Want to save money? Let go of the need for matching
I was a teenager in the 90s, and while this may be true of other eras as well, I remember there being a LOT of matching sets, particularly when it came to home decor.
Like...you'd have curtains, sheets, and a comforter all made from the same flowered fabric.
Also, in the 90s, kitchen would have themes, such as an Italian wine theme, and all the decor, including the wallpaper border, had wine bottles on it.
I suppose matching sets are rather common, though; I mean, you buy sets of dishes and sets of silverware.
You buy 12 of the same placemats, and 6 of the same bath towels.
You get drinking glasses in sets of 6.
But if you can let go of the need to match things, a lot of frugal possibilities open up, especially in the free/second-hand markets.
If things don't need to match, you are more able to take whatever comes along that's in your budget.
Let's run through some examples!
I have a rather random collection of drinking glasses here, mostly from the abandoned house. Since I didn't care if my stuff matched, I was happy to take whatever.
My silverware collection is similarly mixed-up, because I have some from the Buy Nothing Group and some from the abandoned house.
I know some people's entire silverware collection is just random Goodwill-acquired pieces.
If you find one you like that's good quality, you buy it and add it to the collection, and over time, you have an eclectic collection of silverware that you love.
My dishes are a Buy Nothing/Abandoned House combo.
My bedroom furniture is a mishmash of hand-me-downs and freebies that are all sort of a similar shade of wood, but nothing actually matches except the bed and the dresser.
My free kitchen chairs don't match each other, and they are definitely not the type of chairs that would have come with my table when it was new.
In my living room, I have two floor lamps from my other house, and then I've got this free lamp from Facebook Marketplace:
And I've also got this one that came in a set of lamps I bought on Facebook Marketplace.
Do the lamps match? Nope. Do I care? Also nope.
One last non-matching example: when I get a sock that sprouts a hole, I generally set the good sock aside and just use it with another sock of the same cut.
I'm not a next-level sock-darner like my friend Katy of The Nonconsumer Advocate so this is the next best thing.
If you're patient, you can find cheap things that coordinate
If you are a stickler for matching, it's going to be nigh onto impossible to use thrift stores and Buy Nothing groups to find things that were meant to go together.
But if you are willing to be patient, it definitely is possible to find cheap/free things that coordinate.
For instance, I have a fair number of white serving dishes that I've gotten at thrift stores. They don't match per se, but they are similar enough that they coordinate, and they look nice on my open shelving.
My bedroom is another good example of this.
I didn't snag just any old furniture that came my way, but when I saw something that would work with the wood tones of my free bed and dresser, I picked those up.
So, things don't match, but they sort of coordinate in there.
If you DO want random things to match, paint them!
Lisey's room (now my spare bedroom) is full of pink and white furniture that does not officially match.
But since it's all painted with the same two paint colors, it kinda looks like it goes together.
Sonia's room has a bunch of furniture that doesn't go together, but it's all painted in Cloud White, so it works together nicely.
I've painted picture frames all with the same paint so that they match, and I've done the same with plant pots.
Paint is amazing for making random stuff into a cohesive collection!
In summary....
You can save money by:
- letting go of the need to match
- settling for coordination in place of matching
- painting things to make them coordinate/match
What are some other ways that not-matching can save money?
I'd love to hear examples you can think of!
P.S. Just in case I need to clarify: I don't think it's a good idea to snag everything that's cheap/free. That leads to clutter! I'm saying that when you DO need an item, a "not everything needs to match" attitude can help you save money.
I really like your style.
I haven’t shopped at thrift stores in years. Mainly because I had plenty of stuff that I didn’t use along with family items(my own store) What I do is if I find I’m in need or want something I redo things I already own. This works especially well with decorative items. It just takes a bit of thought and looking at things in a different way. This keeps stuff from coming into my household that might have a limited time frame. Not only do I save money but time not shopping. Plus it’s a hobby that I can do frugally.
I’ve always liked the look of items that are different but go together. I have fiesta dishes, all colors. These were gifts that I received( mostly one at a time) and I love all the different colors. I used to wear two different earrings that were similar. I liked the quirkiness of them and most people never noticed. I wear men’s swim shorts and a woman’s top for water exercise. Mainly because I hate women’s swim suits, but still they are different.
So I almost always do the coordinated but different look. For me it’s frugal and keeps me from shopping, which I hate. Bonus, I keep things in use by recycling/redoing instead of tossing them in the trash.
