I stopped by a friend’s condo the other day, and as always when I visit her, I left impressed by her flair with interior design.
It’s not just that the condo is gorgeously decorated; it’s how she achieves that beauty.
She isn’t afraid to be eclectic. With great success, she gladly blurs the boundaries between styles that many people would consider incompatible.
Working as I do with hardwood floors, I of course pay attention to how her hardwood flooring interacts with the rest of the home’s décor. The condo is by a river, and the rustic Hickory flooring ties into that natural beauty. However, the furnishings are on the contemporary side.
According to conventional wisdom, that’s not supposed to work. Yet my friend’s home is proof that it can work wonderfully.
There are no hard and fast rules about how to be eclectic. Some combinations of differing styles will look good; others won’t. However, that’s no reason not to try.
You can mix contemporary and rustic, casual and formal, modern and antique. You don’t have to restrict yourself. The eye test is what matters, not sticking to a predetermined notion of a certain style. If it looks good, it looks good.
That’s a point we stress when customers are considering which style of hardwood floor they want. If they love a certain style, but they’re worried that it doesn’t exactly match the style of their existing furnishings and accessories, we tell them that there’s nothing wrong with being eclectic.
Often, contrasts in style—if they’re subtle and not clashing—are just what make a room come alive.
Image courtesy of kotomi
