Designwise: Going Together

Colours are so radically changed by differences in texture and pattern that a subtly handled monochromatic room can be as lively and memorable as one full of vivid colour contrasts. Texture and pattern need to be considered as seriously– though not so emotionally – as the process of colour building.

Think about each of these in turn and it almost seems possible to feel as well see in your mind’s eye all the varying textures. Pick some out and imagine how they might look distributed on ceiling, walls, floor, window treatments and furniture. Contrast their qualities; weigh up their various depths. The right surface – not necessarily the most conventional one – used in the right place can give a great deal of pleasure.

Contrasting Textures
Clearly some textures work together better than others. Obviously rough goes with smooth and matte with gloss or shine. But which rough with which smooth? Which matte with which gloss or shine? It is a question of taste and placement. For example, rough brick walls would look better contrasted with a smooth linen, cotton, canvas, tweed or hessian than a silk or velvet.

Grand velvet-covered walls do not look especially good with tiles they undoubtedly look good with gilt, mirror, lacquer and even perspex.

However, there are no real rules, only sensibilities. Whether you’re decorating a room or a whole home it is always a good idea to collect as many samples together as possible and this applies to textures as much as to colours, fabrics and wallpapers. Shop around. Bring back samples of textured wall coverings, carpets, matting, tiles, different paint textures, fabrics. And don’t forget the differences you can make with painted surfaces whether matte or shiny. Juggle them all about and try them in various combinations before making a final choice.

Remember that even when a room seems finished the introduction of yet another contrasting texture or another accent colour might make all the difference to its liveliness and interest. One often does not see this until some chance incident highlights it – a coat thrown over a chair or a basket left on a floor. But suddenly the unconsidered colour or surface seems so right, delineating all the other colours and surfaces so well that one cannot imagine why it wasn’t thought of before. Serendipity plays an important part in decoration, which is after all a product of the gradual accretion of experience and possessions.

Contrasting Patterns
It used to be a convention that patterns were never mixed and it became a convention because it was safer and easier. But pattern in a room is formed as much by possessions as by fabrics and wallpaper: books with their varying colours and jacket designs; the way paintings, prints or photographs are hung on a wall; the arrangements of objects; the jagged edges of plant leaves; the play of light and shade; the shapes of different pieces of furniture. All these things form patterns in their own right so one fabric or paper pattern more or less can hardly make too much difference as long as the scale, tone and proportion are right.

Scale, tone and proportion are vital. Large patterns that look diverting in shops and showrooms are often more suitable for a public than a private setting unless one possesses a very sure sense of scale. Similarly it is useful to remember that very small discreet patterns often meld into one colour when used for curtains or walls as opposed to hanging in show lengths.

A play of pattern can be very effective, varying the whole balance of colour in a room. Properly used it will give added depths and thus space to a room. Small-scale repeats in upholstery or cushions, for example, with a larger pattern on a wall, curtains or fabric blind can add a sense of perspective.

A small pattern on the wall of an alcove or behind bookshelves can draw they eye forwards. Elsewhere, the same pattern might work well in two different colours or it can be reversed – positive and negative. Say black or blue on white predominating or the opposite.

Conversely very similar patterns in the same colours can be used together with great effect, as in curtains and carpets. Similar ceiling and floor treatments were used over and over in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The dominant colour or background of upholstery, cushions and curtains can also be repeated in plain-coloured walls.

Patterns with the same feeling if not design can be used together effectively, such as vividly striped North African or other ethnic fabrics with heavily patterned oriental rugs. Mini designs featuring geometrics such as squares, diamonds or stripes can also be used together.

If you think you need sheers, try using ones printed with the same pattern as the curtains or with an allied pattern (either a simplified version in one colour on white, or in white on white, or in toned-down versions of the main colours).

Hang plain fabric blinds edged with the same fabric as the curtains in front of them. Or half-line plain curtains with the same patterned fabric as the accompanying blind.

Or you can use all the different fabrics in a room as cushions on sofas and armchairs.

Here again the same advice about collecting samples holds good. Find samples of designs that appeal to you. Keep combining them in different ways until you find materials and papers that work well together. If you cannot make any firm decisions, try laying them all out and squinting at them with half-closed eyes. The fabrics that stand out are the ones that will generally go together.

And one last thought: it really pays to take your courage in both hands and experiment.

Story: Mary Gilliatt Issue: June 2006 Photographs: Kieran Scott, Kevin Emirali, Bruce Jenkins, Paul McCredie