A Passion for Pattern
It's often hard to know where to start when it comes to putting a pattern in a room. Interior designer Sarah Hargrave, of Style to Sell, offers some advice to make the whole process a breeze.
It has been said that a room without pattern is like a garden without flowers – it can look and feel dull, stark and uninviting. By introducing a combination of designs, whether vibrant or more muted, you can imbue it with interest and harmony, creating a theme throughout that adds character and reflects your individual style. Although pattern can be used on walls, furnishings and floors, try not to overdo it. There are many gorgeous collections to choose from, with open, sketched designs, polka dots and stripes very popular at the moment.
But where to start? It is a good idea to begin with a 'mood board' of samples of the patterns and paint chips you like, and putting them together in this way helps you see how they relate to one another. It is usually best to find one dominant one, then use another couple as a contrast to go with it. Do this by choosing patterns that all have a common colour running consistently through them. As a general guide, don't have more than three different ones in a room. Spread them out around it to give a balanced, harmonious effect. Varying the scale of the patterns you put together also adds interest. For example, combining a pretty large-scale floral with a medium-scale stripe and a check that's smaller still works well. You'll soon see that introducing patterns into your decorating scheme can be enormous fun and very rewarding.
Tips for using pattern
Be aware of the period of the house and the style you want.
Find one key fabric that you love and build the scheme around it.
Bring the decor together by choosing patterns with a common colour running through them.
When decorating a small room, smaller-scale patterns usually work better.
Large patterns appear bolder on large pieces of furniture.
Stripes give furniture, or an entire room, increased height or width.
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