To match or to mix... that is the question

"My faucet is brushed nickel, and my door knobs are oil rubbed bronze, should my light fixture be brushed nickel? Or can I do the brushed brass?"

"My carpet is beige, and my woodwork is golden oak, should I do the sofa in dark green or should I keep it tan to match everything else?"

These are questions that I hear all the time. Do I match or do I mix? Can I mix or should I match? It wasn't too long ago that the trend of the day demanded matching all woods within a room and even an entire home. The same went for the hardware and any group of furniture that sat within the same vicinity. That is not the case anymore. Matching everything in a space becomes dull and flat very quickly. An element of design that is vital to creating interesting and eye-catching spaces is variety. Variety is expressly defined as the absence of uniformity, sameness, or monotony. If everything in your room matches, you are probably missing out on some fantastic opportunities of creating allure in your home.

Most often the task of knowing what to mix becomes too scary and overwhelming, it's easier and more comfortable to just stick with the known, matching... excessively. While it can take a keen eye to mix and match a large space with skill, my advice to those wishing to step out of their comfort zone and mix it up. Do it. If you find something that you just love, be it an accent chair, a new light fixture, a funky pillow... just do it. Be unsure, be scared, but do it anyway. I suggest you start with an item you love because even if you aren't sure about the mixing, you will probably still enjoy that item and want to keep working to make it fit in the space.