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
― William Morris
I think your home looks beautiful and welcoming, Kristen. Things that don't strictly match often have more interesting origin stories, like your myriad treasures from the abandoned house and the generosity of your buy nothing group. This elevates them from just "things" into moments--digging through the house, discovering what lay beneath all that dirt--and reminders of kindness and to pass it forward. I like to think their previous owners would be delighted at how much their items have helped someone else find their footing in a new life.
I agree with you completely!!!! I live in a collected home. Almost everything I own was inherited, purchased secondhand, or gifted to me. There is the occasional garbage pick thrown in too.
Good design is seldom matchy, matchy. Rooms are more interesting when things reflect the owner’s likes, interests and tastes. Table settings are more interesting when different china and glassware are used. People are more interesting when they have a variety of interests.
I often think about the grand European homes that passed from generation to generation. The contents were from different periods, different generations and even different centuries. However, some how it worked together.
My father was an architect. He believed you collected what you loved, and it would fit together in a unique way that reflected who you are.
@Bee, Yes to your last comment in particular!
@Bee, You express the best side of "inherited wealth," that may not match, but is comfortable for different ages and sizes of people. I remember visiting Eleanor Roosevelt's home and the guide told us that she chose very plain dishes, glasses, and flatware so that no guest would be intimidated by fancy multiples of forks, crystal, plates and bowls. There is a lovely satisfaction, however, of once in a while setting a table with matching items, symbols that everyone is equally welcome. I like to make new sets of cloth napkins from time to time, and I have happy memories of nice dinners I have cooked. But the variety of my miscellaneous stuff is interesting and useful, and also helps visitors feel relaxed. I must unpack my mother's collection of unmatched tea cups! It was popular when she married in the late 1930s for women to give their friends a distinctive tea cup and saucer, so the recipient would think of them when she used them. Only trouble is they are delicate and not dishwasher safe.
In both apparel and in home decoration, I feel that a coordinated look is more natural and playful than just the matched items. There is more sense of coherence - not less -funnily enough.
I can’t do mismatched socks, but otherwise love non-matchy matchy. It makes things so much more visually interesting, especially when designing a room.
I think it would be hard for me not to have matching silverware! I've owned very cheap (but matching) Ikea silverware in my grad school days and now have really beautiful silverware my MIL got us for our wedding (9 years and still beautiful). I have to say that every single time I use them I appreciate them and they really give me a kick. Now that I think of it, while I didn't care about mismatched plates back when my living arrangements felt very temporary, I'd probably not want that now. But as you have said many times, everyone needs to choose which areas to be frugal in and what to indulge on.
100% on coordinating vs matching furniture though!
@Ally, I think similarly. My everyday dishes are collected Fiestaware & they are all the colors, but my silverware matches. I also received 24 place settings of my china when I got married 33 yrs ago. It gives me such joy to see that table on holidays & special events. My children promise to each take 12 settings each someday. I do love random furniture, however
@Ally, I am with you on matching Silverware that one of my sisters gave to us many years ago ,may she RIP ,I do treasure them and Everytime I look at it Thinking of Eva , otherwise I think it's okay to mix and match and there is always paint like you mentioned ! You Ladies have a nice weekend !
Patience can sometimes lead to a full set of something that matches, and it is so fun! About 15 years ago, I found a partial dish set that I loooved in a thrift store, white with brown rim and a few brown flecks. I took them home and kept my eye out for others. Picking up a dish here a cup there, and one time 6 plates together, I miraculously ended up with a full set of dishes for 14 within about a year! including the creamer and sugar bowl! It was so exciting for me. Alas, we are clumsy, move a lot and have 3 kids and now have only the teacups and accessories and 1 single solitary dinner plate left from that set. I feel sad but they had a good run and they were beautiful and I still enjoy the victory from back then 🙂
@Carla,
Who knows? You may run into more pieces of your dish pattern over time, so you can assemble another one.
@Carla, Dare I mention Replacements.com? They inventory thousands of patterns and you can register on their site.
Matching stuff? What's that?? DH's and my abode is a monument to our joint (and his father's) abilities at furniture rebuilding/repurposing, salvage of household goods from rental properties, trashpicking, thrifting, etc., etc. (Granted, most of the glassware does match--but that's because most of it consists of 8-, 12-, and 16-ounce Ball canning jars.)
And now that DH is gone, it's a poignant pleasure to look about me and remember what N calls the "origin stories" of the things in this home we created together. Like the firewood DH cut and I'm still burning, the memories keep me warm.
@A. Marie, I like drinking glasses that are glass, honey likes plastic so ours don’t match. I don’t know if this was everywhere but when I was a kid(1960, 70’s). You received a glass for every fill up. My parents had a set of glasses that have historical places in Texas.
