Exceptionally Eclectic: Decorating Tips for an Eclectic Interior Design

Without us knowing, our homes are personal museums. They are chock-full of objects we have collected and cherished over time. Gifts from friends, inherited pieces, awesome finds in vintage shops you just had to bring home... It all ends up in your home and finds itself a place. Although it may seem like it's slowly cluttering up your interior with out-of-style items, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, with some careful thought and a bit of boldness, you could transform your home into a one-of-a-kind place with the help of some eclectic interior design.

Eclectic interiors combine elements from various styles into a single interior design. The term comes from the Greek eklektikos, which literally means "choosing the best". And that's really the marvellous thing about eclectic interiors: you can just pick what you like best from a few styles and mix it together into one wonderfully original design. But at the same time, this doesn't mean you should place things together randomly. There is some logic behind eclectic interior design. “So what,” you may ask, “is then the difference between a genuine eclectic interior design and a messy collection of stuff?” The trick is to let items complement each other. The fun of eclectic interiors is that they are colourful, cheery, and have an abundance of objects in various styles. But at the same time, this jumble of things still appears to be in harmony. That's because in some way or another, the eclectic furniture, accessories, walls, ceilings, lamps and whatnot all complement each other. They all follow the same underlying theme and therefore do not seem at odds.

If you could do with some help in harmonising your home design in some way, then here are three eclectic decorating tips for you: 

1. Colours. No matter how different your various items are, colour can unite them all into one balanced design. Choose a few colours and let them dominate the room. Preferably a neutral colour with some bright colours as accents. Try to let these colours show up in unexpected places for a playful effect, for example by using coloured pendant cords. In the example above, the dominating neutrals are grey and brown. The green and blue provide a lively contrast, giving more attention to interesting features such as lights and accessories. 

2. Styles. Although eclectic interiors are all about mixing various styles, it's a good idea to stick to just two or three styles. There are various styles that blend together smoothly, but the real fun lies in creating daring designs that mix together styles that at first seem to clash. Combine a search lamp tripod with a retro egg chair. A  bunker cage pendant light with a chesterfield. Whatever it is, just make sure other items are also in those those two opposing styles. 

In the image above, a colour explosion greets the viewer, but smooth elements calm it down just enough for it to become a unified space. Oriental, classic and modern interior design all blend into a playful, characteristic living room.

3. Textures & Materials. Another way of uniting varying objects is by making sure there are one or multiple dominating textures or materials. Below, you can see that not only colour - or rather the lack thereof - is used to bind things together, but also texture and materials. Soft and smooth are key here, as polished wood and comfy textile and fur can be found throughout the entire bedroom. Just the thing to get a good night's sleep.

Finally, we can't emphasise enough: don’t be scared of abundance and to experiment. Make sure your home contains lots of personal stuff. Things that mean something to you. Let your interior be one that represents you personally. Use your own little DIY projects, souvenirs from holidays, gifts, pieces of artwork. If you arrange that all according to one of the tips above, a beautiful, eclectic interior design will be all yours.

How do you guys arrange your eclectic interiors? Perhaps you've used one of the tips we've mentioned above, or maybe you've done it totally different. We'd love to hear about it!

Want to explore more? Check out our range of pendant lights, wall lights and table lamps.

 (image 1 by trendland, image 2 by shelterness, image 3 by essenziale-hd, , image 4 by stylehomes, image 5 by homedesignlover, image 6 by trendir, , image 7 by apartmenttherapy)