6 Reasons You Need a Touch of Modern in Your Home

If you’ve flipped through our last few catalogs, you’ve probably noticed that we’ve been quietly slipping more and more modern furniture pieces into our collections. The Ballard Designs aesthetic has always been about ‘the mix.’ We’re empowered (and we hope we’re empowering you too) to blend all styles of furniture, art, and accessories together. It’s that beautifully unique combination of things that helps you express your unique personality in your home, which is the goal. For this reason, we’ve been wanting to bring more contemporary accents into our rooms, like our Felicity Acrylic tables and more clean lined furniture, like our Dakota Sofa.

Today, we’re making a case for why you should have a few modern accents in your home!

1. That Unexpected Element

There are only a few decorating rules that we live by (after all, we love breaking most of those same old decorating ‘rules’) and that one of those is to incorporate something a little unexpected. Usually it’s that fun, funky piece that ties everything together and makes your house feel like your home. Our Chevelle Pendants are that unexpected thing in this bedroom. Their geometric shapes are modern and fun, and their mercury glass finish is girly and romantic. Without these two modern light fixtures, this room wouldn’t feel quite so special, and that’s why they’re so important!

2. Bring Your Home into the Future

While we love ourselves some vintage-inspired pieces, like this bamboo bar cart which has that fabulous 60s feel, if everything in your home is from the past, your home starts to feel a bit stale. Mix in something more recent, like a piece of bold art, to remind yourself that indeed you are in the 21st century!

3. It Keeps Things Quiet

Modern furniture tends to be much more streamlined and sleek, which is why we love using it in rooms we want to create a more peaceful, serene feel. This living room is decidedly uncluttered, so a clear, acrylic side table keeps that clean feel going.

4. It Balances the Bold

On the opposite end of the spectrum, that quiet and clean look modern pieces often have make them great accents in rooms where you already have a lot going on. In this living room, there’s a lot to look at with two different leopard prints (didn’t we say we like to break rules?), so two acrylic tables offer the function you need in a living room without making the room busier.

5. Unique Shapes

Suzanne Kasler is the master of blending traditional, antique pieces with more modern, sculptural ones, so we looked back at her 2014 Southern Living Idea House to pick up a few of her tips.

Rooms tend to be a lot of rectangles (bookshelves, framed art, rugs, coffee tables), but for a well-balanced room, you need to balance those angles with a few unexpected shapes. Pieces like barcelona chairs or gravity-defying lamps help to bring in new shapes.

6. Create a Focal Point

When we’re decorating a space, we often think in terms of focal points. Every space needs at least one, and modern furniture and accessories make great focal points. Take this upstairs landing where you can see a wall in the hallway. Suzanne turned it into a beautiful focal point that leads you through the home. A black iron console table, clean-lined mirror, and round lamp are that dramatic vignette that gives your room impact.

What do you think? Can you swing a few modern pieces in your home?

For more design inspiration, visit our Pinterest Boards, or find more gorgeous rooms in our Photo Gallery. 

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