Something old, something new in your Malta Property…..by Marika Azzopardi

No it’s not a feature about weddings. If you follow the latest in interior trends, you will realise that mixing the old with the new is what the current inclination is all about. Grandma’s old table is actually something to vie for as it may add that certain ‘wow’ factor to your room. But how daring can one be when it comes to mixing old and new furniture and furnishings in any given room? I meet up with interior designer Vera Sant Fournier to ask her advice….

“Placing two distinctly different styles in the same ambience is all about creating a very delicate balance so that no piece is fighting for attention and no style must feel like it wants to dominate the scenario. You must plan ahead very carefully and decide whether it should primarily be a traditional or a modern look, as for such an interior to work it’s not merely a matter of plonking any old piece into your room and expecting it to blend naturally. Doing it that way risks making your room’s décor look tacky, wrong and merely a huge mistake.”

Some of the recipes that work best in this scenario go for the stark contrast formula – take a gold baroque mirror next to a white gloss framed table, or a solid wood wardrobe coupled with a chrome and black leather bed. It’s becoming fashionable and somewhat chic and glamorous to have antique items strategically positioned within a modern decor, for example having a modern glass table with chrome legs mixing happily with antique dining chairs upholstered in modern fabric, and hanging right above it …..a big Victorian crystal chandelier. The antique furniture will bring a particular energy to your interiors, creating an element of luxury, stability & longstanding elegance.

From her experience Vera knows that people tend to look for special antique pieces or a family heirloom that they are in love with and want to keep at all costs.  Adding these antique pieces shows your true sense of individuality and achieving that true own personal style, of course you can always stick to one style if you are truly passionate about it.  A key trick is to take a long hard look at your preferred old piece and asking yourself what you like most about it. Tie both styles together by picking the details you like most in both and incorporating them into the different styles – as in shapes, materials, textures, colours. One must let it all blend and flow smoothly.

Then again, you can go for up-cycled antique furniture where you choose key old pieces that are recreated in a stylish way. Nowadays designers are creating furnishings such as chairs, sofa suites, and other items with antique touches such as detailed curves and other carvings in dark wooden frames and upholstered with modern fabrics with geometric patterns. This is where the element of modern vintage comes along.

If you’d rather keep things low key you may incorporate the antique feel into a room by simply honing in on the accessories – vases, lampshades, antique fabrics or antique collections…. Varied rustic elements can be used to create that certain touch of the old without impairing your love of the modern.

Vera Sant Fournier can be contacted through www.versantfournier.com.

Pictures credit of Jennifer Zammir of Rogue  Furniture Transformed