Eclectic Designs - A Mix of Styles

How to create eclectic designs that stand out

Use your imagination

If you would like to create an eclectic design, the key is to combine materials, trends, textures, and colors with total creative freedom. You can easily enrich spaces by mixing styles with an eclectic design.

The most important thing to remember is that these designs should bring together different elements. The greater the contrast between the different parts of the design, the more unique the result will be.

Avoid excess

Although eclectic designs go against established trends and conventionalism, there are a couple of key points to consider when creating such designs. Mainly, it’s important to avoid overcrowding a space with objects that don’t quite fit.  

Generally speaking, it’s best to limit the number of different styles you use in the same space. This will avoid it becoming cluttered. Instead, you could split the room up into several “themes”. For example, you could use a functional style in one part of the room, and a more ethnic style in another.

Make the most of light

Lighting is a key component of any room’s decoration. It can be used to bring spaces together and highlight their key features. It’s therefore important to use indirect light as much as possible.

Spread the cost

One of the biggest advantages of eclectic designs is that they can be very affordable. These designs allow you to acquire pieces little by little, without having to shell out a lot of money at once to furnish an entire room, as you may have to do with other designs. If you plan carefully you can save money.

An evolving style

Creating an eclectic design is a journey, an ever-evolving process. Much like collages, you can easily change an eclectic design by replacing one component with another, without impacting the rest of the design.

The key colors of eclectic designs

Colors play a key role in bringing together pieces of furniture and other objects in different styles. You can get the most out of an eclectic space by choosing the right colors.

• Use neutral colors, such as beiges, creams, and grays, on walls, upholstery, and on floors. These colors will help bring different elements together and will give you more freedom to use contrasting items from different styles.
• Blue, lavender, aqua green, violet, and, generally speaking, any colder colors, can create a very stylish design when combined with dark furniture, including rustic and ethnic-styled furniture.
• Warm colors, such as earthy, brown and ochre colors, work very well if you’re looking to use Provencal, ethnic or rustic pieces in your design. These colors are also well suited to eclectic designs that mix antiques with furniture that has straight and clean lines. This is very common in urban and Scandinavian spaces.

Furniture with personality

Finding bold furniture, eye-catching furniture is key to getting the eclectic look right. By treating your furniture as a work of art and giving it its own space, you’ll be able to draw people’s attention to it.

Another option is to integrate your furniture into your room using other pieces that are a similar color. It’s key that these are more subtle than the furniture itself to avoid over-crowding and stealing attention from your furniture.

Another option that will guarantee you achieve that eclectic look is to combine different elements that generally go well together. For example, you could put a classic piece of furniture, such as an armchair, in a more contemporary styled room. Or, you could use a rustic piece in a “high-tech” room.

Subtle contrasts in eclectic designs

There are many other design components that you can combine to achieve an eclectic look. Even the smallest decorative details, such as lamps, can be used to create a contrasting design.

A retro-style light fitting can be a fun addition to an urban space, while an ethnic styled lamp can bring character to a rustic or classic room.

Figurative art can also be a very interesting addition to a contemporary space. On the other hand, abstract art can give classic rooms a great deal of personality. 

As you can see, there are many ways to give your home an eclectic design, just give it a try and see what you can create!