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/texas-150th-anniversary-glass-set-131680087
This is what I use most of the time. Same with coffee cups, I use a fiesta mug honey uses a insulated cup.
I will never forget a “friend” saying how sad it was that I was 5 years out of college and my silverware didn’t match. It took me years to realize that my matching silverware didn’t matter to me. But at that time I had already bought my first townhouse at 23 and that mattered. It has always stuck with me as an example of sometimes your priorities don’t match with other people’s, but that doesn’t make you less than. Know who you are and what is important to you. The other stuff doesn’t matter.
@Beth H,
Wow. Shamed about not having matching silverware? How shallow.
As if matching silverware were the hallmark of maturity or the like!
I say, to each his own. I personally coordinate a lot of things and every now and then something might "match" but that's the anomaly, not the norm.
Kristen your house looks warm and inviting and that takes more than decoration to make that happen. Plus you have done a terrific job of recycling items.
Before everyone started selling stuff (and way before giving it away) online, we had an incredible thrift shop about a block away. I still have a number of things I got years ago for such low prices (you could never duplicate today), including a recliner that cost me more to have it hauled to my apartment than the recliner itself cost.
Over the years, I have seen how truly creative and visionary folks have assembled homes with items that could never be deemed matching and maybe not even coordinated, but, all together were imaginative, playful, fun and welcoming.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
@Irena, Beth and everyone,
Never mind not having silverware that doesn't match. I can top that story!
When I was in college, my roommate was engaged to be married the next semester. We were both in our suite of rooms, she in the bedroom and me in the study area, when I heard a blood-curdling scream.
"No! No! You've RUINED the wedding!" my roommate yelled over the phone to her mother. She was so loud and hysterical that our neighbors came running down the hall to see what was the matter.
In a few minutes, after throwing her hissy fit, Mary-Kaye came out of the bedroom, red faced and crying.
"What's wrong?" we all wanted to know, thinking that her hysterics were due to someone dying or an equally horrible event.
"My mother ruined everything. She ordered GOLD imprinting on the napkins for the reception, and that won't match the SILVERware."
Good grief!
Mismatched napkins will definitely ruin the marriage. 😉
(Well, actually, an attitude like this would more likely ruin the marriage down the road!)
@Fru-gal Lisa, Wow! Her reaction also tells you a lot about how she would handle other upsets and sorrows in life. My husband and I had a small, simple wedding at my parents home and we ordered appetizers and deli meat platters from a local restaurant that was kosher, which meant we had to order the cheese platter elsewhere. The cheese arrived cubed, not sliced. No big deal to us, we set it out and folks ate it anyway, just not on their sandwiches. No one cared, we were all too busy chatting and laughing, and having a great time with our loved ones. Many of those loved ones are gone now but we have the memories of a beautiful day celebrating with them and funny story about the cheese.
@Fru-gal Lisa, it sounds as if your roommate was an early version of a Bridezilla. Personally, I've never regretted that DH and I got married at my family of origin's county courthouse, with only immediate family members as witnesses.
@A. Marie, We got married by a Justice of the Peace, while living in Scotland. Only two guests. And my husband wore a pair of shoes left behind by an old boyfriend who had dropped by for a visit. My flowers were wildflowers picked by one of our two guests, tied to an old horseshoe for luck.
@Beth H,
''sad''... how? Let's interrogate that for a minute. It is a very sad thing that someone has eating utensils that are not identical because... ... ...
What a lack of imagination your erstwhile friend had!
@Fru-gal Lisa,
sounds very young and immature. Hope she matured quickly enough to make a go of her marriage.
@Beth H, I agree.
We actually buy silverware plates we like at thrift stores, just a spoon or 2 here and a knife there. It's a fun mix! Since we usually thrift on vacation, each piece tells a story. Our bowls are from Ikea, we had a $10 gift card from somewhere, and used that to buy 4 matching bowls. We do have a few other bowls that don't match, but they're all white, so who cares? Our glasses we purposely buy individually, as they remind us of the brewery we were at, or, again, the vacation we took.
I must confess, we did buy all new towels from Target when we moved house recently! Our old towels were ratty, and we bought a new shower curtain that had sharks on it (it's really for a kids bathroom, and we have no kids!) and so we went with blue towels. But! They're all different shades of blue because we couldn't decide which shade we liked best! lol Our downstairs bathroom has the old purple hand towels, but I'll be upgrading those to new ones the next time there's a sale at Target.
We have a few pieces of furniture that match: a leather sofa and loveseat, two nightstands, some wooden chairs, some bookcases, but it's because they were purchased at the same time. In purchasing them, they were intended to coordinate with our hodge-podge of inherited/thrifted belongings.
