Easy ways to mix fabrics
Q: I have never been able to successfully mix pattern, be it clothing or home fashions. I love the look of mixed patterns in a room but after suffering a few disasters I now tend to stick with plain fabrics and a bit of texture. (Even my husband has commented on the fact that our house is a sea of solids.)
I want to freshen up my house this spring and am determined to add pattern. Any ideas? A: You are not alone in your inability to mix pattern. Clients and friends tell me they feel it’s one of those “you either know or you don’t know” talents, but truth be told, there are some tips that can help you successfully mix pattern. Here are three easy considerations to keep in mind.
Colour
As you are a beginner and have admittedly racked up a disaster or two, I recommend starting with one colour palette. I’m not saying one colour, but rather one palette.
Take a look at the inspiration photo here. The living room designed by Ann Lowengart (annlowengart.com) takes inspiration from nature’s palette of blues, greens and browns.
An easy way for you to establish a colour palette (if you don’t already have one in mind) is to first find one patterned fabric with colours you absolutely love, and use that as the starting point for your room. From there, choose patterns based on colours pulled from this original fabric.
Scale
When picking pattern, think in terms of scale: small, medium and large.
In our photo, note the small animal print on the benches in the foreground, the medium print on the draperies and pillows on the right sofa, and the two sep- arate oversized patterns on the decorative pillows on the left sofa. Choose at least one from each size category for a successful mix. A room filled with only one size of pattern feels off balance, just as a room filled with one scale of furniture does.
Style
Animal prints, stripes, florals, geometrics, damasks and paisleys are just a few examples of pattern style. Once you’ve established a colour palette, look for various styles in those colours, keeping in mind our lesson in scale.
Whenever I begin a design project, I collect myriad fabrics until eventually I narrow my choices to the ones I wish to use. I then assign specific patterns to various pieces in ther oom—draperies, pillows, benches, and so on. Sometimes I have 15 or 20 fabrics before paring down to five.