apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I actually like mixing it up a bit to keep things from looking like a museum. Domino mag ran a story a few issues ago about Claire Forlani's house. She's not in a loft, but it's still a great example of how to mix several styles (same thing goes for Cottage Living mag). The house itself is Spanish med, and she has rustic pieces, paired with mid century, and Asian (off the top of my head).

Our living room and dining rooms flow into each other and we have a mix of styles. The dining table/chairs/bench is Craftsman, the buffet... anybody's guess; I know it's around 100 years old. The couch, chair, and cocktail table are all mid century. Our console table is Asian-inspired, but it looks like it also took cues from Craftsman. It seems to work.

As for the Simpsons... you're on your own with that one.

mix it all together. there is no reason a mid century sofa can't sit next to a parisian bergere, or a contemporary light fixture can't hang in a kitchen with tuscan style cabinets etc etc. buy yourself a copy of the italian version of Elle Decor or the french elle decoration for inspiration. Maybe it is because of the age of so many of the buildings or availability of so many antiques or the fabulousness of the contemporary designs in those countries but more often than not they seem to ignore the idea that things go together because the are of the same style and put things together that look good because of their scale, proportion and color.

I think the photos you've chosen illustrates the mixing of styles perfectly - a mid century modern walnut stool next to a victorian settee or farmhouse kitchen island and traditional schoolhouse style light fixtures next to ultra modern barstools. As for the Simpsons figures - I've always like the idea of displaying a pop culture collection against a simple backdrop...plain white shelves on a white wall or industrial type shelving(to pair with the loft feel)that runs the length of a room or displaying them on top of a great credenza.

I think you have made your own work of art! Back drop of white full of curved or straight areas of line to show off bright colors that create their own mood of cheer. Well done!

I think you should worry less about the styles mixing and focus more on creating a harmonious and flexible colour scheme. If you do this even wildly varying styles and shapes will blend seamlessly together and create an eclectic, relaxed but unified whole.

it can all work quite well together if you edit things to key pieces and unify them all with a single color scheme through out the space.
As for the Simpson's collection... edit it down to a smaller key one, place the rest in storage (accessible to rotate a couple of times a year) and place the smaller collection in ONE spot in the room.

Ah, I had a similar issue with my ex-husband. He's a rabid Star Wars fan. It worked out ok because my taste is really eclectic, and what we finally agreed on with regard to his completely out-of-control action figure collection was:
1) his storm trooper helmet worked fine as a centerpiece on a table,
2) he could keep his "unleashed" (that's nerd code for "absolutely hideous") figures set up in a huge floor-to-cieling shelving unit, but it had to be covered with frosted glass doors so all you could really see was the colors, and
3) we bought a shadowbox-type frame segmented into 12 compartments, and he got to choose his favorite 12 vintage figures to frame in there, and we hung it in the hallway.

It still kinda sucked, but it was a lot more manageable, and he didn't feel like he was being pushed out of the living space...you know, until I pushed him out.

The couple needs to look for a common ground between their preferred styles -- shape, color, scale, anything that creates a bridge between extremes.

Personally, I'd look for common ground in scale (because hefty pieces and dainty pieces look freaky together) and color (because color is so easy to manipulate and makes such a huge impression).

A loft is the perfect place for an old Victorian trick with connecting rooms with color. Start in Room 1 with a major color, a secondary color, and an accent color. In Room 2, your secondary color becomes your major color, your accent color becomes your secondary color, and you can either make the Room 1 major color the accent OR you can add a new (compatible) accent color. Then you keep rolling the combinations through the house until you run out of rooms. So if the couple goes all Della Robbia in the kitchen, one of those bright fruit colors will eventually show up on the bed linens at the other end of the apartment.

Della Robbia blues and yellows would probably work nicely with the Simpsons collection, come to think of it. And Homer's head is shaped rather like a lemon.

Take it from a woman whose fiance has a huge collection of rubber ducks (all colors -- from devil duck to mail carrier duck), the bright plastic Simpsons action figures just ARE NOT going to go with any of those decorating schemes. The best you can do is compromise and camouflage. I've had to remind myself that while I think my furniture, lamps, and knick-knacks are the epitome of good taste, there are a few pieces of mine which my fiance hates as much as I hate the ducks. It's just part of the deal when two sets of aesthetic principles become one.

That said, Greg and Em's Silverlake Sanctuary in the smallest coolest 2006 contest contained a lot of well-displayed toys. Your friends might want to check it out.