessories. Experiment with separates. Whip up an exuberant mix of contrasting colours. Bright pink with cherry red, blue with cornflower. Or single out a lone piece of furniture or accessory to stand apart in a strikingly different hue. Your only rule of thumb: don’t play it safe.
CONTROLLED CHAOS
The secret to sane mismatching? Contrast and harmonise secondary objects around a central object. Pick the dining table first. Use it as the main note around which you set a chorus of chairs and accessories. Case in point: get a brown or white wooden table. Create a quirky hotchpotch of mismatched chairs around it. Opt for all different chairs, or a single colour scheme for the chairs to keep things cohesive.
A BIT OF TIME TRAVEL
Mismatched styles, especially when it comes to furniture, can work wonders. Luxe with laidback, rustic with classic, retro with industrial – mix up eras and movements. Go ahead and break the rules. The idea is to be perfectly imperfect. If the vintage Indian chair you got at the antique store does not match your contemporary Scandi couch, well, it doesn’t need to. Style any piece of furniture to complement existing decor.
Add a vase of fresh flowers, and woven baskets below to add easy, laidback style to the luxe elements in the living room
Pair traditional carpets with industrial, rustic designs for a combination that wows. Bonus: It also creates a space that’s warm and welcoming
PATTERN AND TEXTURE VOODOO
Be a renegade when it comes to layering and texturing. Get a simple pastel couch – white, yellow or blue. Pile on pillows and cushions in motley prints, colours and sizes for a shot of colour adrenalin.
Or work it into the upholstery. If you’re colour-shy, play with assorted designs instead. Mix modern and traditional patterns. Brew a wacky cocktail with chevrons and ikat, dots and plaid, florals and geometrics. Work with dissimilar textures for visual and tactile magic.
