Transitional

Where it comes from

The middle ground American designers settled on between period and modern.

Transitional keeps mouldings and symmetry but flattens the profiles and drops the pattern, giving rooms that read as calm rather than as either period or new. It is the most forgiving style for a whole-house remodel, since it tolerates old and new rooms side by side.

Lighting

Simple shapes in mixed metals, layered from ceiling to table.

What breaks it

• Heavy carving
• High-contrast colour schemes
• Trend-specific pieces
• Too much beige with no texture

Where to spend

Trim. Simplified profiles in a period-correct position is the entire trick.