Pattern play

Patterns are a great way to add personality, diversity and interest to any space. Five design experts share their top tips on mixing patterns in a room.

Use a variety of patterns

Taryn Flanagan, from Taryn Flanagan Interiors, loves featuring patterns in a space. “I find it makes that space interesting, as well as easy to update, or hide something unattractive, as your eye settles on the pattern first in the foreground. With your patterns, add in stripes, geometrics, checks and even textured patterns. This balances the florals and damasks and other prints, so that it does not feel like a chaotic and confusing mix.”

Consider your walls and floors

Cara Saven from Cara Saven Wall Design suggests you feature patterns on your walls and floors. “Your floors and walls are your largest surface area and the use of bold/contrasting patterns on both can add incredible drama to your interior. You can also consider mixing patterns when it comes to your tiles, which creates much more interest than using the same tile throughout.”

Incorporate sculptural fabrics

Jess Binns, from Hector & Bailey, says if you want to introduce subtle pattern mixing, bring sculptural fabrics that provide pattern via their three-dimensional qualities. “The current fabric market is awash with padded fabrics that provide exactly that.”

Match colours to patterns

Patsy & French’s Alet Verster advises you start with a feature pattern in a colourway you love, and pick colours from that to match other patterns to. “Play with similar patterns on different scales, or choose a theme and play around with that theme. Clashing patterns can be amazing, but require a very deft hand to pull them off!”

Stick to a base palette

Coricraft’s Catherine Mo is a firm believer that when mixing print and pattern in the home, the most important thing to remember is to keep your base colour palette the same with each product. ” Have fun with the process by playing with a variety of scales and try to stick to a least three patterns and prints when trying this at home.”