Paint is a great unifier, and so is fabric. I got lucky at a yard sale during the pandemic and found a quantity of fabric in just the right colors to pull together our bedroom. It was enough to sew valances, a large throw pillow for the bed, and a piece to cover the ends of the box springs that were visible when the bedspread was tucked in. It makes the room look restfully coordinating.
wise and winsome words, dear lady.
Just after achieving totally matched china, crystal, and everyday ware -- in the early 70's (de rigor for those who grew up in the 50's) interior designers started showing the wonders of mix and match . . . SIGH. Now I am learning NOBODY wants your stuff -- makes the Lord's advice to avoid rust and moths more timely.
@Barbara Smith, how right you are! A fellow gray haired friend recently voiced her anger over a local consignment store that would not take any of her very high quality clothing items. She did not see that it was a business decision and was greatly offended.
Over the summer, my husband and I put a lot of effort into updating our wills. When we asked our children what of our belongings they would like, three of them had not a single request. Nothing. One wanted any jewelry that had belonged to my mother. Instead of putting it in the will, I gave it to her on the spot. Why wait...
@Barbara Smith,
My husband and I recenlty went to the Museum of the 2oth century in Hoorn, NL. They have rooms in 20s style, 30s and onwards and it was a feast to recognize stuff from my youth. Including a little tricycle I had as a child. We also took some pictures of oldfashioned appliances to show our kids, and to MIL. It was fun to see developments and trends in everyday life.
I doubt that our children will want our stuff later, but I did emphasize they should sell the mid century flower pots and not bring them to the tip!
@JNL, I used to feel bad about my kids maybe not wanting my stuff, but if they don't, other people will. So if anyone wants to get a good deal on some very nice antiques, hit my kids up: they'll have it for sale before my body is even cool.
@Barbara Smith, I just finished cleaning my parents home. I’m the last child so it was left up to me. I took personal papers and pictures, along with a few things I wanted or could use. I had someone in 3 times to look around and buy. I then let the family take anything they wanted. Donated the good coats. Traded appliance’s and scrap for yard clean up. Filled the trash cans weekly. Then put everything left on the curb. Clothes, dishes, household items, furniture, even some Barbie’s. Almost everything was taken except the living room furniture.
I’m in the process of cleaning out my house as I don’t want to leave it for the family.
I prefer things not to match, like most of us here. It's an old interior designer's trick to put one thing that totally doesn't go with the rest of the room if the rest of it turns out too matchy.
Re William Morris, I'm a serious aficionado of his, but I remember being resentful of his maxim when the kids were little (by the way, in 1996, my son had a sweater with a duck on it, too, but he was two) and my beautiful William Morris carpet was overrun with bright plastic toys. "Easy for you to say," I'd think. "Even the toys were quaint in the 1870s."
Clothes, furniture, decor- coordinate and blend! Personal style and creativity come through. Matchy-matchy can be so bleh.
@Tina Lopez, Matchy-matchy is also a marketing ploy, pushing a person to buy all the parts of a set, and encouraging the company to make more pieces to go with it. Being able to show one has (expensive) furniture all from one company is a status thing that I don't choose to pay attention to.
The upside to mismatched glasses and mugs is that if there are multiple people drinking out of them, it's easy to know which one is yours! I'm a huge fan of making do and I always say if someone comes to my house and has a problem with my old/not matching furniture, then they have bigger problems!
I will say that not having all the same silverware is something that actively does kind of bother me at times. We have some from a wedding present set and some from Ikea because we didn't have enough. So the spoons from Ikea are superior but the knives are awful. So I often find myself digging through to get to the "good" utensils.
@Battra92, I spent $$$$ on a set of flatware from Alessi 20+ years ago and most of it has now gone in whatever way forks, knives and spoons disappear over the years in family life. It does annoy me somewhat to have completely mismatched stuff now, including a few pieces my mother bought which I hate because they're so ugly. One of these days, if Alessi still makes it....
@Battra92,
For some reason matching silverware is easier on the eye than "all kinds" - possibly because there is lots on the table, if you have a family. But two kinds sounds doable.
We had a friend who thrifted plates and dishes and set their table "mix n match". This was in the 90s when very many people would by sets. They would buy second hand as long as the china had blue tones in it. And they would use similar size plates for a meal. It looked fabulous. They did have a set of silverware though!
I love this post!
I never thought about it, but you're right, nothing in my house matches! LOL
Most of this doesn't bother me, but I am getting annoyed with my dishes. My collection of thrifted dishes are getting heavy now that we are lifting six of these chonky dinner plates out of the cabinet. I would love to have twelve of these thin correlle dishes that are feather light and don't break. But this feels like an "after the house is paid off" kind of purchase for me.
