Avant Garde Design Tips for Your Home by John McClain

Avant-garde is known as an edgy, artistic style that breaks through traditional style genres. Avant-garde is frequently characterized as innovative, daring and breaks all design rules. In interior design it sculpts a house's design and transforms a home into art.

Avant-garde is your style destination if you like pushing the envelope as it allows you to color outside the lines to create a vibrant and fashion forward look for your home.

If you love the unconventional and unusual, check out these four avant-garde style tips to make your home unique and fashion forward. We asked the very talented John McClain to share his advice with our design savvy readers to show them how they can nab his avant-garde aesthetic.

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FROM JOHN::

My entire life is avant-garde! I always strive to take something I love and really add a shock or wow factor. To me, avant-garde is the unexpected, and my firm prides ourselves on adding unexpected elements into each and every room. Simply put, avant-garde is striking, a little shocking, and always memorable.

I always like to push a client's boundaries a bit to gauge their willingness to take a risk; and to me, Avant-garde designs have a wee bit of risky/uncomfortable in them--in a very good way! I will demonstrate spaces to the client that are avant-garde and let them know why the injection of something avant-garde really makes the space come to life. I really try to educate my clients on the fact that they might LOVE their neighbor's home, but we don't and we won't copy a style. Instead, let's add the unexpected and beautiful so that THEIR home is the talk of the town.
Masculin avant garde interior design

1. Never purchase furnishings in “sets”.

"We have grown beyond Garanimals. Select pieces that repeat design element to curate a room. Mix, don’t match."

Furniture pieces are a great way to add to a rooms character, however nothing is soothingly blended when attempting to achieve this style. Geometric shapes take the forefront in avant-garde. Consider circles, triangles and rectangles as geometric shapes that inspire you when selecting furniture and other design elements. Avant-garde showcases unique shaped sofas like Ludwig  or the Greta sofa. 

This style also looks great paired with vintage classic pieces. It's all about being experimental from time to time and like John McClain said "Never Purchase Furnishing in Sets". You may also consider unorthodox light fixtures, avant-garde style is known for including lighting that demands attention and has unordinary shapes and are starling in size.

2. Blend up the blues.

"Don’t use all your colored elements in the same hue. Oxblood, burgundy, crimson and cranberry combine to create a much more interesting pallet than just one tone could ever achieve. "

We agree! Refine your use of color and work with monochromatic palettes.You can combine many colors, for the most part but this design style requires primary solids colors. What matters is the distinction between them.

Consider bringing in design elements in that come in different hues, shapes and sizes. A moody color palette is a great opportunity to bring out your colorful art collection, vibrant textile pillows and allow them to take center stage.

3.Add the unexpected.

"You only require one element in a room to inspire wonder. Create a juxtaposition with an item of a different style, color, or scale."

This large built-in has storage space in spades and while avant-garde style welcomes the unconventional, John McClain saw this as a great opportunity to add the unexpected. By making simple modifications this large built-in was transformed into a bar.

Barware like the Margot Champagne Coupe that is opulent, daring and wildly artistic are great finishing touches that tie the whole look together.

4. beauty is often found in the imperfections.

" In our own designs, we often call the unexpected element in the room, “a little piece of unexpected but appreciated dissonance.” It is this critical cleansing of the visual pallet that creates interest."

Avant-garde likes to play with design elements that are cutting edge. Pull interest from your finishings, try an off beat feature wall like this Reflective mica chip wall covering. It is commanding but not overpowering and sparkles vibrantly behind the lush mohair bed.

Everything doesn't need to be perfect. One piece of unexpected is the key to adding character to your home. Mixing different genres and creating one beautiful coherent look is what Avant-garde is all about.

1. Never purchase furnishings in “sets”.

"We have grown beyond Garanimals. Select pieces that repeat design elements to curate a room. Mix, don’t match."

Furniture pieces are a great way to add to a rooms character, however nothing should all be too matchy-matchy when attempting to achieve this style. Geometric shapes take the forefront in avant-garde. Consider circles, triangles and rectangles as geometric shapes that inspire you when selecting furniture and other design elements. Avant-garde showcases unique shaped sofas like Ludwig  or the Greta sofa. 

This style also looks great paired with vintage classic pieces. It's all about being experimental from time to time and like John McClain said "never purchase furnishing in sets". You may also consider unorthodox light fixtures, avant-garde style is known for including lighting that demands attention and has unordinary shapes and are starling in size. Be dramatic!

 

Avant garde Master Bedroom John Mcclain
Avant garde Design  Custom Home Bar

2. Blend up the blues.

"Don’t use all your colored elements in the same hue. Oxblood, burgundy, crimson and cranberry combine to create a much more interesting pallet than just one tone could ever achieve. "

We agree! Refine your use of color and work with monochromatic palettes. You can combine many colors, for the most part but this design style requires primary solids colors. What matters is the distinction between them.

Consider bringing in design elements in that come in different hues, shapes and sizes. A moody color palette is a great opportunity to bring out your colorful art collection, vibrant textile pillows and allow them to take center stage.

 

3.Add the unexpected.

"You only require one element in a room to inspire wonder. Create a juxtaposition with an item of a different style, color, or scale."

This large built-in has storage space in spades and while avant-garde style welcomes the unconventional, John McClain saw this as a great opportunity to add the unexpected. By making simple modifications this large built-in was transformed into a bar.

Barware like the Margot Champagne Coupe that is opulent, daring and wildly artistic are great finishing touches that tie the whole look together.

4. beauty is often found in the imperfections.

" In our own designs, we often call the unexpected element in the room 'a little piece of unexpected but appreciated dissonance.' It is this critical cleansing of the visual pallet that creates interest."

Avant-garde likes to play with design elements that are cutting edge. Pull interest from your finishings, try an off beat feature wall like this reflective mica chip wall covering. It is commanding but not overpowering and sparkles vibrantly behind the lush mohair bed.

Everything doesn't need to be perfect. One piece of unexpected is the key to adding character to your home. Mixing different genres and creating one beautiful coherent look is what avant-garde is all about.

 

 

 

 

 

Avant Garde Design  Master Bedroom

“We not only want you to love your finished home design, we want you to have all of the warm and fuzzy feelings inside.”

-John McClain


Avante Garde Design Dining Room
Avant Garde Interior Design  Master Bathroom

Avant-Garde Furniture Favorites


Zuo Modern Zuo Modern Juniper Side Stool | Alchemy Fine Home

Shop Azurite Armchair | Muranti

Bernhardt Interiors Vika Chairside Table | Alchemy Fine Home

Bernhardt Calista Oval Bench | Alchemy Fine Home

Nuevo Taji Dining Table - Black | Alchemy Fine Home

Bernhardt Interiors Vika Chairside Table | Alchemy Fine Home


Meet John McClain

John McClain is an accomplished interior designer, speaker, writer, and on-air contributor who has turned his lifetime passion for interior design into an opportunity to do the same for others. As a young man, John’s interest in creating beautiful spaces was sparked by his family’s talent in home building and renovations. Soon, John began remodeling and redesigning home after home and combined a trade taught by his family with his natural aesthetic ability.

John McClain Design is a well-crafted blend of John's past design experience, education, and innovative-forward thinking. John McClain Design has offices in Central Florida and Los Angeles, CA. John’s projects have received numerous awards and have appeared in many publications including Traditional Home and Elle Décor. John's design advice can also be seen regularly in print, television appearances, and online in The Wall Street Journal, Martha Stewart Living, Apartment Therapy, Interior Design, and as a Fashion Police contributor for Us Weekly, and many more.

Instagram - @johnmcclaindesign

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