How to Mix and Match

Buying everything in one place can be tempting because it's easy, it all matches and then you're done. The only problem with this is that your living room may end up looking more like a showroom than a home. Yes, they may offer a good price if you buy everything, but you can still get great discount contemporary furniture and suit your individual tastes. Some good rules of thumb:

• If you have any metallic accents on your furniture, make sure you stick with golds and bronzes or silvers and stainless.
• If you can stick to a similar wood or finish, do your best.
• Shop by style - mission, contemporary, Victorian - at least for the bigger pieces. They'll look coordinated without looking too uniform.