How to Mix Interior Design Styles in Your Small Apartment
This post may contain affiliate links for my products I love. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
So you love a bunch of different interior design styles and you want to mix them all together, but how do you do so without making your apartment look like a random hodgepodge?
In this post, I'm giving you my tips for how to mix different interior styles without overwhelming your space.
And this topic is actually inspired by one of my Instagram followers, @casonrosa, who asked the question, “What if you love two or more styles? Like boho and vintage glam? Can styles be blended?”
This is definitely a question I get asked a lot, so let's talk about the art of mixing different interior styles!
Would you rather watch than read? Here’s the video! ↓
So the short answer to the question of whether or not you can mix different interior styles is yes. Actually it's a hell yes. Not only is it okay to mix different interior styles… I highly encourage it.
First of all, I don't think it's really possible to stick with only one interior style. I mean, you'd have to have a lot of discipline to just stick with one style religiously.
And frankly, it's just fun to play with a bunch of different interior design styles! Playing around with a different styles in your space is a great way to put your own spin on your interior styling. It's like coming up with your own decor recipe, like your own signature concoction of styles. Basically, mixing styles is where you can really express yourself creatively.
So here are some ways that I approach mixing different interior design styles in a small apartment without making it feel like a hodgepodge!
1. Dial in your personal style
Before you start mixing styles together willy nilly, you want to really dial in on what your personal style is. And I mean get crystal clear on what different styles out there you genuinely gravitate toward.
When you're scrolling through Pinterest, what are the commonalities between the pins that you're saving?What do the images have in common? Are you seeing a lot of rustic elements throughout your pins? Are you seeing a bunch of glam? Take note! You can even get a little nerdy about it and literally list out what interior styles you find yourself liking and what you specifically like about them!
Try not to be passive when taking in decor inspiration, and instead be very active about what is inspiring you. Become a student of your own personal style. Start studying yourself and what you like.
This sort of personal style self-discovery phase is crucial for mixing different interior styles together because you want to know what you love upfront! Otherwise your styling can turn into a runaway train where you're not really sure what you're doing, and that's how the random hodgepodge happens.
Once you feel like you've really honed in on which interior styles out there you genuinely love, then you can start mixing those styles together. And I have a few tricks and styling tactics that will help you do so in a way where these different styles feel harmonious together rather than dissonant. And actually, a little bit of dissonance is a good thing - and I'll get to that further down in this post - but overall, we want it to feel harmonious.
2. Try choosing a neutral base color
One thing you can do to make multiple styles work together in an aesthetically pleasing way is to choose a neutral base color (the main color that occurs throughout your space, especially for the larger pieces of furniture and decor) that unifies the space. Neutral colors include white, black, gray, taupe, and different shades of brown.
Now, you don't have to choose a neutral base color. You can go crazy with color if you want, especially if you're a maximalist. But a good trick for making it all work together in a really nice pleasing way is to choose a neutral base color for those larger items and accents.
I've used this example a few times before, but for a lot of the time in my studio apartment, my unifying neutral base color was dark gray. This made it so that even though my studio was quite small - 500 square feet - and I happen to possess a maximalist sensibility, simply having that neutral base color of gray provided a nice clean canvas for all of the different styling I was incorporating.
So when in doubt, choose a neutral base color. Make it so that your bedspread, your couch, and all the big things in your space are all that one neutral color that unifies the space.
3. Choose a primary style, a secondary style, etc.
Another tactic you can use when mixing multiple styles in one space (while still keeping things cohesive) is to choose one primary style and one secondary style. And then you can choose a tertiary style and so on if you like!
Basically, this approach is to create a kind of interior style hierarchy for your space. This means making one style really shine and act like act as the main character of your space, then working in other styles in smaller and smaller degrees from there.
Think about interior styling as storytelling. Whether you realize it or not, with every type of creative expression you are telling a story. And with interior styling, you're telling a visual story within your space.
So if you think of the average story, you have a cast of characters; you have the main character (the hero, the protagonist) and then you have the other characters that help propel the story in their own ways. You can think of your interior styling in a similar sense, especially when it comes to mixing multiple styles.
So when creating a cohesive visual story in your space, think about the different interior styles as a cast of characters. Which style do you want to be the main character? Which style do you want to be sidekick? You can even choose a villain of the story if you want, and then have that represented in your space. I mean, the possibilities are endless. 😉
So think about that style hierarchy. What does your cast of characters look like? And how big of a part does each of them play?
4. Find your through lines
Another great way to mix different interior styles while keeping things cohesive is to find your through lines. You may be mixing a bunch of different styles, but what are the things that you're repeating that unify them?
You can repeat the same accent colors, for example. Let’s say you have glam, rustic, mid-century modern all present in one space; they can still feel unified by the repetition of the same color.
You can also repeat materials. Maybe you have a lot of gold elements in your space, or maybe you have a lot of wood. Maybe there are sequins in a lot of different places. There are so many ways that you can use the repetition of materials to unify a space!
You can also repeat themes and subject matter. This is a great way to incorporate the things you love - your personality pieces - in your space. What are the things you're a fan of? What do you geek out about? For example, I'm personally a huge music nerd, so I love visually implementing music into my space. And by repeating the subject matter of music, that creates a through line. So no matter how many different styles are going on, they are all unified by the subject matter of music.
So when you're mixing styles in your space, think about what you can repeat so that even though there might be a bunch of different styles going on, they're unified by the through lines of your choice. Color, material, subject matter. Think about how you can repeat these things and you'll find that repeating something creates a sense of cohesiveness!
5. Embrace a dash of dissonance
Another thing to keep in mind while mixing different interior styles in your space is you don't have to shy away from dissonance. We've been talking a lot about harmony and cohesiveness, but a little bit of dissonance can make a space infinitely more interesting and unique.
And what I mean by dissonance is little moments in your styling that are unexpected, imperfect, and even break the rules a little bit. It means embracing a little bit of the opposite of harmony. It's jazz, you know? With all of its dissonant chords and experimentation, your styling can have some experimental jazz in it.
Dissonance can be those little surprising details in your space. It can be like a big feathered lamp in an otherwise minimalist space. It can be a big statement-making piece of art that doesn't necessarily make sense in the room, but it somehow looks cool and stylish nonetheless. Well executed dissonance in a space is the kind of thing that makes people say, “Whoa, that looks so cool. I never would've thought to put that there!”
So in this quest for harmony and cohesiveness among different interior styles, don't be afraid of a little bit of dissonance. Feel free to get a little weird with your decor!
So those were some of my tips for mixing multiple styles in a small space!
Again, I am a firm believer that mixing a bunch of different styles is a wonderful thing. This is how you keep things interesting in your space. Have fun with it, experiment, and massage things around in your apartment until it feels right. There's a lot of trial and error involved in this, so don't be too hard on yourself if things don't immediately click together!
Let me know in the comments below, what interior styles do you like to mix together in your space?
