Th e new mix and match: Modern pieces integrated into traditional rooms or vice versa

NT Features

Modern vs. contemporary. Antiques vs. rustic. Mixing periods vs. single style. What’s changed and what’s now in the world of interior design?

We are seeing modern pieces integrated into traditional rooms or vice versa. The most radical update to interior design in the past decade or two is the shift away from rooms defined by a single style or period and toward rooms that embrace “the mix.”

The idea is to be transitional, not just traditional or modern. Throwing a new piece into a traditional room gives it an edge. One of the classic updates we see is pairing traditional dining chairs with a modern pedestal table — think formal Chippendale or even more casual ladder-back chairs with a Saarinen tulip table; it completely reinvents the room.

While the number of brick-andmortar antiques shops is dwindling, digital marketplaces only grow. They sell all eras of antiques from refined Victorian breakfronts to mod desk chairs to one-of-a-kind salvage and objet. It’s quality manufacturing and appealing style that gets a shopper to part with money, not the pedigree of the piece.

Most design professionals still shop in person, especially for antiques. The scale of items online can be deceiving and it’s important to open and close drawers and actually feel an item before purchasing.

Has people’s love for decorating with things like rustic reclaimed wood pieces replaced a love for antiques? The modern farmhouse aesthetic, which mixes rustic or rough-hewn wood elements with contemporary pieces, has staying power because the “the look is achievable” on a budget.

Many people are confused about the terms modern and contemporary when it comes to décor. The two terms are used interchangeably and often incorrectly. Contemporary refers to current design, i.e. pieces made within the past few years. Modern is an aesthetic and a movement that commonly refers to the streamlined styles in the middle decades of the 20th century. People rarely use the word contemporary. It’s the word modern that conjures up feelings of today.

Still, we’re headed back to traditional prints and interiors and there will always be designers to bring those up to date. In the 1970s and 1980s, people were big on restoring antique homes to the period, either with antiques or reproductions. What happened to that concept?

Here’s what feels dated — when all furnishings hail from a single era, even the 2010s. The internet disrupted the idea of period rooms. Nowadays we have vast resources for furniture in new and innovative styles. We no longer need to look solely to the past.

Maybe in time popular design will shift its balance toward modern, but for now, most notable interiors blend the best of both furnishings. It encourages people to buy things that speak to them, not because they “go” with their home, but because the item makes them happy.