11 Ways to Wake Up a Traditional Room

My family’s heritage is in the furniture manufacturing industry, so I can’t deny being drawn to traditional style. But being a designer in modern times, I’ve come to love modern style as well. In fact, I’ve come to learn that traditional interiors actually benefit from a little modern flair.

If you’re feeling like your traditional interiors are just a little off — or boring — there are some simple modern design moves you can make to instantly freshen the look without unrooting it from its soulful connection with the past.

1. Anchor the room with black. Traditional rooms often have muted shades. Historically, textile manufacturing and fiber dyeing processes weren’t able to produce fabrics and patterns in hues as vibrant and saturated as the ones we see today. Using black adds a level of contrast that wasn’t achievable years ago and makes a room look more current.

You don’t need a lot. Black lamp shades, upholstery, throw pillows, picture frames — any of these can add an edge of graphic appeal that will update the look. Some design schools of thought even firmly state that every room, whether traditional or modern, needs a bit of black to ground it.

Every Room Needs a Little Bit of Black

2. Add a high-contrast graphic pattern. Textile production has come a long way. Today’s mills and print processes are capable of producing high-contrast patterns in saturated colors. Traditional furniture paired with traditional textiles and wall colors can be so muted. Adding a graphic element instantly delivers a wake-up call to a tired room. Just check out the punch these drapes introduce.

Martha O'Hara Interiors

3. Mix in an unexpected color. Traditional rooms so often feature patterned textiles that just beg to be matched. A mismatched approach with a bold color enlivens the mix.

Note how the pink here is used. It’s not just a single heap of bold sitting in a corner. The pink on the blanket was invited in by the pink in the pillow and is reinforced by the pink flowers.

Rachel Reider Interiors

4. Edit. Many traditional rooms are long overdue for an edit. Accessories and tchotchkes are collected over the years and nothing stands out, even if all the items individually are lovely. Choose a favorite piece to take the role of the focal point, then a couple of supporting characters, and stash the rest.

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5. Lighten up the rugs. If you’re tired of your living room, check to see if you have traditional furniture on a traditional rug with matched side tables and lamps. That might be your problem. This look often lacks tension, which creates strong design that rarely gets tiring.

If you absolutely love your furniture with its original upholstery, try a modern rug to give your room hip appeal. A sisal or sea grass is a great go-to, but if you don’t prefer natural fibers, you might like a bold, graphic rug like stripes or an animal print.

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Garrison Hullinger Interior Design Inc.

6. Add an upholstered ottoman. To make a traditional room more hip, look for ways to relax the style. Comfort is key. In a living room, nothing does this better than an oversize upholstered ottoman. It looks formal but says, “Go ahead. Put your feet up.”

Turn a Shipping Pallet Into a Stylish Ottoman

Gillian Gillies Interiors (GGI)

7. Reevaluate your upholstery. The key to taking a traditional piece from tired to stylish is the tension between the furniture style and the textile you select. Patterns like tight checks (as seen here), herringbone or houndstooth can update traditional furniture just right.

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Tobi Fairley Interior Design

8. Update your lamp shades. Look for simple, classic drum or box shapes and skip the pleats, scallops and odd shapes. Those styles tend to look dated. Pick a simple shade that is proportional to the base and that echoes the base’s shape. Black shades, like the ones here, make almost any lamp instantly stylish.

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TY LARKINS INTERIORS

9. Break up the sets. A matching set of a table and chairs was suited to the more formal lifestyles of days gone by. To relax your room, it may be time to break up the set. If you’re happy with your table, then change the chairs to enliven the look.

There are so many ways you can play with this. Add new his-and-her chairs at either end, for instance, or upholster the two chairs at either end in a different fabric.

Mary Prince

10. Introduce some reflection. When I think of a tired traditional room, I picture a room in muted shades all of similar value (degree of lightness or darkness), with too many matte surfaces. To enliven that type of room, introduce tension by bringing in shiny or glossy objects. This may be the key element that can take a traditional room from yesterday to today.

TY LARKINS INTERIORS

11. Embrace the abstract. Contemporary art and a clear coffee table have updated this traditional room.

If there is one outstanding characteristic of a tired traditional room, it is too much formality. So loosen up and have some fun!