Weekly Design Inspiration: Our Favourite Pattern Combos!
The wide world of fabrics is like a playground for designers, full of rich, vibrant designs. However, for most, it can be very overwhelming as well! People, ourselves included, love that layered look and understand that fabrics play a large role in that! It can be paralyzing when looking through a fabric book and not knowing what looks good together. This week, we’ve put together a cheat sheet of some of our favourite pattern combinations!
Country and Exotic
We love when a pattern can take you back to a time or place; even if you’ve never been there! For us, that’s what gingham and old world patterns represent. Gingham brings in that sense of a time gone by; think of Dorothy’s dress or your mom’s apron. It’s effortlessly charming and has a childlike wonder to it as well. Yet, the orderly fashion of the checks makes it the perfect backdrop for bolder patterns, such as patterns inspired by old world designs and travels. Organic motifs repeated over and over, hand-stitched embroidery, and experimental geometry represent the possibilities of design. These patterns could be ones that you pick up on your travels or simply speak to future ones.
Source: Amber Interiors
Source: Danielle Oakey
refined and rustic
We simply can’t resist when we get the opportunity to do a masculine design. Some things are tried and true, such as leather and walnut. Other things, like fabric, have to work to shake the stigma of being frilly and feminine. That’s why we love to tout out this combination of plaid and burlap. It speaks to two completely different ideas of masculinity; the refined gentleman and the cowboy. Plaid has a reputation for being upper-crust, while burlap has often been a symbol for country life. When combined, they provide a gritty yet distinctly old-money result that we love!
Source: Light and Dwell
Source: Colossus Studio
organic and orderly
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we love to pair stripes with florals! It’s no secret that we love any type of delicate, Arts and Crafts, understated floral pattern. It’s a great way to infuse nature into a project without being sickly-sweet! Stripes, on the other hand, are seen as reliable and classic. Stripes can represent anything from seersucker to vintage beach umbrellas depending on the scale. We love mixing florals and stripes together for a balanced look!
Source: Danielle Oakey
Source: Amber Interiors
Design Tip: As you may have noticed, a lot of these combinations play off of the fact that the fabrics are quite different from its counterpart. When going with this approach, remember to keep the overall tones similar and just differentiate between the patterns!
