Mixing patterns and prints, in interiors, is an easy way to create a unique and interesting scheme, be that in the living room, kitchen, bedroom, or elsewhere. However, it requires a little more design know-how that other decor ideas, if you're going to pull the look off successfully.
If you’ve previously retreated to plains rather than risk an unhappy result, be inspired by advice and inspiration for ways to mix pattern and prints in interiors.
Looking for more design ideas? Check out our design hub page.
1. Create a visual link with an accent shade
If you're working with a space that has high ceilings, consider papering up to the dado rail with one printed wallpaper, then using a second above it.
In this instance, picking up an accent shade from the leaf and floral designed paper creates a colour link that allows the pair to sit happily together on one wall, while the all-over print’s textural appearance ensures it doesn’t fight with the pictorial design below.
Love a bold wallpaper? Find more statement wallpaper design ideas in our guide.
Pindorama wallpaper in Navy; Ipanema wallpaper in Pink, both £18 per roll, Arthouse
2. Be inspired by Moroccan interiors
Moroccan interiors mix patterns with ease, and introducing the typical designs can be a quick route to room scheming success.
Stick to graphic motifs to get the look, but go for those featuring the ornate detail of decorative tiles – as on this wallpaper – as well as bolder and simpler versions to avoid making the overall effect too busy. Picking a range of jewel colours will also help give the room the right vibe.
Shutters from £166 per square metre, California Shutters
3. Give traditional pattern a contemporary edge
Don't be afraid of pairing a traditional patterned paper with something more contemporary if you love the idea of incorporating more than one interiors style into your scheme.
This romantic birds and blossom wallpaper – inspired by a 20th century piece – is right at home alongside a chevron rug in bold black and white. Painting the doors and skirting in a standout yellow shade only enhances the eclectic feel of the space.
Loriini wallpaper in Dorian, £94.50 per roll, Little Greene
4. Contrast angles and curves
Opting for prints with sinuous lines alongside those with stricter geometry can soften a scheme to suit a room that’s made for relaxing.
Pick designs that are equally bold in scale so the contrast is clear, and add in plains to give the eye somewhere to rest.
Printed panels in Opunita 120713, £30 per metre; Nuevo 120711, £30 per metre; Forma 111808 wallpaper, £41 per roll; cushions in a selection of fabrics, from £30 per metre, the Nuevo collection, all Scion
5. Mix florals and graphic prints
Teaming beautiful blooms and geometric motifs needn’t be a puzzle. Just look for patterns featuring the same range of colours and they’ll work together a treat.
You can find your own design combinations or – even easier – look within an individual collection from a fabric house, as the different designs within it are made to look good together.
6. Smarten up with a linear print
Give a traditional living room a tailored edge with linear pattern. Top-to-toe stripes could look as stuffy as a three-piece suit, bowler hat and rolled umbrella, so mix them with variations like the two sizes of chevron in this scheme, and show off dense colour against less solid hues.
Find more inspiration with these traditional living room design ideas.
Snowdrop two and a half seat sofa in Slade Stripe by Zoe Glencross in Anchor, £2,740; Bluebell regular footstool in Mottram Meadow by Zoe Glencross in Anchor, £600; Mottram Meadow medium rug by Zoe Glencross in Anchor, £299; Bollin Bird scatter 45 x 45cm cushion by Zoe Glencross in Pink Grapefruit, £95, all Sofa.com
7. Get creative with scale
Sized-up pattern can turn a wall into a work of art, but featuring a design that’s this bold doesn’t necessarily mean going plain elsewhere in the room.
Here, the rug features a blossom trail print of medium scale, while a sofa cushion features a small-scale print, so that each motif is perfectly sized to the dimensions of the piece on which it’s featured.
Like this? Browse our pick of the best mural design ideas for more inspiration.
Kahrs Classic Oak Nouveau Charcoal Wood, £69.99 per square metre; Maestro Butterfly rug, £29.99, both Carpetright
8. Go bold with botanical prints
Foliage and botanical prints are bang on trend and will co-habit as comfortably in a room scheme as the real blooms and vegetation do in the Amazon.
Give bolder colourways and medium to large sized designs a plain backdrop for a more traditional finish, or choose a graphic clash for a contemporary look.
Like this idea? Find more beautiful botanical wallpapers in our design guide.
Vinyl floor tiles, Carpetright
9. Choose a neutral colour scheme
Want a room scheme that’s understated but still full of decorative detail? Put together pattern in neutral shades and gentle tints of colour.
This room’s grey and yellow give the eye plenty to enjoy, but the overall effect is wonderfully calming.
Triple pinch pleat heading curtains in Shibori Light Pigeon, Saffron BORI-57-52, £49.50 per metre; sofa upholstered in Simple Ticking Detail Charcoal TICKING-38, £48 per metre; self-piped and zipped cushion in Origami Pigeon, Saffron GAMI-19-52, £49.50 per metre; piped and zipped in Origami Saffron, Pigeon GAMI-52-19, £49.50 per metre; piped in Charcoal PLAIN-38 £46 per metre; Calmsden chair in Shibori Light Pigeon BORI-57 £49.50 per metre, all The Artisan Collection, Vanessa Arbuthnott
10. Mix traditional prints with antique artworks
Wallpapers inspired by traditional prints or printing techniques make a stylish and unique addition to a living room or bedroom. This can be further enhanced by working antique – or antique inspired – artworks into the space.
Find this Wisteria Wallpaper at Farrow and Ball and try your local antiques shop or flea market for similar prints.
Want more decorating advice?
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