Designing Your Kitchen and Bath

Opposites attract: Designer Vicente Wolf knows that the secret to a great-looking room is all in the mix.   1. If you layer a space with color, texture and an array of styles, your decor choices will have a much longer life. Try a 1960s Italian chrome lamp on a country French table. Accessories can spark up a space and keep it from getting locked into one time period or a thematic look.

2. I like to put something primitive next to something very refined. When I place an African stool next to an 18th-century Italian chair, the rough wood sets off the shimmer of gilt and accentuates the best of both.

3. Look for elements that say the same thing, but from a different point of view. For example, an intricately inlaid Moroccan table works next to an Edwardian tufted chair because both are complex and heavily detailed. Together they give the room a more global point of view.

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Period Pieces, Paints and Fabrics

4. I'm always playing one period against another to bring out both similarities and contrasts. An antique red-lacquer Chinese armoire suddenly looks very modern when flanked by two molded-plywood Eames chairs. All three pieces have pared-down shapes, and then there's that lovely contrast of curves against straight lines.

5. An unexpected choice of paint or fabric can help you see a common piece of furniture in a whole new way. I might take wicker and stain it a dark mahogany shade, then upholster it in soft chenille or luxurious suede for a much richer look.

6. Opposites attract: A sleek white Saarinen table looks wonderful surrounded by dark, elaborately carved Anglo-Indian chairs.

7. I'll set a table the same way, mixing my mother's delicate French Limoges china with clear glass Pottery Barn dishes; or Fiestaware with Chinese blue-and-white. Nothing is more deadly than a dining table set with perfectly matched silverware and plates.

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Mixing Sizes and Materials 

10. I'll group hefty Italian Baroque candlesticks on a slim glass-and-brass 1940s French table ‑- usually at least three, rarely just one. There's safety in numbers.