How to Mix Design Styles – Tips to Find Your Style for Your Home

Today we’re going to talk about mixing design styles in a home. I know it may come as a surprise to you, but we love designing in styles other than Farmhouse even though our brand is called Farmhouse Living. What we love about Farmhouse can be applied to all styles. It’s the fact that it’s simple, effortless, and cozy. It’s a throwback to a simpler time when the family was the heart of a home. This is more about our view of home than a specific design style.

I find the biggest mistake that people make when designing with a style in mind is they get too themed. We’ve all seen the farmhouse look executed with cows everywhere and 10 signs in the living room that say farmhouse. Or you see someone take on MidCentury Modern and every leg in the house is tapered. Rather than going all-in with a style, we want to inspire you to take what you love from multiple styles for the most refreshing look that is unique to YOU!

We’re going to start with examples of homes that have mixed styles well and share what styles they mix! Then after you’re inspired we’ll share our best tips to design with multiple styles.

HOME 1 – FARMHOUSE, COASTAL & GLAM

Let’s start with Mom’s house. She has touches of Farmhouse, Coastal, and even a little glam. In her living room, you’ll see her slipcovered sofa with white walls which I’d categorize as Farmhouse then cooler accents along with the beaded chandelier in her breakfast nook belong in the coastal category. Her touches of gold in the kitchen add a splash of glam. She also likes to say she has a little European Farmhouse with the warm wood tones on her fireplace and her beams in her dining room. You can tour mom’s entire home here.

SHOP THE MIX

HOME 2 – MCM, FARMHOUSE & BOHO

Next, I want to show our friend Lindsay’s home. Lindsay has a mix of mid-century modern and farmhouse. You’ll see in her main living spaces a shiplap fireplace, white walls, and white shaker cabinets which are claimed by the Farmhouse style. She has accented with geometric lights, abstract art, and low profile furniture which belong to the midcentury modern style. Upstairs she has touches of boho and even a little industrial which shows your entire home does not have to be the same style. You can tour Lindsay’s entire home and shop her spaces here.

SHOP THE MIX

HOME 3 – VINTAGE, MODERN & INDUSTRIAL

Next, our friend Joanna who we most recently toured. She mixes vintage, modern, farmhouse, and a touch industrial. Her look felt Anthropologie to me which is a great example of an eclectic brand. Her living room has shiplap accents and tons of vintage accessories. Her kitchen has white cabinets with a shiplap backsplash and her pendants add an industrial pop. You can tour Joanna’s entire home here.

HOME 4 – COTTAGE, FARMHOUSE & MODERN

Next, I want to show you The Morrow House that we toured in Waco Texas. Here we see cottage, farmhouse, and touches of even modern. This home is a true historic farmhouse so the shiplap, much of the decor and kitchen style fall in that category. She mixes it up with light fixtures like the ones you see in the dining room and even the art gives it a little modern flair. This is a good example of a home that is committed to a style but the designer was not afraid to mix it up just a little bit. You can tour the Morrow House here.

HOME 5 – FARMHOUSE, TRADITIONAL & RUSTIC

Lastly, I wanted to show my friend Amber of @TheValeHouse. She mixes Farmhouse, Traditional, and even Rustic in her space. The rustic elements in her space include her hood vent, the deer in her living room and dining, and the leather sofa, really all the warm accents. You’ll see tons of farmhouse elements like her lights, tile, and most of her accessories. Then she has more traditional furniture like her sofa mixed in! You can tour Ambers home here.

SHOP THE MIX

Our examples showed farmhouse, coastal, glam, traditional, rustic, industrial, vintage, and midcentury modern! We do a local home tour every month and I’ll tell you all of them have a good mix of styles so if you’re looking for more inspiration you can see all our tours here.

PRACTICAL TIPS

Now let’s get practical on home to mix styles in your own home! We have 4 simple steps to help you. Now, this is a process so let it evolve and be patient with yourself as you create a home you love.

TIP 1: BE FREE OF THE LABEL

Create a Pinterest Board specifically for the room you’re designing and take a week to Pin what you love. Don’t only pin things with the style you think you’re going for. Be free and pin everything you love! Once you have a good amount of pins on a board (15-20) look for common themes. Is it warm tones, glam accents, vintage accessories? Write those themes down in a note in your photo along with other details you will need while decorating your space including dimensions and a list of things you may need.

TIP 2: USE A NEUTRAL PALETTE ON THE WALLS

From Boho to Modern to Farmhouse and even Traditional we see white walls are very common. You’ll see this as a theme in all the homes we showed you. Lots of white walls. We love a pop of color, but when you love a ton of styles sometimes it’s best to run with a neutral wall and then get bold with accents. A neutral palette is going to help you feel free to be bold and mix things up with accessories.

It also will help you with any commitment issues you might be having with your design. So often I find that people just don’t design a space because they simply are afraid they aren’t going to like living with that style for long. If you start with a neutral palette and mix styles with accessories it’s not as scary to jump in. If you feel like the room doesn’t have enough pizzaz after you’ve been decorating it for a while then add an accent wall.

TIP 3: MAKE A DESIGN BOARD FOR YOURSELF

You can use Canva or a grid app and put photos of the pieces of furniture you like all together. It doesn’t need to be anything formal but having your bigger purchases all together to see how you feel about it will help wrap your head around your design. Things I like to see together are sofas, accent chairs, rugs, and lighting. From there you can play with accessories since they are generally not a very big investment.

TIP 4: RECRUIT A FRIEND

If you have a design that you want to incorporate in your home but are struggling to make it happen phone a friend that has that design style. It’s always nice to get a second pair of eyes on a project to help you get inspired.

We hope this helps you see how you can design a home you love without being boxed in by a design style. Be free and decorate with what you LOVE! What is your favorite style? What styles do you love to see mixed?Share in the comments.

PIN FOR LATER

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4 Comments

  1. This was a very helpful post! Thanks to both of you for your enjoyable videos and great examples of homes put together with great style.

  2. So glad I found this post! I love farmhouse, but find I’m really drawn to MCM pieces for dining. This was is such a good guide.

  3. I am vintage, coastal, farmhouse and mid-century modern. I need help with finding a dining room table.

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