How to Layer Textures, Color, and Patterns in Your Home

I believe that people aren’t just born with a sense of personal fashion and interior style and that what you are exposed to and what interests you starts moulding what you love. It is fine if you cannot articulate what you love because it’s a designer's job to seek cues and gather information. We take time to sort through what you say, how you dress, how you answer questions on color and pattern, and so much more. 

Today I wanted to dig into layering texture, color, and pattern, so follow along as I explore this project with you.

It’s a Process

If you are unfamiliar with the design process, you'll be surprised to hear that hundreds of fabrics, rugs, tiles, furniture items, and paints are often reviewed before final options are narrowed down for a perfect scheme for a room. We never expect to pull a few fabrics and paint colors and have it work. Instead, it takes time, deliberation, walking away, and returning to the scheme until all combined elements are in harmony. You could liken it to a great tune, a great piece of writing, or a painting. 

The entry foyer below sets the tone for what to expect with a casual mix of mid-century colors and patterns combined with the client's love of saturated blues.

Deciding on Color, Texture & Pattern

When I understand the range of colors or neutrals a client loves, it is also essential to understand what types of geometric, florals, and large or small-scale patterns they like and dislike. There is no hard and fast rule to how we mix and layer materials, but larger scale furnishing pieces like a sectional, for example, typically work better in solid textures, with patterned throw pillows and rugs. Read more about making thoughtful home furnishing investments here.

The living room below has the sofa and drapery foundation pieces in neutral textures, interspersed with color and pattern that visually connects to the home's front entry.

We Make it (Seem) Effortless

After the visual tone and voice are set for a space, it is time for our design days. These days are some of the most exciting for me, and I don't take the responsibility lightly. Our decisions on your behalf at this early stage of a project will become what you live with for years to come, so every palette and design is never whipped together or repeated. What you finally see on presentation day has culminated after weeks of planning, deliberating, culling, adding, and tweaking until it is the perfect combination of design elements. Case in point the dining room of this home needed to work well visually from the entry through to the living room, so every selection had to made in tandem with those rooms. I remember many days of reviewing the schemes to find that perfect mix that that we all loved and knew the client would too.

I also have a rule that you must "sleep on it" before committing to it. Very often, elements in a design need tweaking after seeing it with a fresh pair of eyes or two. The combination of color, texture, and patterns may not be in the right balance to our trained eye, and just one switch of one color or pattern may make the whole design sing.

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Until next time,

Justine