On the topic of matching furniture
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
In a discussion of bookcase design it was suggested to come up with something that went with the rest of the furniture in the room. Is our household yet again on one of the tails of a statistical distribution of normal behavior?
We have furniture, and furniture styles, from different centuries and wood in every room. We have an early 18th century Windsor sitting under a Krenov style wall cabinet. It never crossed my mind that this situation might be unusual or look out of place. However, I recall from my childhood, relatives' living rooms done in matching blond birch furniture (Haywood Wakefield?). I suppose they bought it all at once or at least over a short time. It would seem more typical to accumulate stuff over decades from new purchases, inheritance, antique shops and so forth, gathered in an eclectic mix of memories, function and decoration. It never goes out of style. 
