Friday, October 24, 2014
Mixing Patterns Like the Pros
How do you mix patterns like the pros?
House By The Shore is
often confronted with this question and many more when it comes to
patterns. How do you mix them? What is the secret to mixing patterns? How many patterns can you have? It really boils down to some fairly simple
tips when it comes to mixing patterns in your home décor.
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| Hadley Boxes - Set of Three |
It is all about odd numbers and scale. Actually this is the secret to all design but
let us explain. Odd numbers are more interesting to us visually. It is better
to have three of something rather than 2 or 4 whether it is the number of
patterns you use or how many knick-knacks you have grouped on a shelf. Don’t believe us? Take a look at the picture. We bet your answer is three.
Scale is also vitally
important. You can’t use 5 patterns that
are all bold – it will drive you crazy.
When people get patterns wrong it is because they forgot about
scale. Here are some tips and visual
cues we suggest following when mixing patterns.
Minimum of three!
Fabric number two should be half the scale of your dominant fabric and contain some of the colors used in your main pattern. We chose a lovely check fabric – Outer Banks – Robert Allen Fabrics Oasis which picks up the teal and green nicely.
Fabric number three focuses in on one color – turquoise. It is actually a plaid, Helios Plaid – Robert Allen Fabrics Turquoise. Your third fabric should be the smallest in patter and typically will have fewer colors. Now we could have chosen a fabric that has more than two colors but we would have wanted the scale to be even smaller as the colors will compete with the scale.
The more the merrier!
The more patterns you use the more interesting your look. The key here as you add in more pattern is to keep the same color intensity and you also want to be sure you spread the pattern around the room.
When we added the fourth fabric we kept it light and went with a stripe. This Ticking – Bella Dura – Aquamarine fabric brings out the creamy white and gray in fabric one.
The fifth fabric, Rowell – Robert Allen Fabrics Pool is a small scale geometric that accentuates the turquoise color.
Solids count!
When you are working
with mixing patterns, you want to remember that solid colors are patterns too
and that texture plays a role. Look at
how nicely the solid turquoise,
gray
and green
fabrics balance the patterns we have chosen.
Now we hear you, they have eight now.
We would stop at seven or pull something else in and move to nine but we wanted to illustrate the solid color choices you could go with here. You actually could have more than three; you could use the creamy white and navy as well.
Hard to get too many!
Ok, we suppose it MIGHT be
possible to get to the point where you have too many but let’s just say we
haven’t discovered it yet. That is as
long as scale is kept in mind. You’re
more than likely going to run out of places to put the patterns before you hit
too many patterns. After all a room will
only hold so many upholstered pieces, draperies and throw pillows! And remember some of your patterns will be used minimally like the piping on a chair or pillow.
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