How to Perfectly Mix Modern and Classic Interior Styles

The prospect of successfully blending modern design ideas with classic interior styles might seem daunting, but it’s not as much of a challenge as you might first think if you incorporate some of our tips.

Not sure where to start?

The best place to start when you’re thinking about how to perfectly mix modern and classic interior styles is to assess exactly what you’re working with.

Which style – modern or classic – is more dominant in your home and in the key pieces of furniture that you want to incorporate?

It’s the more dominant style that’s likely to lay the foundations to your interior design, giving you the opportunity to select key elements from the other, contrasting style to really make a statement about your home.

Are you living in a Victorian house with period mouldings, a tiled fireplace and some quirky beams? Could these heritage features combine effortlessly with retro doors and a selection of industrial and modern furniture to successfully combine modern and classic tastes?

Perhaps you are you in a more modern home with clean lines and a blank canvas to build on? This could be the perfect backdrop to showcase some classic style doors.

Select an accent colour

You can seamlessly blend the old and the new in your home with an accent colour that provides a backdrop to your interior design plans. Your colour choice doesn’t have to be dramatic or bold, in fact a neutral colour palette is often a much better option to help the pieces – whether modern or classic – that you choose for your design to really shine.

But don’t worry that neutral will mean boring! By using colour as a calm background to your design, you can go to town on, for example, key pieces of furniture such as a bold coloured sofa in a classic room that’s complimented with modern furniture choices.

Neutral and understated accents can also extend to the decisions you make when it comes to flooring and woodwork. Light colour wood tones can work really well for door treatments and skirting boards in a classic room that you’re planning to dress with modern furniture. Or you could opt for black industrial doors to contrast period mouldings and skirting boards.

Have you got a wow factor?

Whether it’s a much-loved piece of furniture, a work of art, a light fitting or even a distinctive structural feature such as a staircase that demands to be made a feature of, it is more than likely that there is something in the room you’re designing that you can spotlight as a wow factor in your design plans.

Think about how you can best showcase your wow factor in the room to really draw attention to it. A rug can help a classic chair or a coffee table to stand out in a living space or a huge photo wall can help a headboard to shine in the bedroom.

Go to town on your accessories

With a clear focus on the dominant style in your room and your key pieces of furniture in place, it’s time to get creative with your accessories and this is somewhere you can really combine classic and more modern pieces.

Rugs are a great solution to tie in your look, whether you opt for a vintage rug to compliment modern furniture or rely on a big geometric print to add some modern personality to your classic look.

And when it comes to accessories, you could place a mirrored tray on an older wooden coffee table or put modern prints and artwork in ornate frames to really link the two design trends.

You should also think about adding texture into the room with a range of natural fabrics and finishes, such as leather, faux-fur, wool and linen, which you can use as window dressings, cushions or throws to strengthen your interior design.

Remember that opposites do attract!

There’s bound to be a bit of trial and error if you’ve not had a go at mixing modern and classic interior styles before but be patient and keep coming back to the vision that you had when you started your project and first assessed the space you’re working with.

Opposites do attract and this is a great way to showcase your design talents and present your home in a way that really reflects your personality and style.