Houston Interior Designer Danna Smith Shares Her Tips for Mixing Design Styles to Achieve a Cohesive Look
So, you’ve decided to take the next step and move in with your spouse. Congratulations! Moving in with a spouse requires both people to blend their lifestyles, spaces, and, most importantly, in our case, design styles. But how do you blend design styles with your spouse and make your new home look cohesive and inviting?
Whether you’re bringing sentimental furniture pieces or a specific design taste to your new blended home, this guide will help you minimize the compromise required during this transitional time in your life. Let’s face it. You’re dealing with enough change and stress during a move! Let us help you make this an enjoyable and collaborative process.
Moving in and Blending Design Styles
Moving into a new home is exciting! No, I’m not talking about the moving process itself — I do not like packing. The opportunity to live in a new home with the person you love is a big step for anyone, and you want to be sure to design the space so that it reflects you and your style…or should we say, both of your styles! A big part of design is blending our clients’ different styles and preferences to create one cohesive look and feel.
Honor What Each Person Brings to the Home
When moving into a new home with a spouse, sometimes we need to consider the furniture that each of our clients may already own and do not want to part with. For example, any sentimental pieces with meaning or a story from a loved one’s home. As interior designers, our job is to come up with solutions to combine these cherished pieces with new furniture that feels cohesive together. We also need to ensure that the different style preferences of each of our clients are represented in the homes we design for them. If you’re moving in with your husband, or if you are the husband (hello!), you might be interested in taking a look at some of our favorite design tips for men to help you get started.
Transitional Design: The Best Style Mixing Hack
Clients often ask, “How do you take a traditional-styled coffee table or sofa and combine it in the same space with a more modern-styled piece?” When we blend different styles together, the style is called Transitional. It’s not Traditional, Modern, or Contemporary. It can be a mixture of two or more styles, and the look can be pretty great and unique to the client. Let’s take a look at how to blend different design styles in your home. In the home below we used the client’s favorite traditional accessories and paired them with clean-lined furniture in a fresh, white palette.
Remember That Blending Styles Can Be Exciting
By blending different design styles in your home, you can achieve a very eclectic, attractive, and unique outcome. To begin this process, we think about how to best achieve a cohesive look and focus on the common elements of each piece so both spouses feel their styles are accurately represented. We also want to make sure the room is aesthetically pleasing to live in. Sometimes, a multitude of patterns and colors can be disorienting and uneasy in a room, and we try to avoid those feelings in a client’s home. Your home should reflect both of your styles and be a functional living space.
Decide What You Want to Keep as a Couple
One of the first things spouses should do is take inventory of what they want to keep and what they would consider donating or giving to a family member. This lets you know what new furniture will need to be purchased. This not only helps you with budgeting but also helps you to see the big picture of the design gaps that will need to be filled. Sentimental pieces of furniture or accessories can always be worked into the design, and sometimes, they can even serve as the centerpiece of the space. Whether the piece is functional or purely decorative, we will find the perfect spot for it in your home.
Select a Color Palette
Another item that should be prioritized when beginning to merge design styles is to choose a color palette that works for both of you. Whether you prefer light neutrals or accent colors in the space, a shared color palette will help bring the room together.
A few nice neutrals that we like to use are Sherwin Williams SW 7004 Snowbound, Sherwin Williams SW 7008 Alabaster, and Sherwin Williams SW 7042 Shoji White. These colors are labeled as whites, but they all have different undertones that will look different in your home. Neutrals work well with any design style and help to highlight the furnishings in the house. To establish what color is best for you, try painting a few swatches on the walls throughout the home. It is best to view them both during the day and at night to ensure you select the right color for your space.
By selecting a color palette together, you can create the home’s vision from the ground up from a mutually agreed-upon backdrop. From here, all you have to do is fill in the gaps and build your vision together through furnishings, fabrics, art, and more. Exciting, right?
Choose Furnishings and Fabrics
Another way to blend different styles is to use furnishings and fabrics with different textures to create visual interest. For example, a smooth leather covered coffee table or ottoman with a metal base was a great way to add comfort and texture to this living room clad in stone.
Window treatments with fabrics that have an interesting pattern or texture can be used as drapery. Combined with woven wood textured window shades, they add a finished look to your windows. A variety of accessories will provide a unique look to your rooms as well. They not only add texture, but they can also add pops of color to your room. Art is another way to add cohesive color to your space and blend the different styles of spouses. Art not only adds beauty to the room, but it can be a way for you both to display your interests, travels, and muses while creating an overarching theme for each room.
Are You Excited to Start Blending Styles?
The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t be afraid to blend styles with your spouse! Relationships require sacrifices, sure, but this process doesn’t have to be a give-and-take. Coming together with the person you love to create a home that will be the bedrock of your memories for years to come is beautiful and should be embraced with excitement and collaboration. Two styles really can be better than one!
Remember to embrace your differences and find common ground. A variety of patterns, colors, and textures can come together to form a beautifully unique home. Merging styles is one exciting way to add your own personality to your home. It is the combination of these elements that makes your house your home, and if you need some help, remember to give us a call.
Until next time, let your creative juices flow!
— Danna
Meet Danna, A Luxury Interior Designer in Houston
Danna Smith has more than 30 years of experience in the design industry. She has been a buyer and merchandiser for four luxury showrooms in Houston and Dallas. Smith teaches an evening course at Houston Community College to nurture her passion for developing future design stars. Since joining Pamela Hope Designs in 2015, she has worked on some of her most beautiful and innovative projects yet.
