The secret to mixing modern and traditional furniture in the living room is having the right balance. You also want to make sure you are choosing the appropriate pieces of furniture to mix. The vintage piece should embody a more traditional vibe without clashing with the modern furniture. Here at Studio 9 we specialize in modern furniture, however you may be surprised that there are actually all kinds of modern furniture pieces available that carry a traditional appearance.
First it’s important to define what we mean by traditional furniture since it can carry a broad meaning depending on who you ask. It's important to have the modern or contemporary furniture definition in mind too. But, traditional furniture will usually have a formal appearance, including ornate markings, and the colors will be more neutral. Actual traditional furniture was made from thick wood, so elaborate carvings on the legs and front of desks were commonplace which lead to its exotic appearance.
The traditional furniture style came from imitating the regal style of the ruling class at the time. From giving birth, to meticulous study, to elaborate dinner parties, traditional furniture was designed to be sturdy, luxurious, and also to last for generations serving a multitude of needs. When you consider traditional furniture from those fundamentals, it’s easy to see why the movement and appearance became widely popular, and still persists today alongside modern furniture design.
We have several modern living room furniture for small spaces pieces available as well that appear more traditional than some of their counterparts. These traditional looking pieces, like tv stands or lamps, mixed in with a more modern couch for example, make for an excellent living environment. Adding traditional or antique furniture into your modern living room setup is a great way to create a unique and fun atmosphere. Vintage looking modern mirrors are an excellent way to bridge the gap between traditional and high end modern furniture pieces.
In our experience, keeping a majority of the room modern, and highlighting one or two traditional items is the key to a good layout. You can also use some modern furniture pieces that bridge the gap between traditional and modern design to help the room flow. These transitional pieces help to maintain a modern atmosphere. For example you choose a couch and chair that look traditional, and keep a modern tv stand and coffee table. Or you could go with a very modern couch and modern side tables, but have an antique looking tv stand and entertainment center. The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to mixing modern and traditional furniture in living rooms. Also if you're on a budget then combining cheap modern furniture with traditional furniture is an excellent method. This is simply because many older pieces of traditional furniture can be found at thrift stores and then easily combined with affordable modern furniture.
Another interesting idea would be pairing a vintage traditional sofa with an ultra modern coffee table. You might be surprised that It’s actually very popular at the moment to incorporate antique and traditional looking furniture pieces within a modern living room setting.
The traditional pieces, or the modern pieces can act as the focal point in the room depending on how you place everything. Incorporating the right piece of furniture can add the perfect accent to really tie a room’s overall appeal together. Most commonly, mixing modern and traditional furniture in the living room happens when an antique desk, record player, or tv is brought into the mix. In our case, we have several modern desks available that appear antique. By going with a modern desk, with a traditional look, you’re actually getting the best of both worlds because a new desk will be more structurally sound, and likely more lightweight than their centuries old predecessors.
Utilizing a modern traditional style desk, in a high tech living room, can actually look fantastic as you’ll soon find out. So even if you don’t have access to a real antique desk in your neck of the woods, we have many modern desks available that look the part and can make excellent substitutes. Even though we specialize in modern furniture, we do have many pieces that appear traditional while keeping their modern flair, which really makes these select items perfect for mixing modern and traditional aesthetics in your living room. If you're looking for other interesting concepts to liven up your modern home, check out our awesome firepit landscpaing ideas.