9 Eclectic Style Mistakes to Avoid


Image created by author: viryabo@polyvore

What is eclectic style, and how does it relate to interior design?


Eclecticism is a design theme that combines various decor elements: forms, colours, patterns, and textures. It is a meld of different era styles infused with modern features, a decorative mish-mash of the old and new.

Many homeowners adopt the style, not knowing they are creating an age-old interior design style. How do they do it? Because they have eyes for beautiful things, they buy random pieces and try to put them together stylishly. They unknowingly create an eclectic style with all elements unified through form, colour, textures, patterns, and finishes.
 

An Easy Style to Love But a Tricky One to Design


The eclectic style interiors are lovely but tricky to achieve, especially if you do not have a flair for interior styling.

While most people think it is a jumble of forms, textures, colours, patterns, and a mish-mash of unrelated fixtures and furniture, this is untrue. The theme may blend the old and new, but there are ways to achieve the theme without being way off the mark.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  1. Improper planning. Did you consider the theme from the conceptual stage? Which type of furniture do you plan to buy? During the planning stage, decide on the furniture type and its arrangement first. Do not go shopping without a concrete plan.
  2. Lack of a focal point. Your look must not lack direction and focus. There must be an eye-catching focal point: a fireplace, an elaborate wall art, a fish tank, or a stucco wall finish. Without a focal point, your design will lack direction.
  3. Your interior space is not a showroom. Avoid setting the space up like a showroom. Remember that you have to live there. Comfort is key with eclecticism, so functionality must inform its decor. Think of how you intend to use the interior space first. This way, you will choose items that will help pull everything together harmoniously.
  4. Inconsistency. An abrupt change in the style of the adjoining spaces or rooms makes an eclectic theme appear disconnected. Ensure there is a smooth flow from one zone to another. Each room must complement the other, and the style must be reflected subtly (or elaborately if you wish).
  5. Absence of a unifying colour. This is a common eclectic style mistake. There must be one dominant colour that pulls the whole look together.
  6. Scale imbalance. There must be a balance in symmetry and scale, and the total outcome must look organised. It is true that with eclecticism, there are different styles from different eras. However, there is no reason to sacrifice organisation for diversity.
  7. Believing anything goes. Many may feel that with this style, anything goes. Not so. You must avoid making everything look like a random choice. It will end up looking busy, cluttered, and distracting. Avoid a messy look by ensuring you don’t have too many contrasting styles in one space.
  8. Being too reserved. With eclectic interior decoration, do not be overly conservative because the eclectic style has various decor items: fabrics, textures and patterns. For example, if you have a plain sofa and chairs, eclectic-it-up with accent items like colourful throw pillows, paintings, area rugs, art objects, accent chairs, animal prints, and tapestry.
  9. Wrong paint sampling procedures. Avoid comparing hues and tones as a line-up on the walls because it causes confusion and indecision. Sample the colours you like on individual boards and look at them individually before making a final choice.

You can avoid these common errors and use them to guide your eclectic interior styling. Avoiding these style mistakes will ensure you bring the theme together successfully while achieving a pleasant look. Eclectic interiors, well put together, highlight a bold, unique, and confident taste.

How to Master Eclectic Interior Design (Video)


How to Decorate a Console Table

Consoles come in many shapes, sizes and styles and you’ll find that there is always space to fit at least one in every home. This unique furniture is one piece that you can have to show off your artwork, décor items, and prized mementoes.

Not only that. A console can also serve as a makeshift bar or even something as basic as a TV stand.






From the classic, chic and streamlined to the rustic farmhouse and modern style, console tables are one of the most practical pieces of furniture you should have in your home, whether you think you have space for one, or not.

Aesthetically pleasing, especially if decorated stylishly, many homeowners often overlook the fact that they can provide a zone for decorative display while also serving as a space for storage of sorts. And when placed against a wall, a backdrop of your favourite wall painting or framed mirror will turn the space into a room’s focal point.

7 Areas Where You Can Place a Console Table


1. Between two windows

2. In a living room

3. A nook or niche in the home

4. A hallway (foyer) - clean and uncluttered

5. Behind a sofa

6. Upstairs landing

7. As a divider between two zones

Though console tables have limited spaces to display because they mostly have skinny surfaces, yet they are pieces of furniture that should be viewed as a microcosm of design preferences.

Though it is small and compact, it can still be used to express one’s personal taste and style. It is like . . . “what can you say about yourself on this small surface without overwhelming the space?”
Minimalist Style - Console Decor

Best Ways to Create a Stylish Console that Speaks Volumes


Though there is no hard and fast rule on how to style a console table, there are a couple of tips you can follow to ensure your console table and its contents not only look stylish but also make a great statement.

Less is more - When it comes to interior design, sometimes less is more. This also applies to surfaces that hold items of decorative display.

