How much should the style of your decor match the age and style of your house?

[MissRead]

We live in a modern (approx 15 years old) house as it's what we can afford in this area (nice village, lots of older properties) but my taste in decor is not very modern. Most of my friends seem to go for the 'feature wall in big floral print/laminate flooring/co-ordinated accessories' look which is not really my thing - I prefer a bit more mix and match, some old stuff, some new, and like quite a shabby chic style. But I'm worried that that this look really doesn't suit a modern home. Is it that important to match the style and age of the house or should I just go ahead with what I like?

I don't see why not - you certainly see it the other way round when people modernise old houses. It's your home, it needs to reflect your personality and your tastes. Go for it!

I could have written your post! I've been thinking the same thing since we moved. I think eclectic should work!

I think it looks slightly odd if the furniture is completely anachronistic (Victorian furniture and colour schemes in a 1970s house for example) but mixing and matching is fine. Choose strong classic shapes that can hold their own in any scheme.

Somehow is seems more naff to try and make a modern home look Victorian than the other way around.

You don't need to go for minimalist, a laminate flooring or a feature wall to be modern, it isn't that restrictive, imo shabby chic is modern too.

Just stay clear of trying to make your home something it's not, like adding Victorian cornicing etc. It just looks fake.

I would avoid any fake features and go with the shape and light in the house.Keep walls and floors simple and then you can accesorise with pieces that catch your eye.Strong shapes like 50s furniture look great and built in shelves and big artworks look fab in modern houses.I agree re feature walls etc I am an interior designer and have NEVER been asked for one they look so dated already

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I have always had 1930s houses, but I moved into a house built in 1960 in the summer. It needs everything doing but I haven't had a clue how to go about it for your very reason op.
Was thinking about this last night and decided that if it was 1965 I would have some new (1960s) and some old stuff. So will be going with that theme in decorating. Anything (cheap)I like 1965 and backwards.

If you do feature wall / laminate/ matchy it won't feel like your house MissRead.

Ours is 1960's but eclectic.I dislike 60's and 70's stuff,and do have a plainish cast iron open fire [we live in the countryside so it is essential really].The rest of the stuff is fairly classic modern,and family hand me downs that are Victorian/Edwardian.I don't like ornate stuff so everything is very unfussy,plain walls,neutral carpet ect.I think it works very well.

Buy what you love is my motto.

I so want a modern house

Go for eclectic, but don't overdo it otherwise it'll just look like a jumble sale. Shabby chic can be really lovely as long as the pieces make a statement and are not there just for the sake of it.

We have an art deco thing oing on in our 1930 house, I don't care what anyone else thinks I have to look at it.

I'm with pinkcushion

We had a complete refurb and extension a year ago in our 1950's built house. I'm not an expert on 50's interiors and neither do I like them, so for me contemporary was the only way.

We've gone for what we like, from a contemporary mix. It doesn't have to be naff ole laminate etc. My fave website is Panik Design. Some great stuff, esp lighting, here.

I'm decorating at the moment. House is 1970s or thereabouts with hideous huge windows and horrible reddish wood everywhere, like the doors and architraves. Also has vile artex patterned ceilings.

I am renting so doing things on a strictly limited budget.

I have decided to go very 60s/modern with some areas. The owners are very 'beige' so places like my kitchen have less scope for change because there are beige and brown 'modern' tiles and beech effect cabinets.

My living room has 'barcode' wallpaper in limes and pink with acid green sofa and 'jazzberry' walls. Very updated 60s/70s I think.

I plan to use a retro marvel comic mural in dining room (think 50s housewife theme) and have farrow and ball pavilion grey walls but with modern bauhaus type dining table and chairs.

My bedroom has a French Corbeille upholtered bed and will be french grey walls and a bluey/grey floral wallpaper or possibly 50s retro motif paper (haven't chosen yet) so will be moreshabby chic but with 50s 60s 70s bits.

am thinking of doing the bathroom totally 50s formica style as it has yellowish pastel walls and fcking hideous blue and yellow floor stuff down which I can't afford to change so am going to try and find some danish retro bits and have ice cream colours and make it very 'milkshake bar' from 'Fame' if you get what I mean at all.

All in all quite eclectic since I have no chuffing idea what to do with this soul-less golfish bowl windowed place. The worst thing to do I think would be to have beigey walls and a brown leather sofa with the most daring aspects being some bright cloured accesories from B&Q themed section where you get all the turquoise cushions with matching vases and stuff. along with a brown modern looking rug and a dark wood coffee table, oh and halogen lights everywhere. (Have plenty of these already )

We have a similar age property OP. I am currently decorating it and due to our budget restrictions am having to make do with our existing furniture and fittings. Funnily enough it does look ok so far IMO!

I have several nice victorian pieces of furniture and art. Our fixtures and fittings are all dark wood and I'm using a lot of neutral colours on the walls. I think it just represents me really!

I think shabby chic will look great in your house

bluddy - wow @ your shark. where did you get it?

Loving some of these ideas. Was starting to lose the will to live after seeing yet another owner of a modern house in Ideal Home magazine who's had a whacking great fake chimney breast put in their kitchen to house their range cooker. Gorgeous in an actual old house but WTF??? otherwise, no?

Ooh, and quick question - does anyone else have windows above all the interior doors in their 70s/80s house? Why are they there? It can't be for light, even the en-suite has one!

Yes, I have little windows above each door. Very annoying as I leave a bathroom light on for DC in the night and I cannot make my room dark enough because of them. Am going to get some frosting panel stuff so they don't look quite as crap I think. There's certainly no disguising the era in which this house was conceived, so the best one can do is work with it.

I had an Aga in our old 500 year old farmhouse and would love one now but it utterly would NOT go.

Do you also have supersized windows? The cost of blinds/fabric for dressing said windows is enough to blow the budget alone. I'm trying to get velvet curtains (my mum had these in 70s) for my living room but the price is ridiculous.

I thought the windows were for light but more for light on stairs and landing as opposed to in the rooms since if you shut all bedroom doors the stairs would be dark as a dark cupboard without them.

Ah, that does make sense actually. Still looks bloody weird though.

Two windows in the living room, next to each other but different sizes plus massive sliding doors the other end. The owners said they were taking the curtains with them originally but rang the week we were moving and said did we want them. Thank goodness they did, it would have cost a fortune. The ones they've left are velvet but a kind of dusky-salmony-pink colour unfortunately. They are on swishers though! DC love that!

The fireplace concerns me more, it's one of those brick ones that stretches over an entire wall, with different levels and a cubby for the video player. The scary thing is that it's growing on me . It must go!

Sorry to hijack OP, love house chat! Glad there are some other people who hate those feature walls!

The Victorian/farmhouse influence is hard to escape - it's almost like it's stuck in the nation's heart as an example of classic taste - I blame all those Home shows that were so popular a few years ago that promoted regression as the only way forward.

I have the big picture windows and I love them - they let in loads of light - nothing worse than tiny pokey windows popular in the 1980's onwards.

And can I just say I hate beige. I hate all that matchy brown, carmel, fudge whatever and I hate that every time I go to look for bathroom tiles I'm bombarded with beige, isn't it time we moved on - it's not timeless - it looks dated.

Rant over and feeling strangely better

I would have your house how you want it, it is your home, who gives a stuff about what it "should" be like. It should be how you want it.

I think I love you, pinkcushion

Love this thread.

We are moving on Friday, from a 1931 house that's been renovated and extended (Farrow and Ball, Laura Ashley type place) to a 1961 house with massive windwows, cedar cladding, wall lights (with tassles) and various other tasteless gunk.

I'm in total denial.