I will extend your argument about things coordinating. I think one can coordinate not just on color but style as well. We are in a very eclectic time where a modern piece of furniture can coordinate with grandma's sideboard if done well. It gives me great freedom to find items that fit my budget and my family's needs and less a specific color scheme or clear aesthetic.
@Amanda in VA,
Try estate sales for Correlle plates. In our area, the best selection is on the sale's first day, but on the last day, everything gets marked down just to get rid of it. Perhaps someone had a set of Correlle. Also try moving sales, Goodwill and BN groups.
@Amanda in VA, I saved up and bought a set of Pfaltzgraff in the late '80s, and family gifted me with matching items (salt and pepper shakers, etc.). While I still occasionally use them, they are HEAVY, and they take up a lot of room. I have a lightweight set of melamine dishes as well as white Corelle bowls, and those are what I turn to 90% of the time. I'm thinking that my daughter may inherit the Pfaltzgraff when she moves out ....
Pfaltzgraff dishes ARE often really heavy! And thick! Corelle is way more space-efficient.
@Amanda in VA, unless they have changed, don’t believe the no breaking part. I have a few plates left from when I got married in the 70’s. They are tough but when they break they shatter in many sharp pieces. I got a 4 piece set as a wedding gift and picked up a few more plates at the thrift store a couple years later.
@Amanda in VA, look at Dollar Tree for Corelle (thin) plates.
I wanted new plates (had Tupperware kids square plates & (?)melmae plastic plates) because youngest in middle school so looked around to find something I liked (& not made in China). I accidentally found Corelle plates at Dollar Tree. You can also check out Dollartree.com.
Corelle does break. Ask me how I know.
I can so relate to this! We have recently been having a first-world problem of running out of butter knives before everything else and before the dishwasher is full. Got tired of rinsing a few off every so often, so I bought five knives that felt the right weight at Goodwill for a dollar.
Otherwise, our silverware is two sets for four that we got for wedding presents, except for extra teaspoons. When I was little, Oneida would run an offer in women's magazines where you could order a sample teaspoon for two dollars to see if you liked a pattern. My Mom did that many times, letting us pick the designs. Using those make me think of her.
Our dishes do not match; I mostly wish the bowls did so they would stack better in the dishwasher rack.
But for matching-- A friend was laughingly remembering her childhood self and how she insisted her bras and panties match. I was quietly stunned. Perhaps larger sizes like mine do not come with matching underwear.
@Heidi Louise, I remember the Oneida spoons. They started off at maybe 25 or 35 cents and then rose to 50 cents then a dollar each. Inflation was rampant then and even Paul McCartney had a lyric about going the grocery store where "prices (are) higher than the time before." That was in his song "Junior's Farm." Today's inflation is history repeating itself IMO.
@Heidi Louise,
I have a collection of mismatched teaspoons that I keep in a spooner next to the coffeemaker. I use one of them every morning to stir my coffee. Sometimes, I’ll run across an interesting or beautiful spoon and purchase it for my little collection. I recently found one of those little commemorative spoons from 1953 made for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. I love my little teaspoon collection — inexpensive, fun, and useful.
Aww, I love this!
@Heidi Louise, I got quite of a few of those $1 teaspoons from Oneida. Fun! They were needed to supplement the scrappy silverware at the cabin I married into.
@Heidi Louise, I hear you. My larger needs never came in fun colors, let alone matching sets!
This is a somewhat funny post to me because I used to work as a high end interior designer. And we definitely did not do matching sets! Homes that are collected are way more beautiful and interesting than ones where you walk into a furniture store and buy the "living room."
What a great post with wise and fun comments!
Back in the '80s, I chose my dishes from Dansk so that I could have 4 or 5 patterns that went together but weren't identical. (I was adamant about not getting a "good set" of china because one set was enough—what a rebel.) We still use the Dansk
.
In the same era, I wanted to have all different chairs around my dining table. Alas, my husband came with a nice matched set. A few years ago we sold it, bought a table from the '40s, and then collected a variety of chairs. Took me long enough to scratch that itch.
Looking around the living room right now, I count 4 different fabrics on 5 different pieces of furniture. Two pieces from a matching set from the '30s but upholstered in different fabrics.
In spite of the non-matching, I realize that no one will want any of my stuff when I am finished with it. There is just too much stuff in the world, so I mentally pat myself on the back for not buying almost any furniture new. Seems to be a common theme in this Frugal Girl community!
