Traditional with an Edge

This is a house that I did a few years ago, that has never been published, but remains one of my favorite homes ever. It is Southern California and is done in a quiet Traditional style with a few twists that gives it some interest. This is the Living Room and you can see that it is a blend of textures with the rubble stone wall, antique plank ceiling and the solid bronze French doors. With all of this happening, I wanted to layer the room with some more old world pieces, so I used a cut Linen velvet on the sofa and some antique Bergeres adjacent to that. I also used an old rug too, that was a nice complement to the stone floor. The coffee tables though are a little bit more modern, and by using two I was really able to break up the scale a little bit too. Even the under scaled painting did a lot for the whole composition, and makes the painting feel more important.

I like mixing styles and directions, it creates a feeling that this is a collection that has grown over time, not a random selection of stuff that your designer has brought in. Here are some ideas that you may want to implement to help create that "lived in" look:

1. Don't be afraid to mix furniture periods, but if you do, pay close attention to scale and color, there should always be some unity between the pieces you choose.
2. Any painting will take on more importance if you place it on a wall by itself, so be sure it can stand up to the attention, if not place it in a grouping.
3. When contrasting textures try to go from extremes, hard to soft, rough to smooth. Almost smooth to smooth, just looks bland.
4. Don't be afraid of adding in more modern pieces to your collection, it will spice things up and make your older pieces look more special.