Decorating the eclectic way

I read something recently that Michael Boodro, Editor in Chief of Elle Decor said on Shelter Pop that literally made my pulse quicken a tad. He said the magazine was more than just about publishing beautful homes as beautiful homes tend after a while to all look a like. (We know)! He is looking for  and I quote ' unusual rooms, homes that are ahead of the curve and homes that are so far ahead of the curve that they look backwards'. Fabulous news, decorating in an eclectic manner takes some skill and its hard work - matching fabrics, furnishings and colors together is easy peasy any one can do  it (well maybe not but you get my gist). Decorating the eclectic way allows you to throw almost anything together EXCEPT its got to make sense. A good tip to pull a scheme together is to use colours that complement and or contrast. Take for example my new studio that I am working on, a chesterfield in deep dark browny black flanks the fireplace with a love seat angled on the diagonal in black. One sofa shouts English gentleman's club sturdy, masculine and grounding but the  loveseat is French, frou frou with ornate little carved legs  its dainty, feminine and oh so different. The key is they share the same palette so when hanging out together they don't look so crazy - so vary the furnishings as much as you dare just make sure the colours flow continuously. The same goes for accessories - we want to create interestingly multi layered rooms but not rooms that look a mess.  Play around with colour and contrast pattern and texture and if it looks  crazy - edit. Take 5 pull things off shelves and tables, leave the room as I did over the weekend and approach it again with fresh eyes. Anything goes, nothing matches but remember its all got to make beautiful sense. The image below is taken from Livingetc's archive and pretty much nails what I am talking about The neutral palette is punctuated with some serious pattern which is pretty intoxicating.  Interesting, unique and personal.