It’s Ok to Mix Patterns When Decorating
Today, I share that it’s OK to mix patterns when decorating your home.
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Like the mixed patterns in the pillows below.
The blue and white medallion pillow at the front with the oblong blue striped body pillow in the middle is originative. Link to a similar oblong striped pillow here.
Then an interesting navy blue geometric patterned king-size pillow shams in the back. (I found them at Pottery Barn on sale for $14 each. If you shop at Pottery Barn, check out their sale area.)
I placed white pillows between them to cut down on the busy patterns.
That’s a tip for you.
You can bring a calming effect to busy patterns using a solid color, like white.
These pillow covers are an example of how mixing patterns works.
I don’t know about you, but it can feel stuffy when things are too matchy.
There’s a time and place to have things match.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing.
It’s wonderful to match when you want to have a flowing feel in your home.
I love that, too.
On occasion, though, I may like different patterns.
How do you decorate with different patterns, you ask?
Here’s the secret piece to getting all the patterns to work together.
Are you ready for the big secret?
This will help you feel at ease when decorating your home.
No longer will you sweat it.
You’ll gather things you love, regardless of the pattern or decals.
Just follow this one secret, and your home will look put together and have a sweet cohesive look that’s uniquely your own.
Like this antique white chair with a plaid, fall throw blanket, and the barn pillow.
What’s the secret that makes these go together?
When I discovered this secret, it all clicked and finally made sense.
I know. The anticipation is killing you, right?
Here it is.
What brings all the patterns together is color.
That’s it!
You probably thought it was something mysterious.
Maybe you already knew this.
But for me, this was a huge revelation.
I hope you’re relieved like I was, that that’s all there is to it.
Now you know the secret to make any pattern work in your home.
As long as it has the same colors in it, it will work.
A wonderful friend, Sarah Phillips, from Behind the Scenes.
You may know her from her YouTube channel, She Holds Dearly.
She teaches a class that I’ve been a part of for years.
One of the things she taught that has stuck with me was to pick a few colors for your color scheme for your home.
Then have a main color like black as a grounding for your rooms.
I have five colors I use in my home.
Blue, green, beige, gray, and white.
This pillow below has all 5 of my colors in it.
Isn’t it gorgeous with the linen fabric? I love this find.
My grounding color is black.
This is just an example of the colors I use.
Whatever your color scheme is for your home, may it be pink, white, lavender, green or yellow, for example.
Stick to those colors.
It makes it so much easier to build an amazing space that is easy on the eyes and will take you through the years as you buy new things.
How to make it all work is to make sure the colors you’ve chosen for your home are in the pattern.
It’s that easy!
For example, I have blue in my home.
See the photo above with the blue Currier and Ives plates and the blue floral butter dish on the top shelf.
This is an example of mixing patterns.
They are both blue, which makes them go together.
You don’t have to stick to one type of pattern.
You can do checkered, plaid, and floral all together.
What? I know!
I read a book many years ago.
It was one of those coffee table books I received from my Aunt for my birthday one year.
In this book were some amazing design tips that changed my world.
I wish I still had it, or I’d share it with you.
But this concept of mixing patterns has stayed with me all these years.
Here is an example in this photo below of how you can mix patterns.
I have these sugar bowls and creamer with different patterns, but do you see how they go together?
The dessert plates below have a different pattern. Look how sweetly they complement each other.
It’s been a mission to slowly put together a mixed-match transferware set of dishes.
I love the look!
Plus, no one else has this array of patterned plates like this.
It makes for a personalized touch to my dining room table.
Don’t put your favorite ironstone transferware in the cupboard or china hutch to gather dust.
This has brought such joy to my life.
So, I want to share that joy and encourage you to get your ironstone transferware out and use them.
Life is too short not to enjoy these beautiful things.
We think they are too pretty to use.
I’ve thought that over the years.
When I started using them, it enriched my daily life.
I place them in the dishwasher with all my other dishes.
They have held up beautifully.
My only limitation to washing them in the dishwasher is when they have a gold edge.
I usually wash these by hand.
I received one of those Pottery Barn catalogs a few years ago. You probably get them in your mail.
On the front of the cover was a table setting with various patterned napkins and placemats.
And they were blue.
I was smitten.
I am usually a thrift store junky.
But this appealed to me so much that I ended up at the store.
It just so happened they were having a 75% sale the next day.
The Pottery Barn salesperson told me because I was part of their Key Rewards program, she would give me the discount to save me a trip back to the store.
I was like, what?
If you haven’t yet, get Pottery Barn’s Key Rewards. It saves you a ton of money. Plus, it helps in moments like this.
Not guaranteeing this. Maybe the lady was just being nice? Here’s a link for Pottery Barns Key Rewards.
I bought all the things in various patterns.
Here’s a photo of what I found.
I share my fall décor with you, using some of the exact things I scored that day in this YouTube video below. Watch how I decorated my dining room for fall.
This is just a glimpse of how you can decorate using different patterns.
I hope this inspired you to feel relieved that it’s ok to mix patterns.
Your whole world has been opened up to more possibilities.
Let me know below if you got anything from this post. I always love hearing comments from my fans who are part of my community.
Together, we can change our home into something beautiful.
Here’s a link to another post where I share tips for decorating for the seasons.
If you need some tips on organizing your spices, go here.
