Living Well: How to Effectively Mix and Match

You’ve probably heard the saying, “Why blend in when you were born to stand out?” Your home is a reflection of your unique style, so no two are alike. Some people prefer for everything to match while others take an eclectic route. As for us? We believe there is a happy medium that ensures that your home’s interior style is well balanced. As part of our Living Well Series, we’re talking all things mixing and matching.

The 10-30-60 Rule

Have you ever heard of the 10-30-60 rule? It’s an interior design rule that comes into play when you’re choosing colors. Your dominant color should cover 60% of the room, the secondary color should cover 30% and the accent color should cover 10%. Ideally, the primary and secondary colors should be neutral. This allows you to easily mix in a bold and vibrant accent color.

In this living room, white serves as the dominant shade, gray as the secondary and red-orange as the accent color. The great thing about this room is that gray furniture pairs well with almost any color. Red-orange energizes the space for a well-balanced approach to design. 

Mix Shapes and Textures

The key to successfully mixing and matching lies within the shapes and textures. A room should have a healthy mix of straight lines and curves along with hard and soft materials. For example, a clean-lined leather sofa could benefit from the organic nature of a shaggy fur pillow.

This Sorinella bedroom is to die for because of everything that’s happening in regards to shape and texture. The soft gray fabric of the bed and the textural emerald green blanket are balanced by the smoothness of the accent chair and geometric, white nightstands. We also see square and rectangular shapes balanced by circles. The fact that everything varies in size also helps.

Can you guess the other thing this room is doing right? It follows the 10-30-60 rule perfectly. The dominant shade is white, the secondary color is gray and emerald green serves as the gorgeous accent color.

 Mixing Styles

Next, we want to follow a simple 80/20 formula for combining design styles. Eighty percent of your room design should follow one style while the remaining 20% can be composed of a different style. This prevents the room from feeling too busy. If you want to mix and match traditional and modern, for example, we suggest going 80% modern and 20% traditional. The traditional aspect could be reflected in something as small as the photo frames on your gallery wall. For those of you who are moving in with your significant other, this formula could help you both find a common ground.

In this dining room, 80% is bright and bohemian while the remaining 20% (which includes the dining table and dining chairs) is farmhouse-inspired. The patterned wall helps pull the entire look together because it works well with both styles. This spotted accent wall is a better choice than a completely solid wall because it keeps the fun going. Do you think you could handle a bold room like this?

We’re all about living well with a well-balanced life that reflects in your home. You can have loads of fun with mixing and matching while still pulling together a design that works seamlessly. How do you shake things up around your home? Show us on social media using #MyAshleyHome, and your picture could end up on our blog.

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