Eclectic interiors – rooms built up over time

Eclectic rooms are built over time. They bring together inherited pieces, finds and new purchases, and they work when something holds the whole composition together.

The feeling

The room should look as though it belongs to someone. Furniture from different periods can sit together, but it needs to share either a palette, a material character or a sense of proportion. Mixing all three at once becomes chaotic.

The colours

A muted base makes the more varied elements feel intentional. Brown, beige and black support most combinations. Individual saturated colours — terracotta, green — work best in textiles and art.

The materials

Walnut beside pine, marble against lacquered metal, wool against rattan. What ties the mix together is often a recurring tone in the wood or a metal repeated in several details.

How to get started

• Decide on one common denominator before mixing: colour, wood or metal.
• Let one object be the room's main character and keep the rest quieter.
• Group collections instead of spreading them out.
• When the room feels full, replace rather than add.