Harmonizing interior decor across architectural styles
February 9, 2025 11:36 AM Subscribe
A lot of classic interior aesthetics (like MCM, Arts & Crafts, Scandi...) seem to work best when they're overlaid on houses with architecture that matches. That's fine, but what style matches generic US McArchitecture besides "latest lame Instagram thing"? Can anyone recommend good expert resources for organically layering Home Style A atop Home Architecture B in planning a room remodel or furniture refresh?
For instance, to my inexperienced and literalist eye, the interiors of 2015- vintage US suburban houses all seem to cry out for white distressed farmhouse/ Live Laugh Love decor, 1990s ones for Tuscan/ Olive Garden and 1970s for orange shag carpet and wood paneling. Many people dislike these styles, so what are the options if someone wanted to instead try styling the 2015 house with light touches of 1920s Craftsman or the 1970s house with, like, neoclassical vibes, while aiming for a look that's harmonious rather than Frankenhouse-y?
Either general principles or examples of instances where this has been done effectively, particularly with kind of bad underlying architecture, would be very welcome. Thanks!
For instance, to my inexperienced and literalist eye, the interiors of 2015- vintage US suburban houses all seem to cry out for white distressed farmhouse/ Live Laugh Love decor, 1990s ones for Tuscan/ Olive Garden and 1970s for orange shag carpet and wood paneling. Many people dislike these styles, so what are the options if someone wanted to instead try styling the 2015 house with light touches of 1920s Craftsman or the 1970s house with, like, neoclassical vibes, while aiming for a look that's harmonious rather than Frankenhouse-y?
Either general principles or examples of instances where this has been done effectively, particularly with kind of bad underlying architecture, would be very welcome. Thanks!
I am not an interior designer, but I work with them in my day job - I am 99% sure they would advise reading up thoroughly on the principles of the look you want to integrate.
ex. styling the 2015 house with light touches of 1920s Craftsman = check out a bunch of books by the masters of Craftsman. Coffee table books with big glossy spreads, and particularly any writings that contain the design intent statements, and anything that includes quantifiable definitions of the genre. You'll notice certain patterns arise across that style (relationship to room heights; perpendicular vs curvilinear shapes; is furniture low slung and relaxed or high backed and proper; does the style call for maximilast mixing or harmonious matching; are floor plans typically open or segmented; are finishes wooden / glass / metallic etc.)
Sure, those writings are going to speak to (then) new, ground-up interior+exterior builds - but the interior principles can absolutely be extrapolated onto a different building. So even if the 'bones' of your 2015 house look decidedly 2015, the principles of a certain design style can be applied to that space, because in the end, any interior space is all planes, lines, hues, volumes, materials, and the relationships between them.
I am not sure if there are any shortcuts beyond that, maybe there are blogs or pinterest pins that have specialized in certain reno niches.
posted by seemoorglass at 12:39 PM on February 9 [3 favorites]
ex. styling the 2015 house with light touches of 1920s Craftsman = check out a bunch of books by the masters of Craftsman. Coffee table books with big glossy spreads, and particularly any writings that contain the design intent statements, and anything that includes quantifiable definitions of the genre. You'll notice certain patterns arise across that style (relationship to room heights; perpendicular vs curvilinear shapes; is furniture low slung and relaxed or high backed and proper; does the style call for maximilast mixing or harmonious matching; are floor plans typically open or segmented; are finishes wooden / glass / metallic etc.)
Sure, those writings are going to speak to (then) new, ground-up interior+exterior builds - but the interior principles can absolutely be extrapolated onto a different building. So even if the 'bones' of your 2015 house look decidedly 2015, the principles of a certain design style can be applied to that space, because in the end, any interior space is all planes, lines, hues, volumes, materials, and the relationships between them.
I am not sure if there are any shortcuts beyond that, maybe there are blogs or pinterest pins that have specialized in certain reno niches.
posted by seemoorglass at 12:39 PM on February 9 [3 favorites]
I forgot to mention one of my favorite resources: Phaidon imprint is a really great publisher of art / architecture / design "coffee table" books that are extremely high quality and often contain a lot of great writing in addition to the large clear photos.
Often, I will look for Phaidon books via this ebay reseller and can usually find lightly used copies at steep discounts.
posted by seemoorglass at 12:51 PM on February 9
Often, I will look for Phaidon books via this ebay reseller and can usually find lightly used copies at steep discounts.
posted by seemoorglass at 12:51 PM on February 9
Best answer: No era really had only one look, right? Try magazine articles from your era of choice; they'll talk about modest versions and regional variations.
Public libraries often have interestingly dated interior design books. I find it VERY educational to my eye to see an, eg, 1980s take on Arts and Crafts, and to pick out what I still like and what is hilariously 1980s and what Arts and Crafts element seems unkillable.
