How To Use Patterns

I was in an interior design store, Maison du Monde, looking at the new autumn colours and I heard a woman admire the display, sigh and buy a neutral, beige cushion. Now I love soft beiges as they remind me of my favourite place, the beach. However, there is a touch of sand and there is dull, ordinary and neutral colour that just screams – practical! So let’s look at where, why, how and when to use patterns.

Size Matters

When decorating, the size of the room needs to be considered as well as how much light is coming into the room. Too much pattern in a small room can be overwhelming. Depending on the light, one wall can be stencilled or wallpapered. Equally, a small pattern in a large room can look odd and bland. Consider the same idea that we use for paint and colours. Small rooms ideally need light and soft colours and what is called ‘negative space’ – think lots of white or cream as the background. Florals are often popular or tiles in a small kitchen with a clear linear pattern in light colours or black and white can look chic. Medium sized rooms can hold bigger patterns but it may be still wiser to consider cushions and accessories with pattern and texture. Large rooms, go for it! However; I am not a fan of more than three patterns and a big room can be like a painting, someone needs to take the paintbrush away from the artist!

Choose a Style

There is a reason you were attracted to the Cape Cod style house or the modern apartment. Matching style, colour and pattern to the overall look of the space adds a sense of balance. I have seen an ultramodern Australian glass and steel house with an English pub inside! Yes, it looked odd but there you are. Each place I have bought has been assessed by the look and feel when you walk in. I have decorated a Malaysian modern apartment with a mixture of modern and Asian furniture, a French 18th century tiny house with Asian and French furniture based on the Indochine style, and most recently added a funky baby blue fridge to a modern German kitchen. All work as the theme has been a careful mixing of Indochine and modern and emphasising one or the other depending on the space. I have friends who have an Asian apartment and they have gone all out with the Japanese look and it looks fantastic and equally, others have mixed modern clean lines with Singaporean shop-house style with great effect. It is all about balance to create that inner harmony.

So What Next?

You have decided on a style and need to consider a dominant, secondary and accent colour scheme. Refer back to my previous posts on colour schemes. Once you have done that, choose the theme you are looking for. Is it black and white elegance, a botanical jungle feel, English florals, retro-mod checks and stripes, a fruit and wood country effect or a scrubbed soft grey French shabby chic look? Choose a primary pattern that includes the range of colours you have chosen and work outwards from that. Or if that is scary, go for plain colours and add the pattern in cushions, curtains, bed linen and other accessories. If you are brave, add black and white checks with black and white polka dots, small floral patterns against a bigger and bolder fabric.

Some examples. I love the Belle Epoque style, not the floral Art Nouveau or Art Deco ornate work. It worked in our previous Berlin apartment with the wood window frames and blinds. Not being a huge pattern person, we had chosen bed linen that offered a range of colour and freshness against the darker wood and buttermilk walls. Adding lemon cushions gives a ping that always looks ‘summery’. This cover is now in our light and airy French cream toned bedroom.

This interior design store has a wonderful chair for the courageous (see feature photo). I could see this in a room with walls painted a hint of pistachio green with aqua curtains and a navy rug. Equally, I could see this lovely patterned lamp against either soft beiges and blues or sharp navy and white Cape Cod. All about adding a wow factor as well.