Make an impact with pattern
How to mix and match patterns and make them pop in your home
Prints Charming
Our eyes are drawn to pattern in the same way that our ears are drawn to sound. Patterns grab our attention so that we become captivated by spaces. Getting to grips with how to use prints and patterns in your home will help you create a wonderfully coherent look that truly reflects your unique style.
You can use a pattern to highlight parts of the room you would like your eyes to focus on. Using a patterned wallpaper at the end of a long corridor will make it seem shorter. Your focus is quickly drawn to where the corridor ends, rather than lingering on the surrounding walls. Prints can also be used to enhance architectural details like alcoves and arches. Papering the inside of an alcove will turn it into a stylish cubbyhole.
Highly detailed photographic prints create a sense of depth that can make a small room feel larger. The false perspective within these papers almost makes the walls dissolve, as though you could put your hand into them. These sorts of wallpapers are often used in small bathrooms for a dense and high impact look, but you can also try it with more subtle colours.
If you’re lucky enough to have a period property, step back in time and choose patterns that would have been in fashion when your home was built. Vintage patterns were specifically designed around the proportions of the rooms, so you’ll find that these prints will work perfectly in your space. You don’t need to go full on retro if that’s not your style, a pattern that suggests the period will work just as well.
‘Highly detailed photographic prints create a sense of depth that can make a small room feel larger’
Clever use of pattern can bring together groups of objects to make them feel more coherent. Collections of mementoes and souvenirs stand out against plain walls. Using patterned wallpaper will help to them blend into the background so that they don’t dominate the space.
Pattern isn’t only for maximalists! Subtle pattern can be used to make a muted colour scheme come alive. Calm colours give you lots of room to experiment with patterns of different scales and textures. Combine small patterns with larger scale prints for a deeply layered effect. This will look sophisticated and luxurious, without the drama of bright or clashing colours.
Sometimes a pattern you love can be too busy, or too expensive, to cover the walls completely. It’s simple to introduce your chosen print in smaller ways, like placing it above or below a picture rail, then painting the rest of the wall in a matching tone. You can also use the print above or below a dado rail for a similar effect. Half papering the walls like this means that you get the benefit of the pattern without it feeling overpowering, particularly with bold papers.
Start your design by choosing your hero pattern. This doesn’t need to be the biggest and boldest pattern you use, but it will be the one you’ll use to choose the colour scheme and set the tone for the rest of the room. It might be the fabric that’s used to upholster your chairs, or a rug or bedding set. This pattern will be the key to the whole look, so spend time looking around for something you truly love. Think about how well it matches existing furniture too. This will save you money in the long run, as you won’t feel the need to replace these pieces to match the new look.
Pick and mix
Find the right balance for your scheme by using patterns of different scales. If your hero pattern is a large, bold print, you can balance it out by using smaller scale or ditsy prints for your secondary patterns. Or, if your hero pattern is a delicate, tone-on-tone design you can liven it up with a bold patterned rug or cushions.
Find your secondary patterns by matching colours or motifs to your hero pattern. If your hero pattern has a lush botanical motif for example, you might look for more leaves in a similar shade. You could pair these with another green pattern with a different style, like an Indonesian ikat pattern or geometric design. Aim to use an uneven number of different patterns in your scheme, three or five is best.
When you’re mixing and matching patterns, creating a moodboard is unnegotiable! This could be as informal as a bag full of swatches, or something fancier like a purpose-made noticeboard. Just make sure that you get your hands on physical pieces of the patterns you want to use. When you’re trying to match colours within these patterns, you’ll need to know how it looks in real life, not just in a picture. It might seem like a bit of a nuisance when you just want to get on with decorating, but it will help to avoid making expensive mistakes.
Choose your hero shade. Take a close look at your hero pattern and pick out all its colours. For a subtle look, use the dominant colour from your print, this is usually the background colour. Using the dominant colour means that anything else in this shade will gently blend into the print. To make the pattern stand out, choose one of the lesser colours in your hero pattern.
For a professional look, use the 10-30-60 approach. Aim to use one pattern or colour across 60 per cent of your room. This will serve as the background theme to your look and will anchor the space. Use a second pattern across 30 per cent of your room. You should be able to see this second pattern roughly half as much as your background theme. Now choose an accent that will be the final 10 per cent. This could be a bolder pattern, or a lesser colour that you’ve picked out from another pattern you are using in the scheme.
‘If your hero pattern has a lush botanical motif for example, you might look for more leaves in a similar shade’