Beyond that, a zillion YouTubes of people redecorating with Ikea and curb finds and a lot of paint.
posted by clew at 1:48 PM on February 9 [2 favorites]
Public libraries often have interestingly dated interior design books. I find it VERY educational to my eye to see an, eg, 1980s take on Arts and Crafts, and to pick out what I still like and what is hilariously 1980s and what Arts and Crafts element seems unkillable.
Beyond that, a zillion YouTubes of people redecorating with Ikea and curb finds and a lot of paint.
posted by clew at 1:48 PM on February 9 [2 favorites]
I think the floor is the biggest determinant factor. You can paint walls and exchange light fixtures and kitchen cabinets to fit any style, but you can’t really have scandi and carpeted floors, for example. Layout varies anyways, the only other architectural fixed features I can think of are windows, doors, and maybe skirting and moulding. The latter can be changed and the former are not a very big factor, once the floor, walls, lights, furniture, fabrics, etc. are coherent.
posted by meijusa at 12:42 AM on February 10 [1 favorite]
posted by meijusa at 12:42 AM on February 10 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The correct reply is "whatever you like, everything can be done", but let me qualify that.
Lay people put a lot of emphasis on style, but style is really not that important. What is important is that your interior design is based on the fundamental spatial properties of the house: the proportions, the daylight, the sequencing of the spaces (there are more but right now my words aren't obeying me, I may come back later).
You may be surprised by how much you can change a space, there is no law against moving walls or changing panelling or floors, least of all a formal requirement. The main restriction is budget. The building's facade can be an issue too: it's hard to change windows and doors in a facade and rarely worth it. But there are workarounds to deal with that problem.
After you have determined the basic properties/qualities of your house and made a plan that makes the most of these, you can begin to think of what style you want. A lady in the village near our farm just loves classical architecture, which is hilarious, given that both her home and her store are in vernacular buildings with steeply pitched roofs, low ceilings and small windows. But she pulls it off because she goes with the reality instead of against it, accepting the basic proportions as her given foundation. I can't show you her houses, but here is a building that might have inspired her. I should ask.
Anyway, now you need to determine what the essentials of the style you prefer are. You are on to it, in your descriptions of the styles of different eras. But you need to be almost scientific about it. I hate moodboards, but gathering images and analyzing them is a good way to go about this. Details go where elements meet: where the wall meets the floor, the ceiling and the openings. These details are what you are looking for.
The craftsman style is very doable in a contemporary house, at a price, because the characteristics can be added in: you can add wooden panels, solid planks for the floor, built in furniture and moldings, even some beams. I feel a big problem with new houses is really bad proportions, and you can use these details to improve that: by building a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets, you can narrow a room that is a little too formless and make it feel more deliberate. Maybe instead of the kitchen island, build a wall with a window/bar situation for a little more seperation between kitchen and dining. You don't want to build an accurate replica, though. You want natural materials and warm colors, but maybe take it a bit easy with the wallpaper, compared to the 1920s, or paint the woodwork.
Any form of modernism/minimalism including scandi style can be difficult, because you need to get rid of the details, and they do serve a purpose in contemporary construction, which is to hide things that are hard to get perfect. Imagine where the floorboards meet the drywall. This can be very hard to get right. By covering up the meeting with some form of skirting board, you don't have to worry. It can be done, though. This is Richard Rogers' own home, which is a transformation of two townhouses in Chelsea, London, but the same principles could be applied to a contemporary house. The images in this article show that you don't have to rip everything out to achieve a minimalist effect, paint can be your friend, too. BTW, while wooden floors are indeed the most normal flooring in a scandi style interior, you can have carpeting. But it has to be pure wool or another natural material like sisal.
Then comes the furnishing etc. Again, anything goes and devil is in the details. That said, color is really difficult in the US. It's the same with clothes. I don't know why this is, but it seems you have to be rich to get good colors in textiles for upholstery, pillows, curtains, rugs etc. Probably this is why beige is so hated: all the beiges in the US are objectively ugly (take this as a joke, but it's funny because it's true). When I read magazines about interior design from the US, I can see that a lot of interior designers import stuff from the UK and France, even paint! You'd think white is harmless, but then you'd be wrong. Sigh.
As for sources, there are tons of interior design magazines, but I can't think of one that specifically focuses on your question. However, the person who edits The Guardian's Homes section seems to be quite fascinated by unusual transformations, so that may be a place to find inspiration.
posted by mumimor at 4:18 AM on February 10 [6 favorites]
Lay people put a lot of emphasis on style, but style is really not that important. What is important is that your interior design is based on the fundamental spatial properties of the house: the proportions, the daylight, the sequencing of the spaces (there are more but right now my words aren't obeying me, I may come back later).
