How to Style Your Home with Eclectic Treasures
Eclectic style has a reputation for being chaos with a candle in it. Done badly, it is. Done well, it is the most personal kind of styling there is: a home that could only be yours. The difference is that every object has been chosen rather than collected by accident. Here is how we think about it.
1. Start with a quiet base
Keep the big things calm: walls in one warm or dark tone, a sofa in a plain colour, a floor that is not competing. Your unusual pieces should be the loudest thing in the room. If everything shouts, nothing gets heard. If you love a dark room, go for it, but keep the same rule. A deep green or inky blue wall can be the quiet base for a brass lamp and a shelf of oddities.
2. Find a thread
A colour, a material or a mood will tie together things that have nothing else in common. A gothic thread could link a smoky resin tray, a skull candle and a cryptid print. They come from different makers, yet they look like they belong together.
3. Group small things
A single small object looks lonely. Three on the same shelf look like a collection. Odd numbers usually sit better than pairs, and a tray is a handy trick, as it turns a few loose things into one deliberate display.
4. Mix heights and materials
Wood next to ceramic next to glass next to fabric. A short candle beside a tall vase and a flat stack of books. Variety is what stops eclectic from looking like a stockroom. Soft things matter here, so a velvet or tapestry cushion from Handmade with Rage does a lot to warm up a room full of hard objects.
5. Leave breathing room
This is the biggest mistake people make. Empty space around an object is what tells your eye to actually look at it. Three things on a mantelpiece will nearly always beat nine. If a shelf feels busy, take everything off and put back only what you miss.
6. Buy slowly
The best eclectic homes were not styled in an afternoon. They were built one thing at a time, often years apart, and that is why they feel real. Our stockists are a good place to find pieces that will not be in everyone else’s house.
What about bigger pieces?
A statement cabinet or an old armchair can anchor a whole room, and they often turn up cheaply second-hand. The catch is getting them home. If you have spotted something too big for the car, North Somerset Man and Van has a useful guide to collecting online marketplace finds. Measure your doorways and stairs before you commit.
Where to go next
Want to lean into one particular look? The apothecary aesthetic is a great place to start if you are drawn to the curious. And if your treasures are starting to take over, read how to build a collection without hoarding. Or come and find inspiration on the shelves at 15 West Street.