Mix It Up: Putting Furniture Pieces Together

According to designer Nate Berkus, "Perfection does not harm beauty, but it sure kills charm." One of the reasons why higher-end furniture showrooms look so much better than their lower end counterparts is that they arrange furniture in a mix and match sort of way. All the pieces are from their own lines, but they are carefully put together on the floor and on the catalogs by stylists and visual merchandisers so that they resemble somebody's actual living room. It looks easy, not contrived, lived-in and certainly not matchy-matchy. Hint: Their is absolutely no need to buy the love seat and/or chair that comes with the couch! No need for a living room showcase, unless you won it from The Price Is Right.

Case in point: In the picture above, there are two different couches, three different tables, three different lamps and two different sets of arm chairs. Quite a mix and yet, the room looks put-together, refined yet casual, very calm and relaxed. What makes this room work? Notice that the furniture have the same clean modern lines. The palette is a restrained  combo of beige and gray, not of the same tones, but from the same color family. Nothing in the room distracts from the spectacular view, which is the true focal point of the room. The furniture pieces look like a happy mix of friends that like each other, arranged in a way that just begs for gathering and conversation. This room shows how different furniture can come together to create a coordinated vignette.

Photo credit: www.elledecor.com

What about the dining room? It is perfectly natural to get a dining set of course, but the picture above illustrate how interesting things can get when pieces are mixed. The arrangement here certainly goes with the industrial loft feel of the room; the industrial table contrasts with the sleek formality of the chairs, and the bench adds an inviting touch.

Photo credit: www.westelm.com