My house is full of "treasures" that I have lovingly thrifted, bough from garage sales, been gifted and yes, a few trash picked items. Many of them have been transformed by stain, paint or fabric. Most people comment that when they first enter my house they instantly feel at home. That makes me so happy, because I love for people to be comfortable when they visit.
I am especially proud of a piece that my college aged daughter now uses in her place as a nightstand. I bought it at a garage sale for $1 to use as a plant stand. Her place is very tiny and she was looking for something small to use for a nightstand. She did not like the look of the plant stand as I hadn't done anything to it, but I asked her to let me try to improve it. It is wood and it was looking very dry. I used mineral oil and literally soaked it with coat after coat of oil. The result was a deep cherry finish that she loved!
I love being able to save money, keep items from the landfill and provide a need for someone.
I do have to confess that for some reason, I do like all my silverware to match. Why, when nothing else in my house matches, I do not know! When my husband and I were first married, I saved and purchased (place setting by place setting) a quality set from Betty Crocker of all places! When my oldest bought her first house, I divided it between my two kids. I found a "new" set at an auction for an amazing price.
Many years ago I mentioned to a coworker that I was about to go couch shopping. She asked if I was also buying arm chairs, side tables, lamps. I said I didn't need any of those things. She was horrified. She said "But nothing will match. People will know you didn't get them at the same time!" I was mystified then and I am still.
"People will know you didn't get them at the same time." Hahaha, that is such a funny concern!
And speaking of mismatched china, I have deliberately gone on sites and ordered just two of three or four different dinner or sandwich plate styles because I couldn't decide which I wanted. I love very old china patterns but am not interested in having six different sets in my cupboards. So, a couple of each will do.
I have some pieces of my Grandmother's old Corning Ware and some pieces of her flatware set. Really these are the only things that I have of hers and since she is the person that really impressed upon me a love and a joy in cooking, I wanted nothing more of hers. I treasure these pieces and remember the dishes she would make in them - I even remember eating her rice pudding from the spoons I now have in my own home when I was a little girl.
I have Fiesta Ware in my kitchen as I love the sight of the rainbow of colors. It goes right along with the mismatched flatware and Corning Ware. In the kitchen and really all over my home I am overjoyed with eclectic, mismatched items. I think it makes my house feel like a home and I love that when I walk into it I feel that its a place that I can express myself and be creative in for my family. I grew up with the 'matchy matchy' bedding sets and goodness I will never have those in my home. Ugh.
My allowance for the freedom of non 'matchy matchy' items ends in my sock drawer. I absolutely cannot stand for my socks not to match. I know it is dumb but the way the younger ones are wearing two different socks drives me nuts every time I see it. My brain just will not allow it and I will never understand why.
@Angie, I often used to wear non-matching Chucks. My favorite back in the mid 80s was the camo Chucks mixed with the gold lame Chucks.
@Rose, LOL!!!! This is so wonderful Rose! I love that 🙂
Years ago, I saw some local college boys get outfitted for their first apartment at a Goodwill store near the campus. The thrift store had three large boxes/bins full of knives, forks and spoons and the boys just grabbed great big handfuls of each utensil. Of course, few if any of the flatware pieces matched. But the guys were having such a great time piling up items for their first-ever apartments, their happiness was contagious. I guess you could call their style the Bohemian look, LOL!
On a similar note, Dillard's (a fancy dept. store in the South) once promoted mix and match china for brides. They had tables set with a different pattern bowl, dinner plate and salad plate -- 3 distinct patterns that went together and looked very nice. The idea was to buy numerous patterns so you could have variety. Of course, Dillard's was trying to sell brides on registering for several different patterns of their sky-high fine china, but we frugal people can choose less expensive options. (Hello, Grandma's attic, garage sales, thrift stores, Freecycle and BN groups!)
Back when DH and I were newly weds, we had matching silverware because a gas station gave away a piece or two with every fill up of gas. We were broke, so free silverware with a purchase we had to make anyway suited us fine. However, that was some truly ugly silverware, so I replaced it eventually. I have a full set that matches now, but I have extra serving pieces that don't match but I don't care.
I know some people who buy the whole matching set when they buy anything that comes in a set, but most of my home crowd is more like the community here.
I do have matching dishes and glasses. I had to replace all of my glasses, plates, bowls and cups with unbreakable ones when my husband became unsteady and lost most of his grip, dropping things routinely. Trying to replace the breakables one or two at a time wasn't going to work; I needed to clear those fragile things out. Someone here mentioned wanting Corelle - if you don't mind them not matching, you can find Corelle pieces at Goodwill almost all of the time. I bought my set on clearance through the Corelle website in order to get it all at once.
