his summer’s house feature is full of amazing heirlooms and eclectic finds. You might T Q: Help! I love too many things! How do I make eclectic not look like a big ol’ mess? ^ designing with deb describe a particular art movement. The original idea was simple and described as “to combine elements or particular styles from different time periods and different origins within a single project,” which is still a perfect description of what we like to call eclectic design today. Mixing that many features and a huge variety of styles was not in- tended to create chaos. As a matter of fact, it was just the opposite: to create harmony, one of the key elements of interior design. Now, as heavy as all that sounds (and the fact that it does take a little effort and creativity so your home doesn’t look like a garage sale gone wrong), no matter what your personal style is, try adding a touch of eclectic and see how much fun it can be! A few tips in creating an eclectic look and feel in your home: P The key is to make it look like it’s on purpose. P Opposites attract. Contrast is good. This is not a time when you want things to be almost alike because rather than creating an intentional contrast, it could look more like a miss. This is definitely when you want to play up differences. P It’s good to think about balance. In creating balance here you want to mix it up—don’t stick all your vintage pieces together, all your modern pieces together, etc.— place them amongst each other. P Since vastly different objects (furniture, lighting, accessories) make a bold statement, keep a couple of neutral colors running through your design. And remem- ber neutrals aren’t always white or beige. Try a cool blue, gray or even the right shade of green. P Most importantly, you can always back up and try again —editing can be your friend, and maybe never more than when pulling this style together. Fewer pieces can sometimes make a bigger statement. I like to think that adding a touch of eclectic in a home is simply add- ing a touch of who is living there ... this is one time you do want to make it personal! ^ Deb Vogler has been creating her own brand of Comfort by Design for more than 15 years. She deals with all aspects of design, from budgeting, to floor plans (renovation or new construction), to furniture, to color at her full-scale design firm. Have a designing question for Deb? Send it to debvogler@msn.com. be wondering how you, too, can achieve the balance and beauty of Ben Meade’s happenstance style. I’m going to start off with a very serious sounding explanation for what is usually thought of as the least seri- ous and most effortless appearance in interior design choices: Eclectic. Eclecticism started out as a way to
On top of the white cabinet lies a countless number of vintage cameras and projectors. Among the collection sits a 1942 green moving picture camera with a hand crank—the exact camera that CBS used during the invasion of Nor- mandy at the end World War II. Ben, who was once a stock broker and college professor, is now an independent film- maker who creates feature films and documentaries. He’s also done a bit of stunt work like horse-to-horse tricks and falling through walls and glass. “It hurt a lot,” Ben said. “I had a lot more piss and vinegar in me back then.” In the corner of the living room stands a curved, wooden set of shelves. It’s Ben’s favorite possession and it isn’t an ordinary piece of furniture. It was made out of wood from his grandfather’s canoe dating back to the mid-1800s. His mater- nal grandparents were full-blooded Potawatomi Indian and he pays homage to his American Indian roots throughout the house. A black and white photo of his grandfather as a child dressed in traditional garments hangs on the wall in the living room, along with child-sized beaded shoes in the hallway. “A lot of what I have in the house is based on its folklore,” Ben said. “I try to respect it as much as I can.” The Potawatomi were originally from southern Canada. They never had long hair nor wore traditional headdresses. They were light-skinned and had curved, pointed noses—the same nose as Ben. The tribe was relocated from the North to the Midwest during the mid-1800s and was integrated into the Plain Indians, which included multiple different tribes. His
18 vintagekc summer 2016
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