The Furniture Choice HGTV's Drew Scott Avoids In Homes With An Open Floor Plan

Celebrity designers are always keen to share with us the styles they love. But for every trend they endorse, there's another one they can't stand — the decor decision they're seeing everywhere that they wish could just disappear.

HGTV's Drew Scott, one-half of the famous "Property Brothers," is no exception. The star is on record talking about furniture and home styles he loves, from calming design elements to consider for your home gym to which historical home features are worth keeping in older properties. But when it comes to open floor plans, there's a style choice he can't get behind: matchy-matchy furniture.

Scott told Good Housekeeping, "People think you have to match things in open floor plans. Matchy-matchy is really boring." He prefers veering away from a dedicated color scheme and instead getting loose with some complementary and even contrasting colors and patterns. With the right blend, the place can feel exciting and warm without being too sterile.

Scott suggests, via Good Housekeeping, that homeowners "find things that complement [each other] and even [introduce] some nice contrast throughout the space to bring more personality."  When you're designing a room or shopping for new pieces, it can be understandable to want to stick to a palette so you don't have a few elements that seem totally out of place.

With an open floor plan, though, you're working with more than just one room. If everything is the same tone, your eyes can glaze over the entire area, not once stopping to notice anything striking or bold. It might make the place seem expansive — potentially one of your goals with an open floor plan — but at the same time, all the pieces will start to feel the same. The end result? A boring, potentially cold space that may feel more like a waiting room than a home.

There are tons of ways you can switch up design elements to avoid being too matchy-matchy in an open floor plan while still creating a cohesive color palette for your home. One is to add a mix of patterns to the area. Maybe you have mostly neutral furniture and wall colors, for example, but put a bold floral rug or a cozy striped armchair in a key spot. The colors could be complementary to everything else, but still be visually eye-catching enough to keep the area interesting.

Another way is to switch up the materials featured in your space. They may all fall into a similar color scheme, but the different textures give the eyes new elements to focus on, no matter where they look. For example, wicker counter stools, a brick fireplace, and a fur throw may all be a similar shade of brown, but their varying textures create warmth and depth throughout the space.

Overall, the great news about avoiding being too matchy-matchy is that it's an easy problem to correct. You can start small, adding pops of color like a fun accent pillow or gorgeous oversized vase. When you find more pieces you love that don't necessarily match, remember Drew Scott's advice, and don't be afraid to get them into the mix, too.