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Colin and Justin: The art of mix and matching

The best rooms are seldom perfectly put together

Published Sep 25, 2026  •  3 minute read

In this kitchen, the backdrop is traditional while elements such as the blue-gray cabinetry and nickel pendant lights provide contrast. The look feels layered rather than themed.

The rooms we remember are rarely the ones that behave perfectly. They’re the ones with a little friction: old beside new, polished against rough, or those with familiar forms sharpened by unexpected elements.

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It’s this tension that gives interiors depth – it makes space feel assembled rather than ordered, and evolved rather than installed. Without it, even indulgent rooms can feel flat, as though every decision arrived in the same box.

The challenge, of course, is control. Mixing styles isn’t the same as throwing them together. Via our drawing board, the most convincing schemes have hierarchy, rhythm and a clear leading voice.

So, where to start? As we see it, with your project’s dominant language. Sometimes architecture decides that courtesy of cornicing, timber beams, panelled walls or industrial glazing, any of which can establish a strong visual framework.

Elsewhere, larger furniture pieces – or principal materials – set the tone, and, when that foundation is clear, contrasting elements can be introduced with confidence rather than caution.

Our project kitchen, today, serves as a useful example. Its backdrop is unapologetically traditional, with log walls, exposed beams, a rustic timber floor and all the visual warmth of an old cabin, yet we didn’t allow the room to embrace cliché.

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Instead, we specified blue-grey cabinetry, nickel pendant lights, streamlined hard wares and crisp counters to sharpen our composition.

The modern layers don’t compete with the shell – or pretend to be old – they simply provide contrast. That’s why, we hope, it’s feels layered rather than themed.

Happily, the same ‘mixology’ principles can be applied almost anywhere. A Georgian room, for example, can carry a low, sculptural sofa, and an austere contemporary space can be loosened by adding an antique chest with a time worn finish.

Similarly, a sleek marble table can suffuse visual discipline in a room dominated by reclaimed timber. The point is not to disguise the difference of interplay, rather to choreograph it.

Scale, too, can help enormously. If architecture is already expressive, suffuse secondary style with smaller gestures. A modern light fitting, for example, tailored sofas or contemporary artwork may prove just enough.

In a plain modern shell, the equation can be reversed: an antique armoire, a carved table or a vintage rug would each supply welcome character without requiring an entire detail of period references.

Colour provides another bridge between opposing styles. A traditional chair upholstered in a modern stripe immediately connects old form with new attitude.

Repeating black across contemporary lighting, antique frames and door hardware can make pieces from different eras feel deliberately related. Likewise, a restrained palette can calm furniture that might otherwise find itself locked in argumentative debate.

Construction materials, too, can perform similarly connective roles. Brass, timber, stone, linen, and glass all move easily between periods, depending on how they’re detailed. An oak refectory table with sculptural chairs works because the forms contrast while the material relationship feels grounded.

A contemporary bathroom can sit comfortably inside an old house when its finishes acknowledge the tone, texture and patina already present.

Where mixed schemes often fail, however, is during over-explanation. One antique does not need four companions to justify its presence.

A room with historic architecture does not require reproduction furniture throughout. And if a contemporary piece provides the necessary jolt, resist the urge to repeat it until the surprise disappears.

Editing is an element that turns contrast into composition. The eye needs enough continuity to understand the room, but sufficient variation to stay engaged.

Think in families rather than matching sets: related tones, repeated finishes, sympathetic proportions and a balance of visual weight are quieter connections that allow different styles to coexist without looking accidental.

Ultimately, schematic cross breeding is less about compromise, and more about confidence. If you establish a comfortable base, add contrast and then find the thread that connects all aspects, your project will stand a better chance of feeling resolved.

At the end of the day, the best rooms are seldom perfectly matched, they’re balanced and edited, with an occasional layer of perceived contradiction. And it’s exactly that which keeps them alive…

Watch ‘Small Town Escapes with Colin and Justin’ on HGTV. Discover the ‘Colin+Justin Home Collection’ at Homesense and Winners. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

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