Eclectica

Eclectic: deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

It takes a very skilled eye to pull together a broad range of eras, colors and styles. It's sort of the abstract of the design world - you have to be well versed and experienced in achieving everything before you graduate to creating an eclectic interior. It's only for the most seasoned and accomplished who make it look effortless; without that knowledge the result becomes a mess. Classicism, Mid-Century, Contemporary and Baroque are just a few of the styles in the picture above by Francis Sultana...yet, it works. It has the look of someone collecting treasures for decades, but was collated from scratch only this year. It helps to have a unifying base to give it a look of cohesion, but even then, there's no guarantee of getting it right. So sometimes it's a color thread, and sometimes it's a mood. Often, it might be one standout shot of modern color that's the one thing to zing a room to life, the juxtaposition, the finishing touch. Let's have a gander at some talented hands who have crafted just that. Great modern chairs in a period setting:

Mid-Century meets Marie Antoinette

London minimalism and Eames chair

Chinoiserie, rustic, 20th century and contemporary black and white photos. Shouldn't work but it does.

David Bastos puts a new twist into play in a spectacular Rococo room with classic Greek mural, modern chandelier and acid yellow dining. Pretty brave.

Chair by Kamil Kurka. This is precisely the kind of piece that would sit well next to something with equal wood warmth and grace of lines. It's superbly designed, and good design lasts a lifetime. It's really about not wasting the good, but making it work with the new, thereby making modern pieces and old alike stand out in their own right.

From L'Univers d'Ines, a real mash up. Cheerful, hip and modern. Love the 18thc gold framed oil smack in the middle of the noise.

Living In Style Paris shows again how a startling neon or acid green can instantly make a period room current.

For those working within the confines of a period property, why lose the very ethos that is worth keeping by fighting or obliterating it? With contemporary and 20th century design icons such as this dining table, they can have both in complete harmony.

Digging the blend of old and new brought into one by sympathetic colors from Love Is Speed

Moooi's design showcase for Milan - a marvelous mix.

Vincent Darre's daring and brilliant melange of Baroque and modern. It packs a punch!