Dear Jean and Richard, I’ve seen homes with flea market trinkets mixed in with expensive furniture and it all seems to work, but I lack the confidence to be so casual with my choices. Do you have any guidelines for mixing “high and low” effectively? --Bonnie, Weaverville

Richard: Hi Bonnie. You’ve landed on a subject that we actually discuss regularly, but not in conceptual terms. Usually it’s more like we’re trying to achieve a carefree style and we have to decide whether a certain addition will look “fabulous” or tacky. It’s all about context, and whether the remainder of the design is elegant enough to introduce something that’s, shall we say, folksy.

Jean: Folksy? You’re not fooling anyone with that term, Richard. You can call it a fine pilsner, but it’s still beer. Let’s be more specific. My husband, poor thing, was completely on board with my idea to use some old chenille bedspreads for drapes in our sunroom—mainly because I only paid $30 for them at a second hand store. But when I ordered the drapery rods that cost $400, he was depressed. But here’s the thing: without the elegant drapery rods, the drapes would just look like salvaged bedspreads. Instead, the combination looks whimsical and classy.

Richard: They ARE salvaged bedspreads. You saying “whimsical” is no different than me saying folksy! But your example is actually pretty good. Mixing old and new, polished and primitive, or even elegant and “whimsical” requires restraint and careful consideration. I have an 18” century French commode (no, not a toilet) in my living room, with 60’s thrift store pottery in it. When in balance, complementary furnishings can add character and interest to a home.

Jean: And if you think about it, mixing it up can provide a platform to display sentimental favorites. Let’s say you have an old table—careworn and distressed— that came from your grandparent’s farm. It has little value as an antique, but it has great personal worth. If it sits in a room with the kids’ toys or in a hobby area with projects-in-process, it will look just like a beat-up old table. But if you use it as a display table in a formal living room it takes on heirloom importance—or at the very least, becomes a conversation piece.

Richard: The conversation might go like this: What’s that old beat up table doing in your living room? I’m kidding! One thing to remember is to make the mixture obvious. If the table is truly worn and FOLKSY, it could look great in the formal setting, the way an antique oil painting might have spider-web cracks all over the surface. It gives it character—especially when the painting is in a nice frame. Sort of like the expensive drapery rods.

Jean: And as long as they’re not actually spider webs. It can be very charming and effective to include old architectural elements in a design scheme, or hang an heirloom quilt on the wall of your guest bedroom as art. Weathervanes made to look old have had a good reception as interior sculpture, but I would prefer an actual antique one—rust and all.

Richard: And don’t overdo it. A few really rough old antiques in a room can offer a museum air, but too many might begin to look like you robbed a salvage yard.

Jean: And we’re back to the beginning—deciding whether a room addition is fabulous or tacky. When you’re selecting an item to include in your room as a design element—or as a practical piece chosen primarily for function—it needs to complement everything else in the room. Mixing high and low effectively means making careful choices; designing the room to feel effortless is usually the result of serious effort.