I sure remember those days of matchy-matchy. It was the style, and that's what was out there to buy so... people bought it. I remember the days of Early American, the Mod look, the mushrooms, the ducks and geese (they were EVERYWHERE), the apples, the flowery-print-on-everything, the dried arrangements and silk flowers, and lately, farmhouse. It was somewhere around the time of those darn geese that I decided to opt out of home style altogether. I liked designs that weren't in fashion, and I wouldn't and couldn't afford to upgrade to the latest thing every time style changed, so I stepped off that train and have used only what I love since, which is why I have 1920's and 1950's butting up against French Provincial, American and English traditional, a bit of homespun and a bit of modern.
I do the same with paint colors, too. If I like 'em - I use 'em. Almost every room in my house is a different color. I would drive some people crazy, I suspect.
@JD, OH the geese!!! My Mom had loads of these everywhere in the 80's. She had the dishes too....Marmalade I believe they called it. Fun memory.
@Angie, Save us from the mushrooms!
@Kathleen in Kansas, I had the mushrooms! '70s! I still have two large mixing bowls that have some sort of brown pattern on them--I don't even know what they are and I use them all the time. But they went well with the mushrooms! LOL
I love the thrill of the hunt! What’s fun about buying a ready made set of dishes that all match!? I have dishes from my local thrift store that I adore.. and I love nothing better than a nice pot luck with a stack of colorful non matching plates and serving pieces.My tables are always colorful!!
Matchy matchy has never been my style. I do remember the 80’s and all those flowered balloon valances that matched the rest of the wallpaper and bedding,etc..?? Yikes! Our dresses kind of looked like that too,remember??(Laura Ashely..)
I love how you have decorated your new home with found pieces that work together..And your painting skills are above and beyond!
Yes, yes, exactly! All the matching valances. lol
I enjoy following a couple of design blogs as well as a Youtube designer. What has struck me for several years is that most designers espouse a "collected over time" look to decorating your home. I guess I'm already there! 😉 My personal leaning is that I want things in my house to harmonize well. I also enjoy the story behind the items--it's so much more interesting to say that my bedside table was my grandfather's humidor for his pipe tobacco (not that I'm endorsing smoking!) than it would be to say "I got it at Pottery Barn".
I put pillow cases on my living room throw pillows. They were pink which did not work at all. The plaid cases don't match but have the same basic color scheme so they work.
Like you, I have a very eclectic home. What comes to mind first as I read your post is my dishes. I was tired of the matching dish set I owned; it was time for something new. The old set was thrifted, but I bought it as a set. I started noticing all the white plates with sculpted fruit, or vegetables, or sometimes flowers, or a combination of the three or just a geometric design as borders. I bought one of each, never paying more than a dollar. Every winter I host a soup potluck dinner. I did the same thing with bowls, all are white, all have sculpted borders.
I remember looking at the JC Penney and Sears catalogues in the 90's and laughing at all the stuff that matched. LOL We weren't the ones buying it. 😉
I think another frugal perspective is to not feel like you need to change everything in your home every time fashions and trends change, or even your own taste. You can change something that is particular to you and let other things kind of meld into it, and chances are things will match and look good together because your taste will be fairly similar or changes only slowly, and the things you own will have this in common across different periods. A home that is slowly curated is more interesting than one where everything is from one time period.
I have mostly matching sets of dishes and silverware, but nonmatching furniture. The dishes and silverware have additions to them that are slightly different, but similar enough to be used together. Every change I have made somehow "makes sense".
@Kristina M., Oh, I dunno, most of the things in my house are from 1900-1910, including the Alessi flatware. Originally designed in 1906 by Josef Hoffman of the Wiener Werkestatte. Alessi still makes it but it's twice the price it was 20 years later. SIGH.
You know when people say they don't want their house to look like a museum? That's EXACTLY what I want. Ha! Unfortunately two dogs plus one cat etc keeps that from happening.
@Rose, I'm sure they are beautiful! And nothing wrong with enjoying one time period and keeping to it. What I mean is feeling like you need to change all your home décor every time fashions change to make it match the new time period. I prefer style that is lasting, even though it was created in a certain time period (tend to lean towards MCM as we live in a rancher from that era).
Also, all our dishes, glassware and cutlery are from the same designers, so new ones tend to blend in well, even when separated by decades.
I have all antique furniture so not much matching here other than a couch and love seat. They match due to a mistake at the furniture store. We ordered a couch when we got our house. The fabric was not even hooked to the frame. We asked the furniture store to pick it back up and went to look for a clearance couch and we found one that matched our love seat, same fabric & details.
