Fresh Traditional Built-in Styling

Jan 30

In case you aren't already sick of this room, I still have more to share. The built-ins at the far end of the living room are a project that I've been working on since we moved into this house in September. Lately, I've been trying to interject a bit more of my fresh traditional style and I'm finally liking what I see.

Besides, if I waited to share these when they were perfect, I'd probably never share them…

When is anything ever perfect anyway?

I know a lot of people literally shy away from styling shelves, but I really enjoy it. Today, I thought I'd share some of the ideas I've used to style the built-ins with my new signature style, fresh traditional.

1. Symmetry.

Symmetry is super traditional, but I love it. I wanted to play on the idea of symmetry by mimicking shapes and patterns, but not necessarily using the same items in each built-in. This keeps the overall scheme traditional but with a fresh twist.

2. Cohesive color scheme.

To keep the built-ins from looking too hodgepodge I kept to a cohesive color scheme. In this case, I choose green, metallics, and a touch of black.

All green would seem too traditional, the black keeps it fresh, and well, the metallics are just something I can't get away from. I love to mix my metals!

3. Pairing traditional with modern.

Fresh traditional is all about pairing traditional items with more modern items to create a fresh look. In our built-ins I incorporated a lot of our existing items like books, vases, urns, finials, and architectural details - all of which are fairly traditional. Then, I peppered the shelves with more modern accents like the capiz spheres, the black and white vases and the brass urchins. Together they work to create the fresh traditional look.