Pattern can help make a room inviting, but using pattern can be tricky. Introducing it into a room can make the balancing act of interior design — integrating scale, color, texture and shape — even more of a challenge.
Like other design tools, pattern can shape a room’s personality. Polka dots, for example, may be playful. Soft florals are romantic. Stripes can be casual or sophisticated; plaids, sporty. Paisleys can lend an exotic air, while bold geometrics, such as Middle Eastern or American Indian designs, may suggest a rich ethnicity.
In the home, most people think of pattern in wallpaper, rugs or upholstery. But arrangements of objects such as books on shelves, art on walls, collections and furniture also create patterns. That’s why interior designer Mary Gilliatt, author of “The Decorating Book” (Pantheon Books), recommends taking a good look at a room before you even think about pattern.
Although color often is the starting point for room design, pattern is the finishing detail. It may be introduced almost incidentally. In a room that teams vivid pumpkin rag-rolled walls with a muted green velvet sofa and a smattering of violet, for example, color is the obvious draw. Yet it’s subtle pattern that accentuates the details.
For example, sheer fabric drapes with bands of color that match the color of the wall can read as striping, to great effect. Elsewhere in the room, different textures, such as a nubby chenille next to a satiny fabric, can make a single-color harlequin pattern, creating an illusion of dimension in a quiet way.
The diamond pattern might also be reflected in the floor tile, as an accent to break up a neutral expanse of color. An embossed pattern in muted hues on a chair or sofa could pull the whole picture together.
In the photograph on Page 3, geometric pattern is a magnet in a room furnished in solid colors. A chili-pepper-red sofa is as hot as the spice itself. Bright pillows piped in contrasting hues are punchy accents. But it’s the play of black and white that makes the furnishings — even the maple tables — stand out.
On the floor, a black and white checkerboard pattern played on the diagonal ties together all the design elements. Variations of the black and white grid are repeated on two pieces of art.
Of course, the wall is an obvious place for pattern. In the photograph on page 1L, eyes may fall on a sassy plaid sofa in a warm room with white stucco walls and natural wood ceiling beams, but the pillows and wallpaper border really define the pattern.
Designers ran a 10 1/2 -inch-wide border around the room, an unexpected application of smooth and refined against a craggy surface in a rustic setting. The “Megan” floral is banded in a mini-check design. The border draws attention from the beams to just below curtain-rod height.
The check is echoed as background in a companion fabric, striped with bouquets of flowers. The scale shifts again to a more mega-plaid upholstery (“Mitford check”) on the sofa in cheerful hues of salmon pink and butter yellow.
Wall-covering design also can remain in the background, barely discernible, as mini-prints, where the pattern isn’t immediately apparent until you’re very close. Or it can have a worn-with-age look, like one of Laura Ashley’s new harlequin designs, “Harbour.” The muted, geometric, tone-on-tone pattern looks as if it has been mottled on with a color wash.
Here, a single color pulls pattern together. A blue-and-white striped slipcover (“Mallory stripe”); blue, yellow and coral floral window treatment (“Megan”); cobalt and yellow plaid lamp shades (“Mitford check”); blue and white striped rug; and yellow and blue plaid blanket co-exist beautifully in an area that’s fairly small.
Introducing pattern is easiest with accessories. Ralph Lauren’s Roundhill Collection, a sophisticated group of furnishings inspired by resort living, revolves around French blue, with accents of cream and navy.
A larger accessory may combine pattern and art. Consider a three-panel screen that acts as a wall for a collection of framed prints or photos. One such screen, with a creamy neutral crackled lacquer ground, is decorated with a collection of botanical prints framed in gold leaf. The prints are reproduced from hand-colored 18th-century book plates by John Edwards.
The placement of the floral images within a series of rectangles creates a pleasing pattern-on-pattern. At the same time, this pattern introduces a note of romance. The floor screen, which measures 79 1/2 inches tall by 48 inches wide, is finished with a celadon damask brocade backing.
If you’re still worried about using patterns, just follow some obvious rules. Take the lead of a single color in a pattern to unify the color scheme. Choose prints or patterns that share the same tones. Use the same pattern in different scales (sizes), or mix compatible patterns such as a floral with a geometric plaid, check or stripe with color as the unifier. Many manufacturers have made this easier by assembling coordinated collections, thus removing the guesswork for the consumer.
Above all, pay attention to balance. Consider the size of a room related to the scale of the patterns you’re using. A tiny pattern in a large space will look spotty. But a large pattern in a small space might be smashing.
Whether you draw on its subtleties or stretch it to unexpected applications, pattern can be a pleasant wake-up call, bringing design to its full potential.
Sources
Ethan Allen Inc., P.O. Box 1966, Danbury, Conn. 06813-1966; (800) 228-9229
Laura Ashley Inc. For store locations, call (800) 367-2000.
Gumps By Mail, P.O. Box 489, New Oxford, Pa. 17350-0489; (800) 284-8677
The Ralph Lauren Home Collection, 1185 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10036; (212) 642-8700
Pottery Barn. For store locations, call (800) 922-5507.
Pub Date: 5/26/96
