20 Beautiful Rooms with a "New Traditionalism" Approach

The traditional decor theme originates from the English country style design. With the style came matching furniture sets, lots of use of color and patterns, lots of accessories could be found in each room, and who can forget the heavy window treatments that were often seen over all the windows? Over time, a more modern approach to home design took over. While some modern designs kept things basic and sleek, an even more modern design came into play and was labeled, industrious. While the two design themes still remain in play, design experts have seen that the design pendulum is beginning to swing back toward a more traditional look. It’s familiar, its comfortable and it is more personable. In today’s more modern world, we have a lot of expectation out of our rooms. We want a room to be comfortable and functional, so design efforts have brought this traditional style back, but it’s transitioning back in with a few differences that make it lighter and brighter.

A few of the new characteristics of a “new traditionalism” design theme include:

Intermingling furniture finishes and their periods
Formal furniture is more sleek in design and with more comfort
Seating arrangements are set in a larger scale as opposed to tighter, close-knit settings
The use of reproduction cabinets for holding media equipment is a popular element of the new traditional design theme

If you are looking for some tips to help you plan your new traditionalist design, here are a few that will help you get started.

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Declutter

In the old traditional rooms, it was common to see rooms full of accessories scattered about on display. Table tops were loaded with trinkets and knick knacks, framed photos and more. Furniture could also overpower a room and make it feel tight and cramped, but today’s newer version of the traditional style is a less cluttered design theme. De-cluttering a room gives the room a bigger, more spacious and open feel. It’s a fresher take on the old style, taking a lot of the design ideas, but using less of of everything to keep the room in more simplistic form.

How you display Art

There has always been this idea that art must be a picture, and it had to be framed. In the more modern world, art does not necessarily have to be a picture, nor does it have to be framed in a traditional manner. The new traditionalist decor theme allows you to be creative with how you hang and display art, from hanging a variety of pictures in a pattern on a wall, to using odd objects that you consider to be art and hanging them on a wall as a focal point, or displaying them in a creative manner in the room. Vintage items and other interesting collectibles can be showcased in a way that allows them to viewed as unique pieces of art.

Consider how you scale your room

Scaling everything in your room is really what makes a room interesting and fun to look at. From furniture to art, scaling everything so that it creates a nice visual appeal is important. One way you can have fun with scaling is to hang a large piece of art over a sofa. While many people are afraid to use anything too large on a wall, feeling it might overwhelm a room, it can actually do the opposite and give the room a bigger and more spacious look and feel. Chandeliers and furniture pieces are also important to consider for size, for instance, having a few larger pieces of furniture in the room may make the room feel bigger and bolder, as opposed to a lot of smaller pieces, which can shrink the size of the room and give it a cluttered look and feel.

Get rid of the fussy look

There is a lot about the old traditional style that was a bit “fussy.” Patterns and design elements, like lampshades and throw pillows, tended to be more fussy with their looks. If you’re wondering what I mean, think of how many traditional homes you’ve been to and part of their decor theme included pleated lampshades, ruffles or doilies on the tables. Less fuss is a cleaner, neater look and it is what the new traditionalist look has migrated to. So, change out those pleated lampshades for more simplistic drums, throw away the doilies, and lose the ruffled throw pillows and you are headed in the right direction.

For more new traditionalist style ideas, take a look at the following 20 beautiful rooms with a “new traditionalism” approach.