You may be surprised by how much you can change a space, there is no law against moving walls or changing panelling or floors, least of all a formal requirement. The main restriction is budget. The building's facade can be an issue too: it's hard to change windows and doors in a facade and rarely worth it. But there are workarounds to deal with that problem.
After you have determined the basic properties/qualities of your house and made a plan that makes the most of these, you can begin to think of what style you want. A lady in the village near our farm just loves classical architecture, which is hilarious, given that both her home and her store are in vernacular buildings with steeply pitched roofs, low ceilings and small windows. But she pulls it off because she goes with the reality instead of against it, accepting the basic proportions as her given foundation. I can't show you her houses, but here is a building that might have inspired her. I should ask.
Anyway, now you need to determine what the essentials of the style you prefer are. You are on to it, in your descriptions of the styles of different eras. But you need to be almost scientific about it. I hate moodboards, but gathering images and analyzing them is a good way to go about this. Details go where elements meet: where the wall meets the floor, the ceiling and the openings. These details are what you are looking for.
The craftsman style is very doable in a contemporary house, at a price, because the characteristics can be added in: you can add wooden panels, solid planks for the floor, built in furniture and moldings, even some beams. I feel a big problem with new houses is really bad proportions, and you can use these details to improve that: by building a whole wall of floor-to-ceiling cabinets, you can narrow a room that is a little too formless and make it feel more deliberate. Maybe instead of the kitchen island, build a wall with a window/bar situation for a little more seperation between kitchen and dining. You don't want to build an accurate replica, though. You want natural materials and warm colors, but maybe take it a bit easy with the wallpaper, compared to the 1920s, or paint the woodwork.
Any form of modernism/minimalism including scandi style can be difficult, because you need to get rid of the details, and they do serve a purpose in contemporary construction, which is to hide things that are hard to get perfect. Imagine where the floorboards meet the drywall. This can be very hard to get right. By covering up the meeting with some form of skirting board, you don't have to worry. It can be done, though. This is Richard Rogers' own home, which is a transformation of two townhouses in Chelsea, London, but the same principles could be applied to a contemporary house. The images in this article show that you don't have to rip everything out to achieve a minimalist effect, paint can be your friend, too. BTW, while wooden floors are indeed the most normal flooring in a scandi style interior, you can have carpeting. But it has to be pure wool or another natural material like sisal.
Then comes the furnishing etc. Again, anything goes and devil is in the details. That said, color is really difficult in the US. It's the same with clothes. I don't know why this is, but it seems you have to be rich to get good colors in textiles for upholstery, pillows, curtains, rugs etc. Probably this is why beige is so hated: all the beiges in the US are objectively ugly (take this as a joke, but it's funny because it's true). When I read magazines about interior design from the US, I can see that a lot of interior designers import stuff from the UK and France, even paint! You'd think white is harmless, but then you'd be wrong. Sigh.
As for sources, there are tons of interior design magazines, but I can't think of one that specifically focuses on your question. However, the person who edits The Guardian's Homes section seems to be quite fascinated by unusual transformations, so that may be a place to find inspiration.
posted by mumimor at 4:18 AM on February 10 [6 favorites]
Best answer: Mumimor's comment is solid gold.
For my part, I would add that this is alllll about exposing yourself to a lot of design to cultivate your eye (for the conventions, mores, and rules of particular styles) and your taste (what you personally like and dislike).
In addition to glossy design books, decor mags (specific shoutout to The World of Interiors, probably available at your local library), online home tours, and home reno TV, I highly recommend you go visit house museums. Also spend time in the interiors/decorative arts departments of any nearby art museums. You need to see, yes, but also stand in space and feel with your body. There is pretty much nothing new under the sun when it comes to humans building and decorating their dwellings, and architecture and decor are rarely in lockstep outside of showrooms. The more you see, the more you'll begin to identify what is it about your house that you hate, what you can work with, and what you want to highlight.
If it helps, think of developing the ability to see a space as a designer would as akin to developing your eye for what clothes suit you, or your discernment for what makes a talented sports player, for example. It's time and experience and attention.
posted by minervous at 6:29 AM on February 10 [2 favorites]
For my part, I would add that this is alllll about exposing yourself to a lot of design to cultivate your eye (for the conventions, mores, and rules of particular styles) and your taste (what you personally like and dislike).
In addition to glossy design books, decor mags (specific shoutout to The World of Interiors, probably available at your local library), online home tours, and home reno TV, I highly recommend you go visit house museums. Also spend time in the interiors/decorative arts departments of any nearby art museums. You need to see, yes, but also stand in space and feel with your body. There is pretty much nothing new under the sun when it comes to humans building and decorating their dwellings, and architecture and decor are rarely in lockstep outside of showrooms. The more you see, the more you'll begin to identify what is it about your house that you hate, what you can work with, and what you want to highlight.
