When you look at designer rooms featured on television or in home magazines, do you wonder how they make all those different prints and patterns work so well together? You can do the same thing by keeping a few simple tips in mind.
Choose Prints and Patterns with Similar Color Tones
Fabrics should include the most dominant color in the room. They do not have to use the same color as their main one, but they should at least draw from that color family. Blending shades and tones of similar colors will help make different patterns work together instead of creating a hodge-podge look.
Choose Prints and Patterns of Similar Scale
If you are using different styles of prints, keeping the scale in the same range will create a more cohesive look. If you select a tiny floral pattern, a medium plaid, and a heavy thick stripe, you fabrics will not blend well, even if they are of similar color tones. Thin stripes and delicate subtle plaids work best with small floral prints. Scale is also important to the size of the room. Huge flowered prints and heavy stripes and plaids will overpower a small space. One note, if you are using different styles of the same type of print, say three different floral prints, then it is wise to choose prints of different size and scale to keep things interesting.
Mix and Match Prints and Patterns
Spread your fabrics around the room. Do not keep all the striped fabrics in one corner and all the floral prints in another. Generously mix them together. If your curtains are striped, place floral pillows in the chair next to the window. If you have a floral slipcover on the chair across the room, add striped and plaid pillows to that chair. Create a good balance by sprinkling different patterns around the space. Just try to limit your choices to two or three different patterns per room to keep from overdoing it.
*I only mentioned plaid, striped, and floral fabrics here because they are the most common, and it helped to keep the discussion simpler. Of course, you can certainly choose from many other prints and patterns. Add checks, toile, or anything else that you find attractive and apply the same tips.