The ugly rule: Why every room needs something weird to make it pop

The blue den that Austin-based designer Erin Williamson created for a client was rocking a sleek ’70s vibe, with leather furniture, blue velvet chairs and graphic wallpaper. But still, something was missing. Then she hung a black and white drawing of a man’s face set in an intent stare. Although it’s small, the art is haunting and unsettling, marking the room as anything but generic. Sometimes, it takes an odd or unexpected element to pull a room together, she said.

Intriguing objects are like the character actors of the design world, adding novelty and meaning to a space. And by flouting conventional ideas of beauty, they prevent rooms from feeling too precious or stiff. “A spot of imperfection sharpens a flawless space,” Williamson said in an email. “The contrast feels fresh and real, because perfection is boring.”

Here’s how you can find and use idiosyncratic pieces to personalize your home.

Identifying the right oddball objects

“If you see something you love, buy it — you’ll find a home for it,” Williamson said. Start by combing thrift shops, flea markets, garage and estate sales, and auctions. Or, Jill Singer and Monica Khemsurov, the New York-based founders of Sight Unseen and authors of “How to Live With Objects,” suggest searching eBay, Etsy, Ferm Living, Coming Soon, Neighbor and Ssense. Here are some attributes to look for.

• A study in contrasts. Choose objects that seem to conflict with the overall tone of your room. D.C.-based designer Paul Corrie said in an email that he likes to look for a “mix of pieces from different periods and styles.” For example, he placed a 19th-century French plaster bust of Pericles on a carved Italian walnut console table. The sculpture of the ancient Greek politician and general is large and a different style from the table, creating a surprising touch. “The end result is an organic, collected look, which represents our clients’ individual styles and provides an opportunity to highlight their travels or design influences.” Williamson achieved a similar effect by setting a whimsical iron bench featuring faces under an antique tapestry.

• Art that imitates life. For a humorous touch, Williamson likes to include objects that show body parts or creatures. For example, she chose a vintage carved wooden panther head for a client’s otherwise traditional living room, and a hand-shaped sconce for another client’s home. Khemsurov said she laughed when she visited the home of prominent gallery owners and noticed a human arm made of textiles hanging over a chair. “It was not what I expected,” she said.

• Consider adding texture. Highly tactile objects with blotchy or uneven layers of material can feel intense and overwhelming, Williamson said, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For this effect, she turns to impasto paintings, which have thick coats of paint that can connect you to the artist, she said, “since you can see their brush marks on the canvas.” She also likes sculptural pieces, such as the gnarled, patined cast bronze candlesticks she chose for a client’s coffee table. “You can feel them with your eyes,” she said.

• Go big. Playing with scale can add an element of surprise, particularly with oversize items that aren’t furniture. Many visitors who walk into the foyer of a home Williamson designed for an equestrian client smile or do a double-take. That’s because two giant vintage horse sculptures flank the front door, in place of the more expected plants or an umbrella stand.

• Play with shapes. Vases, lamps or other objects with irregular shapes lend rooms a funky, unstuffy feel. Because their silhouettes aren’t standard or symmetrical, these pieces appear handmade, imperfect and idiosyncratic rather than sleek, mass-market and factory-produced.

• Embrace imperfection. To Williamson, signs of distress and aging can be an asset. Puncture marks, holes, chipped paint and other “damage” can “take the feeling of an object down from beauty and perfection, so the space feels more relatable and human,” she said. That’s why she recently hung an old, faded painting in a client’s living room with teal walls and shiny silver sconces. The art adds character and texture to the otherwise polished space. “You can tell it’s old,” she said. “Someone didn’t paint it to match the room. It’s an original object and you can feel it.”

• Get personal. Instead of choosing items based on their visual attributes alone, also consider their narrative qualities, Williamson said. Including objects that tell a story and reflect your interests can help personalize your space, she said. So, hang the self-portrait you drew in grade school or display the tea glasses you found on your honeymoon in Morocco.

How to style them in your home

• Consider size and quantity. “One funky object, if teeny-tiny, will fly under the radar,” Williamson said. “But if it’s too large, it can be cartoonish or repulsive.” To achieve the right balance, she said, heed the 60-30-10 design principle that is often used with color schemes. Sixty percent of your space should be neutral or functional, 30% patterned or funky, and 10 percent “really out there.” “It’s important to carefully edit so the end result isn’t chaotic,” Corrie said in an email.

• Load up shelves but keep other surfaces spare. “If you want to visually overload an area, especially if you’re using a lot of strange objects, do it on shelves,” Khemsurov said. “They’re made for display.” But, with other surfaces (mantels, coffee tables, or buffets), consider limiting yourself to only one weird object, she said.

• Put them on a pedestal. If you’re unsure how to incorporate a strange object in a room, think of it like a piece of sculpture. “Set it off and treat it like art,” Khemsurov said. Try displaying it on a pedestal and showcasing it with a spotlight, she said. “It’s like you’re saying, ‘I know this is different’; it’s like a wink,” Singer said.

• Experiment. “Don’t be afraid to make a mistake,” Singer said. “You can always sell items.” Sometimes, she added, you might initially feel an object is wrong for a space. But once you acquire more pieces, you could change your mind. “Design is a process.”