Interior designer Shea McGee says she avoids using overly-matching furniture sets in her living room designs, opting for mismatched pieces instead.

McGee feels that living rooms with matching, box set furniture tend to feel very formal, which can give the space a formal energy and make it feel impersonal and unwelcoming.

Living rooms with this formal energy tend not to get used very often. For this reason, McGee avoids overly-matching furniture sets and opts for mismatched pieces instead.

However, McGee explains that while your furniture pieces don't have to match, they need to be curated in a way that is cohesive to a single living space.

McGee told People to start by using the sofa color as a jumping-off point and then "weave in color and heavy textures through the pillows and throws" to create "a higher-end look."