Mix & Match: How to Decorate an Eclectic Bedroom

So, you’re contemplating renovating your bedroom, but there’s one small problem that can’t stop bothering you: choosing one decorating style for your private sanctuary feels a bit restricting and boring. You’re afraid that there isn’t a single design style that can encompass the uniqueness of your personality. Believe it or not, this is a common challenge in the world of home décor, one that can be easily overcome. The solution? Adopting an eclectic style.

Decorating your bedroom in an eclectic style means having the exciting opportunity to create a blend of your favourite styles. A certain lack of rules and “anything is allowed” kind of vibe lie at the heart of eclectic décor. However, some general guidelines do need to be followed in order to avoid creating a mess. Read on to find out what they are.

Mix Furniture Styles

When looking for bedroom furniture for your eclectic haven, it’s important to pick pieces that can complement each other. These, of course, don’t have to be standard matches. Balance and scale are key elements of this decorating style, meaning your furnishings need to be in the proper scale to the space as well as to each other.

Many professional interior designers love combining modern and vintage furniture items. If you too see the beauty of this pair, you can start slow by incorporating a vintage style bed head, a traditional desk cabinet, or wood and metal bedside tables into your modernly minimalist bedroom. Industrial and rustic bedroom furniture pieces work extremely well together as well. Bringing together a sleek metal bed frame and a bedside table made of reclaimed wood is one of the numerous ways you can wed these styles in your bedroom.

You can even give new life to your grandparents’ antique armoire and welcome it into your ultra-contemporary bedroom. The possibilities are practically countless. Just make sure that the pieces you opt for create a cohesive and unified look.

Harmonise the Room with a Colour or Two

One of the easiest and smartest ways to create a space that both the eyes and the mind view as a whole is to stick with a limited colour palette. This is so because too many colours can detract and/or overwhelm your senses, which is something you definitely want to avoid, especially in your bedroom.

You can use a couple of hues to harmonise the different elements of your bedroom. Spreading them throughout the room is crucial. For example, if you choose green and golden yellow as harmonisers, try your best to incorporate them in your bedding, artwork, light fixtures, curtains, etc. But be careful to not overdo it. If bright colours are your thing, make sure to keep the walls and flooring neutral. Although it’s not done frequently, eclectic bedrooms can be based on an entirely neutral colour scheme. This is when another type of unifying element is needed. The next guideline focuses precisely on that.

Choose a Unifying Pattern

Aside from colours, you can use motifs, shapes, textures, and fabrics to further connect the various furniture styles. For instance, you can choose to pick up on the lines of your bed or your lounge chair and repeat them throughout the space. Common threads are an effective and fun way to bring consistency to your bedroom décor.

Play with Patterns

Patterns are an irresistible part of an eclectic bedroom’s charm. In order to successfully mix different designs, it’s important to match at least one colour throughout and, of course, pick patterns that collaborate well together. For example, nature motifs such as florals, fern and leaf patterns, animal prints, and bird designs work extremely well with geometric shapes, stripes, and dots. According to many experts, the key here is to make sure there are a variety of scales. Oh, and not to go overboard.

Give Repurposing and Recycling a Chance

Even though the use of repurposed and recycled pieces isn’t something that defines eclectic design, it’s useful to know that it’s quite common in it. The weathered appearance of furniture items made of salvaged timber makes it highly versatile, allowing you to combine it with many other finishes. Plus, most items of recycled bedroom furniture for sale contain tiny cracks, splits, dents, and chips, all of which make the specific piece gorgeously unique.

In case purchasing such an item isn’t an option for you, consider turning an old ladder into a headboard or transforming a stack of suitcases you no longer use into a nightstand. It can be a fun little DIY project.

Match Wood Types

If you adore the warmth and raw beauty of wood and intend to incorporate it into your eclectic bedroom, keep in mind that the wooden elements you opt for need to be made from the same wood or be the same shade. This is how you’ll tie them together. In case you’ve fallen in love with a few mismatched wood pieces, don’t despair. A wood stain can help you bring them closer to the same wood tone.

Add Texture and Then Add Some More

Mixing and matching a wide range of textures will not only add depth and interest to your very own private sanctuary but also make it more inviting and whimsical. You can achieve all of this by incorporating fluffy throw pillows, carpet or area rugs, heavy fabrics like cotton velvet or denim, mirrored surfaces, smooth wood, sheer curtains, custom-made fabric shades, and/or painted or collage pieces of art.

Translate Your Individuality

One of the strongest reasons why the popularity of eclectic décor is on the rise is exactly this – the possibility to show off one’s personality. This interior design style allows you to use objects like decorations, accents, and furniture items you really like. Yes, even if they are quirky, and yes, even if they don’t match.

Feel free to display some of your favourite souvenirs and other treasured pieces you’ve collected throughout your travelling adventures. If you’re an artist of any kind, showcasing some of your favourite creations is a wonderful idea as well. In case scavenging through vintage shops and thrift stores is your cup of tea, go ahead and display the one-of-a-kind pieces you’ve found. Simply put, anything that speaks volumes about who you are as a person should be on your to-consider list. But, once again, don’t overdo it.

I advise you not to skip this step because being surrounded by things that are meaningful to you can make spending time in your bedroom so much more enjoyable and intimate.

Relax, Design Rules Aren’t Written in Stone

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the suggestions, guidelines, ideas, and combinations, take a second (or a minute) and remind yourself that you don’t have to follow all of them. Yes, they can be a great starting point, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t create your own rules or at least bend the widely accepted ones. Plus, we all know that what usually works in most spaces may not do the trick in ours. After all, it’s your bedroom and you should be able to experiment with its décor as much as you like.