Create a balance - Work in both verticals and horizontals. For instance, if you place a table lamp on your console table, make sure you balance if off with a couple of low objects like a little treasure box and a bowl of potpourri; ceramic ware, a set of cubic bowls, or a small mother of pearl inlay tray for your car keys.

Choose shapes wisely – Use decorative items with different shapes – rounds, squares, rectangles, cylindrical, etc... The art shapes and objects you use can take the space in any direction you wish.

So, rather than clutter the surface of your console table with a little of this and a little of that, make a few strong choices. It will create twice the impact.




If you don’t have items to display (but you probably do), scour the flea markets for great finds. You’ll be amazed at what you may discover in these markets, and at such cheap prices too.

Online stores are another place where you may find exotic or plain simple décor items that will make your console look beautiful.


Further Reading:
How to Style a Coffee Table
How to Style a Plain Sofa
How to Style your Interior Space with Accent Chairs

How to Decorate a Coffee Table Stylishly

Decorating a room stylishly shouldn’t stop at choosing a nice interior design theme. Nor should it just be because you have a natural stone floor finish, hung beautiful artwork, applied stucco on a focal wall, installed signature pendant lights, and added tribal accent chairs to enhance the expensive sofa set.
Interior styling goes beyond that.

(Image created by author on viryabo@polyvore)

It includes decorating certain furniture: coffee tables, bookcases, display stands, mantelpieces, etc, with decorative stuff like tiny jade carvings, memorabilia, chess boards, framed family photos, miniatures, giant seashells, driftwood, and other knick-knack collections that result in the entire room screaming STYLE.

Of them all, one piece of furniture that deserves thoughtful styling is the coffee table, aka the centre table.

Decorating the Coffee Table


Decorating a coffee table to give it a wow factor isn’t hard. But it takes thoughtful planning, especially if you are home proud and love to show off your art of interior styling.

For starters, centre tables should make great focal points in living rooms. 

Additionally:
  • They must serve much more than what their name implies.
  • They should contain items that evoke admirable conversations.
  • Every item of the ensemble should look good, both individually and collectively.
  • The arrangement must include verticals and horizontals.
  • The total items placed on its surface must add up to odd numbers (best practice).
  • A mix of natural elements with man-made forms is a good one.

(Image created by author on viryabo@polyvore)


Examples of what you can place on your coffee table are:
  1. Flower vase with fresh (or faux) flowers.
  2. Driftwood.
  3. Handmade art or carvings.
  4. Family keepsakes.
  5. Scented candles.
  6. Tabletop water features.
  7. Plant terrariums.
  8. Set of exquisite boxes (beaded, painted, leathered, upholstered, etc).
  9. Decorative trays with shells, beads, pebbles, coloured stones, etc.
  10. Mini chess, backgammon, and mancala game boards.
  11. A tray or basket filled with their own decorations, to break up the table surface.
  12. An eye-catching sculpture (adds height and drama to the table’s surface).
  13. Metal figurines.
  14. Decorative hourglass.
  15. A pretty fish bowl with three exotic fishes.
  16. Tabletop decorative globe.
  17. Stylish vintage-inspired table clocks.
  18. Bowl of assorted candies.
  19. Aromatherapy burners.
  20. Tabletop lighting feature.
  21. A low stack of books (five max).
And more. From the sleek and cute to the classic, minimalist, and ethnic, coffee table decorations are meant to add aesthetics to your living room and bring a satisfactory smile to your face.


How to Arrange the Decor Collection


How you display your collection is not really an art in itself. Usually, the eye shows what looks right(ish) or what doesn’t look so good.

The important thing is to pay attention to:
  • Scale
  • Size
  • Form (shape)
  • Colors
Ensure that whatever the combination of elements and features are, they must be a mix of vertical and horizontal pieces. The mix gives results of a more balanced look that’s better on the eye, and more pleasing to the senses.

Finally, you don’t have to dig deep into your pocket to decorate your coffee table like a professional home-stylist. So, give your centre table some extra flair. Decorate it creatively!

Nothing looks more unpleasant than a ‘naked’ coffee table.


Coffee Table Styling Ideas (Video)





See also:

How to Style Your Dull, Plain Sofa
Klismos Chairs - Ancient Greek Chair Designs
How to Decorate Your Home with Accent Chairs


Tips:

  • If you look around the house, you WILL find décor items you can use.

  • Switch decorations around from time to time for a fresh look.

How to Create Different Zones Within a Room


Creating different zones within a room makes it a beautiful and fascinating space that provides two or more functions. Zones may not be visually demarcated, but they must flow and meld into each other. And achieving this effect is what professional interior designers do best as space planners.

Space Planning: More Than Creating Rooms Within a Shell

There is more to planning interiors than carving out rooms; living, dining, bathrooms, kitchens, bedrooms, hallways, etc. Space planning also involves zoning. Making a room multi-functional.

