Achieving the perfect living room decor is not always easy, as it can be difficult to know what works and what doesn’t. Even if this isn’t the first room you are decorating, you may still have some anxiety about getting it right, especially if you are spending a lot of money on multiple pieces of furniture and decorations. So, it is crucial to get it right, but should your living room furniture match?
Your living room furniture does not have to match. Non-matching furniture and chairs with a recurring pattern are a great way to create dynamics, play with light, and enjoy a modern design. However, make sure they are balanced and do not overwhelm each other.
When it comes to designing a living room with non-matching furniture pieces, it is crucial to have a clear vision of how you want it to look. Here are some practical skills to help you design your dream living room today.
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Should living room furniture match?
When designing the perfect living room, you might wonder if the furniture should match, which is an age-old question, but the answer has not always been the same throughout history. If you ever have the opportunity to visit a house that was decorated over ten years ago, chances are the furniture will be identical.
Just like clothing, home decor and design trends are likely to fade over time. You can still choose matching furniture pieces, but modern homes typically have a variety of well-coordinated, dynamic pieces.
Opting for matching furniture in today’s homes can create unnecessary symmetry and make the space look old-fashioned, and it could convey that you bought your living room furniture from a department store without considering the room’s personality.
If you already have a matching set of sofas, loveseats, and chairs, you might still be able to achieve a modern, dynamic look by mixing patterns and adding pops of color.
Should chairs in the living room match?
You can choose matching chairs and sofas in the living room, and if your dining table is in the living room, you might consider investing in a set of four or six chairs.
However, if your home is decorated in a modern style, you may consider playing with different chairs, ottomans, and stools. With the same seating area, you can optimize the size and features of the space with this option.
An interesting example is accent chairs that used to be paired in pairs in front of the sofa. However, you can now coordinate two different accent chairs. However, they should have roughly the same weight, height, and length so that one does not overpower the other.
How to mix furniture
Matching furniture is not synonymous with coordinated furniture. You can have multiple accent pieces and non-matching tables and seating options, but they can still be coordinated, with your design skills playing a crucial role. The best way to ensure you can create a theme for each furniture piece is to have a clear vision of your overall result.
In the video below, you can learn more about the mistakes to avoid when designing your living space:
Here are the essential aspects to consider when choosing non-matching furniture pieces:
Find a common element
You can coordinate non-matching furniture to bring your desired style to life. So, before you go to the store and choose random furniture pieces, make sure you are clear about what the common element is.
A common element can be a specific color, style, or pattern. For example, you might want simple colors and a limited number of refined pieces for a minimalist home, or you can create a boho style with natural elements and fibers.
In any case, be clear about what the result is. One way to visualize this is by creating a mood board.
Be clear about your style
What if you have settled on a style but found a different couch or sofa that fits your budget and taste? If you want to take advantage of the dynamics of a non-matching sofa, it’s important to be clear about your style.
Without an underlying style or characteristic, your look can suddenly appear more chaotic and overloaded rather than dynamic. Ideally, you should research your preferred style before looking for living room furniture.
Opt for some combinations
Not all furniture pieces have to mismatch, as you can easily create patterns throughout the room by suggesting the same materials and colors for different furniture pieces.
Furthermore, you might consider using different furniture sets. For example, you could have a pair of ottomans for chairs that match each other and can be combined with a separate sofa or an accent table.
Six reasons to choose mixed furniture
You can choose matching furniture pieces. So, if you have found a set that perfectly matches your preferences and budget, you can undoubtedly use it for your design. However, more and more homeowners and designers are opting for non-matching furniture.
Consulting an experienced designer is always the best option if you want to get your living room design right the first time. However, here are some of the benefits of non-matching furniture that you should not ignore. Let’s take a look at some of these advantages.
Symmetry Breaks
Symmetry is essential to create a sophisticated, stylish, and tidy look, and if you are someone who prefers everything to be in order, you might want to bring some symmetry to your living room. However, choosing matching furniture is not the only way to achieve this, as it can lead to counterproductive effects. Opting for symmetrical designs can make your living room appear strict and sterile.
Instead, asymmetry is considered an essential part of modern interior design. While maintaining the style you have chosen throughout the room, you can achieve asymmetry with a different seating option (such as an ottoman, bench, or stool) or an accentuated coffee table.
You can find the right size
When choosing the right living room furniture, you should not only consider your taste and preferred style. In fact, it’s important to find the right size for your furniture so that it doesn’t look out of place. However, Dani Arps mentioned in a Vogue article that the size of your room doesn’t have to determine the size of your furniture. With the right vision, an oversized element, such as a lamp, can create a beautiful focal point and an amazing effect.
You’ll have a smarter traffic flow
Your living room should not only be aesthetically appealing but also practical and livable. For that, you need to create a smart and natural traffic flow. When redesigning your current living room, pay attention to how your family members move around the space. Once you have identified the most common traffic path, you can rearrange the furniture to create the right flow. This is more difficult to achieve with matching furniture, especially when trying to create symmetry. However, you can quickly adapt individual pieces to your needs.
The TV focal point gets shifted
In most households, the TV is the focal point of the living room. What used to be the fireplace has now become the entertainment system. While this is normal and will continue to evolve with our habits, make sure your living room supports sociability and conversation. For that, you can place the main couch in front of the TV, but you can also place ottomans next to the entertainment system to look back at the sofa. So, when your guests are nearby, they can face each other and have uninterrupted conversations.
You can play with the room’s lighting
With symmetrical furniture pieces, the design of your room is determined by the shape of the space, and when you have to manage different furniture pieces, you can place them according to the unique lighting signature of your room. This way, you can enjoy a brighter reading spot or avoid glare on your TV screen.
You can introduce multiple pieces
If you have chosen matching furniture pieces, you may find it difficult to introduce another piece that harmoniously fits and is not part of the original set. However, if you have chosen different elements, you can coordinate and move them as needed.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly, your living room furniture and chairs can match, but opting for non-matching elements can give your space a more dynamic and modern look. Choosing non-matching furniture has many benefits, as you can benefit from the room’s light signature and easily adjust the pieces according to your needs.
When selecting and placing non-matching furniture pieces, you need to be clear about the style of the house, as you can create a recurring pattern and color theme throughout the room with this vision. This way, you can achieve a harmonious result with non-matching furniture.