Mix & Match

Since my husband and I own a 122 year old home, I've heard the argument that we should keep to the exterior style and age of the home and decorate it with Victorian furniture. I disagree. As I feel the interior of a home should enhance the style of the exterior of the home, they by no means need to mimic each other. I found this homeowner on HGTV's Rate My Space and love how they easily married old with new. Some people had some mixed reactions to their design aesthetic, but I absolutely loved it! Their entire home can be viewed HERE.

Exterior Shot of Home. Notice the detailed woodwork on the second floor and I love the simplicity of a white painted exterior with picket fence and ferns hanging from the porch!



Love the original stained glass transom window! The mirrored dresser is a nice touch to the entry as it adds sparkle and glamour to an otherwise boring entryway.



The formal parlour is long and narrow but they kept their furnishings small in scale leaving guests room to navigate around the furniture.



They opened up the back of the home on the first floor to allow entertaining in today's "open concept" idea. The kitchen is large but opens up to the family room allowing guests and family to interact with each other while cooking. They also refurbished a stove/oven and painted it a bold color red.



Notice the mix of an old table with the classic, modern Navy side chair. Also the red chandelier keeps the eye moving around the room.



Another view of the kitchen/family room.



Now on to formal dining. They mixed traditional wainscoting, crown molding, and a very elegant dining room set with a modern print of a bicycle. Completely unexpected, but the bold artistic quality of the prints balances the formality of the room.




Upstairs is an open concept master suite. They had an unusual ceiling dilemma as it follows the eaves of the home. They decided to highlight the feature by adding wide plank boards to the ceiling.



They even had space for a reading nook.



The m. suite is open to the bathroom but the transition is smooth as they used furniture-like pieces for the vanity and storage.




And what I liked most? The stackable washer/dryer in the m. closet! Sigh.



Quick shot of their son's bedroom. Very cute with vibrant wall color and reusing old furniture for toy storage.




Now on the garden level family room. This space is the perfect opportunity to use bold colors in furniture. They kept the walls a light grey color to act as a neutral backdrop to the color scheme of orange, black, dark wood, and shiny stainless steel.



They also added a kitchenette in dark wood tones.



These homeowners very cleverly married antique furnishings with iconic furniture pieces. I'm glad they took the risk of mixing old with new!

(all images from HGTV's Rate My Space)