An eclectic look is never an easy thing to pull off so that it looks planned. Most of us have selected a style for our home’s living room design and try to stick to it. Nevertheless, there always seem to be one or two items that don’t quite fit the bill. If you want to make a virtue of this, then decorate your living room in a deliberately eclectic style.

The trick is to make sure the blending of different architectural and decorative styles is coherent. No one wants to sit in a living room that is just a jumble of ideas. In order to pull off an eclectic living room successfully don’t head in all directions at once. Pick styles that blend but use them in novel ways. Don’t try too many different styles all at once. If you have something that stands all on its own, in terms of style, make it a central feature. With eclectic interiors, usually less is more.

Stone, Wood And Leather.

A good combination of materials will always look complimentary. For an eclectic look you may, at first, think about avoiding this. However, combinations such as a stone wall, set against wooden beams or flooring often look unplanned, but work together. This is particularly so if your wood has an untreated finish to it or a form retains something of its natural state.

Add to this mix some leather, perhaps as a choice for your furniture upholstery, and you have three material elements working independently from one another but in unison. If you don’t have a stone wall, why not fake the look with some stone textured cushions?

Color Mash Up.

An eclectic living space will always be eye catching and to pull off the look extend your color palette from where you would normally bound yourself. White walls and ceilings give you a blank canvas on which to add some eclectic colors

Try some pinks and reds set against a shade of brown. If you add a work of art that ties your eclectic color scheme together in a single place, then it is surprising what you can get away with in the rest of the room. This is an ideal look if you like to purchase occasional pieces of vintage furniture which don’t match.

Rugs.

Carpets are not the ideal flooring for an eclectic living room. Remove yours and choose a rug that does not fill the entire floor space. Persian and Turkish rugs make for an ideal choice in an eclectic environment. Their traditional designs can seem busy, but they tie together diverse colors elsewhere. If your living room is a little more plain in it design, then go for a rug with a bold and repetitive design.

The One-Off Item.

Don’t pack your living room with unique objects otherwise your home will end up looking like an antiques shop. If you have an object that does not fit in with the rest of the décor at all, then make it a central feature. But don’t undo your good work by letting it get lost with too many others that vie for attention. Choose an individual, one-off feature and give it pride of place in your eclectic mixture of styles.

Art Works.

Art really does work in an eclectic living room. Choose differently sized pieces and go for a range of colors. Arrange your works of art in a seemingly random fashion over an entire wall. Use photographs and paintings to add to the eclectic nature of the rest of the room. Ideally, use differing styles, sizes and ages of the pieces on show. Choose things that you enjoy and like. If you enjoy all of the pieces individually, they will probably work together with some coherence.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.