How to Mix and Match Living Room Furniture

Catch these tips from expert designers: your living room furniture ideas for mixing & matching to perfection.

Knowing how to mix and match furniture is a game changer! Being able to creatively and beautifully match different styles and mix up furniture pieces will make you a more versatile interior designer. There is no design challenge that can’t be solved with an eye to matching pieces into a cohesive, yet unique space.

There are times when you have to add new furniture pieces to your existing set. In some cases, you might simply want to create a custom and personalized style. Perhaps, if you’re like us, there are so many styles you love that it’s nearly impossible to choose just one!

Whatever your reasons, follow this guide to help you mix and match your living room furniture with the skills of a professional interior designer.

Mixing & Matching Living Room Furniture Ideas

Use Colour Intentionally

Colour is such a powerful design element. There are so many ways to play with colour, all of which can help mix and match furniture.

Toning down the colour palette is one idea for your living room furniture. Neutral colour tones, naturally, always combine well. Creams, browns, and warm earthy tones will allow you to be more adventurous in other design elements. 

On the other hand, bright and bold colours can equally help mix and match a room design. Choosing a colour theme to run through the room is one way to unify the space. Meanwhile, choosing complimentary colours and tones is another way to pull a space together while adding rich emotion.

Know Your Scale and Furnish Within It

Let the room guide your design decisions. When mixing furniture pieces, it is important to not extend beyond the scale of the room. This means that the furniture should fit comfortably within the room and allow for flow and functionality. 

For example, a narrow living room is likely furnished best with oval or rectangular coffee tables. Large square or circular tables would probably clash with the flow of the room. Keep the scale and shape of your room in mind when coming up with creative living room furniture ideas.

When the furniture fits comfortably, even if the room mixes different styles, the room will be able to hold the entire design together. Furnishing to scale ensures that the overall room design makes sense and feels right.

Create Pattern & Balance

Even if you want to mix up accessory and decor pieces, they can still match within a room. One of the key design tricks to pulling this off is to remember the power of pattern and balance. Follow these two design concepts to help you come up with your own, unique living room furniture ideas.

The pattern is the idea of noticing the unique features in your decor and creating a rhythm with them in the room. The pattern could follow decor shape, size, colour, texture, and so on. There are so many ways to create patterns in the room, which can all bring unity into the design. This is a great chance to tease your creativity!

Balance is similar to a pattern but applies in a less obvious fashion. Balancing the decor in the room might be based on the weight or texture of the pieces. The room should feel evenly balanced with a fair mix of heavy and light items.

Choose a Focal Point

Knowing your focal point is crucial for every room! When you pick a focal point in your living room, you can allow that to be the anchor to your design. Ensure that all design elements work around and compliment the focal point. 

Virtually anything can be a focal point in a room. You can choose features of the room, like a fireplace, windows or doorways. Or you can choose added elements like a specific furniture piece or artwork.

Whatever you decide to make the focal point, let that be the inspiration for the other design elements. This is the room’s muse. Let the design story be told from that focal point.

Design Holistically, Choose a Theme

Remember to think about the big picture as you’re picking different furniture pieces. Choosing a general theme can help guide that bigger picture. A theme, though, doesn’t have to become a strict set of rules.

Instead, consider how each new piece of furniture and decor adds to the overall room’s design. Certain designs will pull together a set of elements so that it’s a cohesive room. These elements, loosely, become your theme. 

For instance, colour palettes, patterns, or textures can be a consistent element even within mixing furniture. 

At Treehouse Interiors, we’re big fans of mixing and matching furniture. Often, what separates average rooms from expert designs is the ability to creatively and effectively match different styles. For more living room furniture ideas, speak with our design consultants and visit the showroom to see our exceptional selection of furniture.