If it helps, think of developing the ability to see a space as a designer would as akin to developing your eye for what clothes suit you, or your discernment for what makes a talented sports player, for example. It's time and experience and attention.
posted by minervous at 6:29 AM on February 10 [2 favorites]
Oh, and mumimor's comment also reminded me of this NYT feature (gift link) on a woman who radically transformed her small house in California.
posted by minervous at 6:35 AM on February 10 [1 favorite]
posted by minervous at 6:35 AM on February 10 [1 favorite]
My opinion on this: people care *a lot* about what the outside of homes look like - all the judgement is there - even mcmansion hell is more about the outsides of homes than the inside. Historical districts don't care.
Once inside, rooms are square (mostly) and nobody cares at all about decorating based on the prevailing architectural styles at the time when a home was created. Even muimor's comments about windows and light -there are tons of homes around that have no windows down an entire side. There are homes in my neighborhood with no windows on the front. Caring about windows is more modern than you might think.
I think if you watch home decorating shows you might think that more houses get updated than actually do. Most people don't change the interior of their homes that much. Even terrible things like carpet in a bathroom next to a tub is easy to find.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on February 10
Once inside, rooms are square (mostly) and nobody cares at all about decorating based on the prevailing architectural styles at the time when a home was created. Even muimor's comments about windows and light -there are tons of homes around that have no windows down an entire side. There are homes in my neighborhood with no windows on the front. Caring about windows is more modern than you might think.
I think if you watch home decorating shows you might think that more houses get updated than actually do. Most people don't change the interior of their homes that much. Even terrible things like carpet in a bathroom next to a tub is easy to find.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:18 AM on February 10
Best answer: I think proportions furniture in response to rooms, especially ceiling height, are a very big indicator of what decor will work in a home of a different era. Overstuffed 90s furniture is a tough match in an Eichler, but I think more subdued Art Deco pieces from the late20s-30s work fine. Delicate furniture often works in Victorian homes, but mid-century furniture can look too squat and horizontal sometimes in tall, narrow rooms. And while it's certainly easy to just buy furniture according to your home's era, I live in a dark wood Craftsman bungalow, but I'm actually not that fond of filling Craftsman homes with Craftsman furniture. We have a mix of not too overstuffed 1930s furniture that is solid enough to match the mass of the Craftsman design elements, if that makes sense.
As a designer, the basic, relatively modern (in the time sense) American house without a lot of character is a tough space to respond to, personally. Instead of starting from a style, look for other design cues: what are some nice attributes of the room you want to enhance? How will the room function, what do you want to do in it? Is there a view out the window or a nice piece of art to take some color cues from? How do you want to feel in this room, and how do you achieve that with shapes, textures, colors?
I like the idea of going to the library and looking at design books from different eras. I really like color in interiors, and I like people who personalize their spaces and make them comfortable for themselves and their kids, pets, friends. A designer I like who works in the more eclectic space is Reath Design, and they not only post their own work but influences on their instagram. Their work may not be quite to your taste, but you'll see furniture of different eras in different style homes, and you can evaluate what it is that make those pieces and spaces work (or not). Eclectic design is a good search term to look at design where a strict adherence to eras is eschewed in favor of size, shape, texture in creating spaces (not all Eclectic design is full of bright colors- that's not a necessity). Apartment Therapy house tours might be helpful too- lots of people making due with places they rent or otherwise not entirely ideal.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:45 AM on February 10 [2 favorites]
As a designer, the basic, relatively modern (in the time sense) American house without a lot of character is a tough space to respond to, personally. Instead of starting from a style, look for other design cues: what are some nice attributes of the room you want to enhance? How will the room function, what do you want to do in it? Is there a view out the window or a nice piece of art to take some color cues from? How do you want to feel in this room, and how do you achieve that with shapes, textures, colors?
I like the idea of going to the library and looking at design books from different eras. I really like color in interiors, and I like people who personalize their spaces and make them comfortable for themselves and their kids, pets, friends. A designer I like who works in the more eclectic space is Reath Design, and they not only post their own work but influences on their instagram. Their work may not be quite to your taste, but you'll see furniture of different eras in different style homes, and you can evaluate what it is that make those pieces and spaces work (or not). Eclectic design is a good search term to look at design where a strict adherence to eras is eschewed in favor of size, shape, texture in creating spaces (not all Eclectic design is full of bright colors- that's not a necessity). Apartment Therapy house tours might be helpful too- lots of people making due with places they rent or otherwise not entirely ideal.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:45 AM on February 10 [2 favorites]
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posted by Bardolph at 11:42 AM on February 9