BEATA HEUMAN
‘Your home should be as interesting and as varied as you are, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to subscribe to,’ says award-winning interior decorator and designer Beata Heuman. Her mantra when it comes to prints and patterns? ‘If you love them, use them!’
LAYER UP
‘At my studio, we use wooden trays to lay out everything at once, so we can reflect on how a scheme is coming together. Wallpaper samples are set alongside fabrics for curtains and upholstery and even brass fittings to build a complete vision. I find that looking at a fabric in isolation can make it quite hard to imagine it in context. I would always recommend requesting samples or taking photos and laying them out together with other patterns and colours in the room, so you can get a sense of how they will combine.’
BE UNEXPECTED
‘I believe the key to constructing an interesting space is creating unexpected contrasts. Rooms come alive when they are layered with interesting juxtapositions – think a traditional piece of antique furniture upholstered in a modern, playful fabric or a pared-back seagrass wall covering set against a bright flock floral headboard.’
MAINTAIN BALANCE
‘Combining pattern is an instinctive process. We’ve created rooms with only two or three different patterns or fabrics, and some with more than 10. If you have a very neutral room and pile a lot of colour and pattern into one corner, that might look a little unbalanced, so it’s good to view the room as a whole when you’re designing it and distribute space and colour across it. Think about the view from different angles.’
JUST ADD NEUTRALS
‘Woven, sisal or jute rugs are a nice way to build neutral texture into a room – they add a warm tone and some organic pattern. Classic ticking stripes are also a lovely addition to any interior and tend to complement anything they’re placed against – I love the range at Howe. If you want to create a calm backdrop to use as a starting point for the design of the room, try Farrow & Ball’s School House White – it has just the right tone to complement whatever colour you build into the rest of the space.’
‘YOUR HOME SHOULD BE AS INTERESTING AND VARIED AS YOU ARE’