1. SOFTEN A KITCHEN WITH VINTAGE FURNISHINGS AND ACCESSORIES
How often have you heard the kitchen referred to as the heart of the home? Yet how often is this key room overlooked when it comes to adding personality with meaningful decorative details? Without these more individual and personal elements in your kitchen ideas, the kitchen risks feeling sterile, empty, and unwelcoming.
2. DINE IN STYLE – TRANSITIONAL STYLE
Mixing traditional and contemporary styles not only adds heart and soul to a space, but can give it a sense of humor too. Interior designer Tancred Vilucchi is a big advocate of transitional decorating schemes with an eclectic mix of styles and eras. In his LA dining room scheme, above, dinner guests are entertained in a truly luxurious setting, and the dining room ideas feature a mix of antiques and modern furnishings and a generous side serving of fun.
3. MIX UNEXPECTED MODERN PIECES WITH TRADITIONAL FEATURES
For San Francisco-based interior designer Kendall Wilkinson, applying a label to a decorating style is far less important than achieving a balanced room scheme with well-chosen furnishings. 'As designers, we often shy away from the term transitional as it feels like a convenient catchphrase for an exciting design that brilliantly and thoughtfully mixes old and new, classic and contemporary,' says Kendall. 'All design is essentially transitional because we design for each client's personality and uniqueness. For us, the art of design is in the mix.'
4. BRING IN BOLD COLORS, GRAPHIC SHAPES AND PATTERN
'When we are working with a client that would like to repurpose an existing item into their new design, we first and foremost have a discussion about how the item could impact the overall design and aesthetic of the space,' says designer Mark Schubert of Phillip Harrison Interiors who created the bold eat-in kitchen, pictured above, by introducing strong shapes, patterns and colors against the backdrop of a traditional fireplace and alcove set-up.
5. LINK OLD AND NEW WITH A MODERN REFLECTION OF ORIGINAL FEATURES
Sometimes a home's architectural features and period detailing are so striking that it can be difficult to know how to balance the interior design. This Neo-Italian Renaissance mansion in Brooklyn, designed by architect Montrose Morris and built in 1898, presented just such a problem prior to being put on the market.
6. LOOK TO ARTWORKS AND SCULPTURES TO ADD HERITAGE TO A CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN
In a contemporary and clean-lined open-plan family room or great room setting it's worth making space for some more traditional or classic furnishings or accessories. These pieces will add to the room's story and just as we've seen in the other rooms around the house, will help to create a more layered look.
7. TRY OLD AND NEW SIDE BY SIDE IN A FOYER
Hallways are a great place to showcase transitional decorating ideas, and whether it's an imposing formal space or a bright and welcoming entrance like this one, combining modern and traditional elements will help to create a good first impression on visitors.
8.PAIR BRIGHT, MODERN UPHOLSTERY WITH CLASSIC ANTIQUES
We've already explored the idea of introducing contemporary shaped sofas to a room to balance traditional elements around them but it's the bright contemporary color of the sofa that's doing the work in this room's transitional decorating ideas.