apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love it. Nothing is worse than a room which is strictly period. Times overlap.

In my house it's the exact opposite of above - I love Modern furniture, but my art collection is fairly traditional - landscapes, & antique prints. The juxtaposition is wonderful, my house feels personal and not like a spread of "Modernism" magazine.

So funny that an artist born in 1888 is giving that first room its "modern" edge! :)

This approach to art is key in keeping traditional rooms from feeling like dusty time capsules.

Jamie Drake is a MASTER of this kind of pairing, btw.

I'd add that any type of large-scale abstract art really jazzes up a room, but I am also liking very large-scale color photography these days in traditional rooms as well.

So elegant... I want to do homework on this table, the lighting is lovely!

Melissa witth Yourfurniturelink and Mortise & Tenon LA

i'm not sure i'd call many of your examples traditional rooms and i'm not sure that i'd use classic and traditional so interchangeably. the first room clearly is traditional with modern art and the combination works.

the rest, all nice, but not so traditional. the pucci estate is a stripped down modernization of a very old house with antiques (very italian modernist), jacob's apartment is art moderne with modern art (and alot of the furniture is midcentury collectible), the malibu place is squarely contemporary with pretty modern architecture.

agree with modfan and ptoo, the contrast is what enlivens these rooms.

as to ptoo's comment on albers birthday, it shows the problem with the label "modern". art historians use modern to signify art from the later 1800's to the 1970's and it applies to so many schools and movements wrapped around alot of different ideas. we tend to consider modern as meaning now or current.

contemporary and current art may have a modern feel but it is contemporary art, not modern art.

"postmodern" is an even more complicated can of worms.

I personally love the mix of periods... I agree that times do overlap and it gives a room a good mix. In my bedroom I have a modern metal credenza but above it there is a gold italian mirror. I do think you shold have an overall theme though

#2 is gorgeous
#3 is fugly
#'s 4&5 don't look traditional or classic to me

my grandmother was an artist in the 50's-70's. I inherited some of her huge abstract paintings. What type of art would this be called? I have always thought it was modern art, but am not sure if this is correct. I put these paintings in my traditional/Hollywood glamor decor and they really work! They really give it an edge that I love, and remind me of my Nana!

What about the opposite?

Has anyone got some good examples of successfully mixing traditional art (landscapes, wildlife, even traditional portraiture etc) with modern decor?

I agree that #3 is ugly, the rest are good. The only reason it caught my eye was the beefcake coming up the stairs. ;)

Art like books should be displayed for their content. There are people who display art for the way it goes with a room.
It always looks silly if you second guess your choice in art.
"We don't want tuna with good taste. We want tuna that tastes good." Starkist.

My favorites are #1 and 2... Beautiful spaces.

Excellent post!

I SAY YES ! Modern and traditional is for me a perfect mix§ It gives a soul to a room