5 Secrets to Mixing Modern & Traditional in your Living Room Decor
Hi friends, welcome to Postbox Designs! Around here all I do is “Real Designs for Real Life”. If you are into the look-but-don’t-touch type of rooms, this isn’t going to be the blog for you! Instead I’m a Mom of three crazy kids, and a Labradoodle who we refer to as The Beast. So if it can be stepped on, muddied up, spilled on…I can promise you it will happen at my house. So while I want every single one of my designs to be beautiful, more importantly they have to be practical, functional, and be spaces you can actually USE. Because isn’t that the whole point is having a home you love? So you can live in it, enjoy it, and make memories in it?
And today I want to share a recent Living Room makeover project with you! I loved collaborating with this working Mom on making over her Living Room space. She is a lawyer which meant she didn’t have a lot of time to be running around town, doing the dreaded buy-and-return cycle, trying to create a finished room. Instead, I custom designed her room for her…so she could live life! Once we were done, I sent her the Room-Inside-A-Box so she had everything she needed to buy and pull together her room, all in one spot.
So, How do You Mix Traditional and Modern Design?
My client wanted a polished design that mixed modern and traditional. And you know what…I have been seeing more and more of that recently, and love it! My eye will be drawn to a gorgeous Pinterest photo and it is hard to nail down the exact style: it has a modern formal edge mixed with traditional, comfy elements. And I have to tell you…I’m loving this look! So if you are also digging a room that checks both boxes, read on to see how you can mix these two styles to create a perfect room for yourself!
Secret #1: It is all in the lines
Modern does NOT have to mean stiff and uncomfortable. In most Living Rooms, your sofa is most likely going to be the most used seating area. So please, please choose one that is comfortable.
I mean binge-watch-Netflix while eating ice cream from the carton comfortable.
But to get a modern, more polished look for your sofa (#1), look for straight lined arms, open legs (instead of a fabric skirt), and an upholstered sofa (as opposed to a slipcover). These elements are going to give you a more modern, formal look but paired up with soft cushions you can sink into. I always like to see loose pillows (like this sofa) on the back of my sofa as opposed to a more hardback version.
Secret #2: Go Casual on Top and Modern on the Bottom
After your sofa, your coffee table is probably the second biggest star of your room. And coffee tables get abused my friends. Maybe not fair, but it is true. And my client is a Mom, so I wanted to stay away from glass tops (smudges and sticky fingers) or cold metal tops. Instead, we went for more of a casual, modern Farmhouse finish with the top of this coffee table. The rustic top is going to be very kid friendly and hide a lot of sins! But these metal legs make this table look so sleek and polished, and well…modern! Additionally, you can make your coffee table go more traditional or more modern by the decor items you put on it.
How to Style Your Fireplace and Open Shelves
A huge focal point of this Living Room design was her beautiful fireplace. So I helped her pull together decor items to help style her fireplace (Items #20-22, 27). We went with modern neutral tones, but warmed it up with some more casual woods and pops of greenery from Magnolia.
Secret #3 Matte Black Will Always Be Your Friend
If you want the perfect finish that can go both modern and traditional: it is matte black. We sprinkled it in throughout her entire room, such as in her coffee table (#2), her modern farmhouse desk (#17), her shelf decor items (#34) and finally in these modern candlesticks from H&M Home (#25 and #26). Plus, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it is one of the LEAST trendy materials. Gold is having its heyday right now (remember when it was oil rubbed bronze a few years ago)?
But the LBD is a classic for a reason. And so it black in your home decor.
Secret #4: You Can Mix Traditional Right Next to Modern
And the best way to mix traditional and modern design? Literally mix in both elements right next to each other! In her Living Room design we included two sets of modern open shelving from CB2 (#28). On the Mood Board below I helped her choose some items for her shelving and we mixed in modern vases (#31 and #32) with more casual wood tones (#33) and truly traditional items such as #24 and #34. So mix and match fearlessly! Don’t be afraid to mix great grandma’s table with sleek West Elm decor…that juxtaposition is what makes your room interesting and filled with character!
Secret #5: Pattern Play
And I’m going to jump back up to the very first Mood Board of this blog-one of the best ways to mix in modern and traditional elements is choosing the right patterns! When you look at all of the big pieces of furniture-they are all neutral and very straight lined. To help bring personality, pattern, and color into the room, we introduced these in by the throw pillows (#14-16). Bold but simple geometrics, modern stripes, solid textures (and even an ikat pattern like in the poufs-#3) all give a more modern edge to the room. You can go slightly more traditional by incorporating more traditional-meets-modern elements such as stripes and plaids.
Modern Meets Traditional Foyer Decor
And finally, she had an open foyer area right in her Living Room. So we continued to mix in the modern elements (such as this rustic but modern) foyer table and modern mirror with more traditional elements such as this Target bowl (#37) for loose change and keys and sculptured lamps (#38).
More Modern Meets Traditional Living Room Designs
Thinking you are loving this modern-meets-traditional combo too? Here are a few more room makeovers that I think you will also love (and grab ideas for your own place):
5 Ways to Hide Kid Clutter in a Beautiful Living Room
Mixing Modern & Traditional in this Fresh Living Room Makeover
Want to Grab FREE Designs?
And finally, my most favorite design source for you is my FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY! It is chock full of free Mood Boards, Shopping Lists, Guides and more for just about every room of your home, and in every style. When you sign up, you will get an email with the link and password sent to you so you have 24/7 access. And be sure to check back often…I’m always adding to it! And since we are talking about adding pops of modern to your decor, here is one thing you can find inside:
I’ll see you back here in a few days with more free designs to share with you! And in the meantime if you have questions or want to chat more about working with me on your own project, just drop me an email at kristin@postboxdesigns.com
Can’t wait to chat with you!
Kristin
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