Mixing Patterns like a Pro

A room cannot live on solid fabrics alone. There has to be some pattern, a little life, brought into the space!  Designers have an innate sense when it comes to mixing patterns and there is a little technique involved.

Start with your “lead” fabric…that’s usually the one with the boldest, liveliest pattern. The one when you picked up you screamed “yes” to. Once you have that lead fabric selected, the rest is a breeze. A very small scale print is a must and as long as the print is small, it won’t compete with the main fabric. I also love to throw in an abstract type print, one where it doesn’t have a definitive shape, but it compliments the other fabrics and brings a touch of unexpected to the scheme. Adding a larger, heavier print to work off the others is a good idea as well. It grounds the color scheme and gives a spot for the eyes to rest. Lastly, select a solid in the color palette you want to bring attention to in the main pattern. If the main pattern consists of blues, reds, greens and white but you are really wanting the room to read as if green is the main color, select a solid that is in the green family. Also, selecting a few other of your patterns in the same color family will help bring the space together.