If any of you receive D Home magazine in the mail, I am sure you saw the big cover that reads New Traditional. Some of you may be thinking, “please no!”, “This is awful”, or “This can’t be coming back”. But for others, your response may have been, “Hmm, this is pretty cool”, “I kind of like this”, or “I would have never thought to put this with that.”
New Traditional relies on layering along with the right amount of classic furniture and contemporary accents. The best new traditional rooms feel livable and approachable with a touch of luxury.
Traditional furniture and decor definitely have their time and place in specific homes, but when it’s overdone, it can feel heavy, dark, and super outdated. Modern furniture is clean and exciting, but sometimes it can feel cold and uncomfortable. This is where the happy medium called New Traditional comes in. This style is a mix of the old and new combined in perfect harmony to create a stunning and fun masterpiece that is timeless as well as timely. Now, when you apply New Traditional, you want to make sure it is done right. I am going to leave you with a few tips on ways to incorporate this unique style into your Stages.
Tip #1:
Animal Hides and Naturally Woven Rugs
Remember the super colorful, red, orange, oriental rugs that are often found in your grandmother’s homes. Well, that’s what we call old traditional. To bump it up to New Traditional, bring the animal hides and woven rugs into the mix. If you are brave enough try the layering effect!
Tip #2:
Classic Lines
Old traditional furniture tends to be dark, heavy, and ornate. When you are going for the New, you want classic lines and simple furniture. A way to maintain the classic, elegant style of the traditional look is to use furniture that follows traditional shapes while getting rid of the ornate details such as the claw feet or elaborately turned legs. Aim for more of the classically shaped piece with simple legs instead.
Tip #3:
Mix Up Your Eras (In Moderation)
When I think traditional, I think of a castle that is full of this dark, heavy, dusty furniture that has never been moved. Thankfully, that is actually not what it is today, but it is more ornately trimmed and styled than the contemporary furniture of today. I am sure you have all walked into a bedroom during a consultation that has been covered top to bottom in dark heavy matching wood furniture and it just makes you want to go in there with fresh paint and new accessories. The good thing is that it is easy to shake things up a bit by adding a few pieces of contemporary decor into the mix.
Tip #4
Go With A Gallery Wall
The great thing about a gallery wall is it will go with any style of home. If the furniture you are using to Stage with is traditional and dark, create a gallery wall that is white and black so you can add some modern to the room for balance.
Tip #5
Have some fun!
When Staging, there are rules, but they don’t have to be hard and fast rules. They can be tweaked just a little bit to add some pizazz! Have some fun playing around with some funky colors and patterns, old decor and new decor together, wallpaper suggestions and paint suggestions, rug patterns, whatever you can think of.
Hopefully these 5 tips have helped you understand the New Traditional style just a little bit more. Remember, trends can be used in Staging, they just have to be tasteful and subtle because the goal is to sell the home, not the furniture. Also, if you want to learn more about New Traditional, make sure you read D Home Magazine!
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