Two zones within a bedroom.
(Image created by author viryabo@polyvore.com)

Zones in Interior Spaces

Whether an interior space is open plan and needs to serve more than one purpose (studio apartment) or one large room that was initially meant to serve one function (sitting room), any room or space within a home can be adapted to serve more than two functions. When this layout is created, it is referred to as zoning.

Zones within interior rooms must be:
  1. Functional.
  2. Purposeful.
  3. Visibly appealing.
  4. Arranged to complement each other.
The arrangement works much better when there is ample floor space. But that does not mean it cannot work for smaller rooms. For instance, the open floor plan of a studio apartment must contain different zones:
  • Living area.
  • Dining area.
  • Home office (if you work from home).
  • Pet corner.
  • Music home studio.
In a smaller space, like the kitchen, for example, zones will be limited to about two, maybe three, maximum:
  • Kitchen area (food preparation and cooking).
  • Breakfast counter (or nook) or dining counter.
  • Utility area (clothes washing and drying).
You don’t want more than these. Too many zones within a small space become meaningless and cluttered.

Ways to Create Areas Within a Room

Each area should seat one or more people, so you can create furniture groupings for each zone.
  • Zone #1 - A living area with a sofa, coffee table, an accent chair and a floor lamp.
  • Zone #2 - A second seating area with two armchairs, a table, and a table lamp.
  • Zone #3 - Work-at-home station with multi-function desk and chair. Great for under-staircase areas.
  • Zone #4 - Pets corner, with pet furniture/bed.
Another effective way to create zones is to add a false floor (multi-level). Different floor levels give the feel of two rooms within one. For instance, a raised dining area (distinctively) separates the living from the dining area.

(Image created by author viryabo@polyvore.com)

How to Demarcate Zones

Zones can have a free-flow walk-through. They can also be separated with high or low no-back bookcases, consoles, display units, stands, and troughed or potted plants. These can serve as partitions and dividers.

Lighting can visually demarcate zones as well. This works particularly well at night, where you can light up one, two, or all zones, depending on the mood desired. Using a combination of pendant lights, tables, and floor lamps is best. The result is an amazing ambience.

Zones with free-flow walk-throughs can strategically place sectional rugs to demarcate the different areas. The rugs must vary in texture, size, and shape, while colours must complement each other.

Altogether, your zones must not be designed to clash with each other. Each must complement the other, side by side, within an interior space.

How To Create Designated Zones In An Open-Concept Main Floor (Video)





Articles of interest

Soft Window Treatments - Basics of Window Dressing

There are endless creative ideas for window treatments for your home décor projects, but the basics types fall under three categories:
  • Soft window treatments
  • Hard window dressing
  • Combination (a blend of soft and hard window dressing)
However, this article is about soft window treatments and the basic types that many of us may be familiar with.

window treatments


Its name and the description says it all; they are soft window dressings and the materials used for them are generally fabrics and other forms of textiles that range from the soft sheer light-weight materials like satin, silk, voile, and fine lace, to the more resilient, textured, and heavy-weight fabrics like damask, velvet, and brocade.

6 Types of  Soft Window Treatments


The treatment types include:
  • Curtains
  • Drapes
  • Swags (and tails)
  • Valances
  • Sliding fabric panels
  • Shades
Of them all, drapes are the most popular used as window decor.


window treatments
Types of Soft Window Treatments
  

Curtains are window dressings that are made with lightweight, sheer, and translucent fabrics, which include silk, cotton, voile, and organza. They are less expensive to make than drapes and usually require less material to produce.

These kinds of treatments are rarely lined, so they don’t give as much privacy as drapery, but only when used alone. But many homeowners use them paired with blinds or shutters. Curtains on their own are great to use if you live many floors up a high-rise building or in an area where you don’t need that much privacy.

Drapes are made from heavier-weight fabrics and are generally floor-length. They can be made for purely decorative reasons, in which case they’ll swoop to the sides, held with tie-backs, and remain stationary.

Drapery, however, is made more for functional purposes than aesthetics - open for light during the day, closed for privacy at night, and keeps the room warm in winter. You need lots of material to make drapes.

Shades are probably the next preferred style of soft window treatments made from fabric. This type of window treatment is generally made with one piece of fabric that can be raised up or lowered down.

Many homeowners love them for their simple but stylish looks, insulating attributes, and functionality, providing both privacy and light control. And because they are made of fabric, they serve as a good option if you love blinds but prefer ones made with some textile that complements the room’s décor, for example, Roman shades.

Valances, swags, and tails are purely decorative window dressings and only cover the top (and sides) of a window. They are good for adding extra aesthetics and colour complements or contrasts to an interior space.

Sliding fabric panels are modern types of window treatments. Not only are they sleek, clean, and simple-lined, but they also cost much less than traditional style window dressings.
 


Further reading:

Home Décor Fabrics by the Yard Online

How to Clean Bamboo Window Shades

How to Clean Honeycomb Window Blinds

7 Ways to Change Your Living Room from Drab to Refreshing


(Images created by Viryabo@Polyvore)



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