I have Fiesta Ware, all colors. My silverware is matching. My pots and pans are all old and do not match.
One day when I grow up I plan on having matching something (anything) in my bedroom. I buy clearance bedding (other than sheet sets) because the dogs trash them. Someday....
I don’t have a matching set of mugs. Some were given to us as gifts, some purchased on different vacations. I love that each one has a story. Now that I think about it nothing in my kitchen is a set, except the silverware.
One thing about secondhand furnishings is that it reduces decision fatigue. I still use a bedroom set that my grandmother bought new in the 1970s. I've never had to pick out new bedroom set. The pieces got a face-lift this summer and look great again.
Similarly, other secondhand furnishings have saved me from worrying about what to buy. Our end tables where bought from my former neighbors when they downsized. The floor lamp came from my great-aunt. The ugly green lamp was from my parents (this one doesn't coordinate, at all, but... it has sentimental value).
My favorite piece of furniture is an antique sideboard from the 1800s that my great-grandparents brought to the plains. We bought our table and TV stand to coordinate. The sideboard was in the living room of our first two homes, so it was nice that they went together.
I buy random pottery in thrift stores. Almost all of my bowls now are pottery bowls. I just love them. I have the bowls that match my plates, but I put them away above the stove because I never use those.
And most all the little side tables in my house are random. An oak chest we found at an antique store, a walnut side table picked up here or there. Most are all the same "style" and look like they belong in the same house, but are from all over. My bedroom furniture doesn't match. It used to, but we wanted to go up to a king so I bought an iron bed....then new side tables and none of that matches our dressers. It's fine.
Mail me your holey socks and I'll darn them for you. Seriously.
As they say, "perfectionism is the thief of joy'' and this applies to home decor too. It obviously depends on the specific items, but a mix of coordinated things looks nicer, to my eye anyway, unless you have (say) a beautiful set of china or heirloom something-or-other set, which is usually unusual and lovely in its own right.
I bought random cheap frames at garage sales & thrift stores & then painted them all the same color to give as gifts with my son’s senior photos.
I love the concept of “coordinating” rather than “ matching.” I have 5 siblings. My parents couldn’t afford what they called the “ luxury” of having household items match. Many kind neighbors and friends gave us hand-me-down clothes as well as household items ( lamps, small carpets, dishes). We were always grateful for whatever we had and never even thought about things having to match. Occasionally though my mom would make throw pillows for a couch or one of our beds. So the pillows matched if she had scraps of fabric that matched in the first place.
Years ago when I was working in an office, I was embarrassed to be told by a coworker that I shouldn’t be wearing black shoes with a navy skirt( which is what I was wearing that day). I don’t know if the greater embarrassment was when I revealed that these shoes were the only pair I owned. I didn’t even consider whether they matched my skirt or not. Nowadays, I’m a bit more intentional about putting outfits together. But I’m also more confident to wear what I have even if it’s not “matchy- matchy.”
And back to our current home, things are a little coordinated but mostly eclectic. And old but still useful.
One thing I appreciate about “unmatching” is how my eyes are drawn to different details at different times. Patterns, colours, shapes “change” in differing light, context, mood. Nature isn’t meant to be a monoculture of shapes, sizes or hues… why should the manufactured life be a slave to the opposite?
I am comforted by my matching kitchenware. I have 27 white, fluted Corelle plates, 8 dessert plates, 8 bowls, 12 large & 12 small Duralex glasses, Wallace flatware for 24 & 12 extra spoons, 36 napkins & 12 matching dish towels. Some thrifted, some purchased. All appreciated. I never need to buy paper plates, cups or napkins for parties. Most of my Revere ware pots & pans are 47 years old (wedding gifts). I do buy new non-stick fry pans every couple years. I use my Mom and Mother-in-law’s Club aluminum roasters. (Probably 70 years old.) It took a long time to assemble my stock. I polish the pans’ copper bottoms every time I use them. They still look great! I love to cook and don’t mind washing the dishes (no dishwasher) because I love my stuff. I’m so thankful.
Here's a small bit of MATCHING serendipity - probably 20 years ago, my sister gave me a 3-qt lidded oval baking dish. Last year I saw in a NextDoor yard sale announcement a picture of a LOT of random kitchen stuff,, and there was a matching 1.5-qt lidded baking dish! Since our household has shrunk some (and should be shrinking some more), that dish is a welcome addition! It looked as if that dish had never been used. I use the larger one all the time! I still can't believe I got the matching dish. And for $2!
Matching tends to be way over rated.