How to combine patterns in home decor

Adding patterns to your home decor can bring a room from bland and boring to the next level. What is the next level for you? That will depend on your style and the feelings you want your room to evoke. (For a quick review on Style vs Feel, see this older post on my blog - Click here.)

Patterns add visual texture, sometimes with true texture and most often with a flat image in two or more colors. The pattern can come in the form of fabric, paper, wood, and all kinds of other media you find in furnishings, art, window coverings, flooring, etc.

​One option to tie patterns together is to choose a common color from within a multi-color pattern.  For example, by starting out with this multi-color image from Designer Thibaut Imperial Dragon Wallpaper, I chose to pull out the blue in the wallpaper and pulled together a small scale print and a large scale stripe to complement the busy Imperial Dragon design. Changing the scale is key to achieving pattern balance. 

Another option that can give a calming effect is to use patterns with the same color scheme and keep the scale small so that nothing pops out at you on its own.

Often times you will find you need to work with a pattern that is difficult or cost prohibitive to remove, such as existing flooring. Using different textures will add visual pattern. This rustic flooring is complemented with a similarly rustic wall treatment shown with the brass banded glass vases which adds a smoothness balancing the look. Toss in a textured throw and pillows to provide inviting comfort with a nod to the original rustic look. The smoothness of a brushed leather sofa transitions rustic to elegance. I love this look. Don't you?

It is important to have a focal point in a room, but you also want the rest of your space to appear interesting and inviting. Repeating patterns around a room will keep your eye moving around the space. ​

There are several repeated patterns in this space. The curvature of the sofa is repeated in the coffee and dining tables, the rug, and the lighting. There are short lines repeated in the wallpaper, pillows, and drapery, as well as long flowing lines repeated in the wood flooring, the verticality of the drapery, and the dining area rug.

Stripes and colors are repeated in this playful living room.

This is a great example of mixing traditional elegance with modern art. The fabrics vary from solids and stripes to organic blue and white imagery. The jars and bowl repeat the organic imagery and the jar shape is repeated in the lamp. The smooth surfaces of the tables add tactile appeal. The crisp lines of the piping on the upholstery complement the lines in the artwork above the sofa and the striped material in the sofa. It all works!