Renovating Faye’s bedroom didn’t come without controversy. Sometimes it blows my mind how one person’s love can be another person’s dislike, and I guess that’s what makes life interesting. And I can never anticipate what projects in our home will rile up the internet, so I don’t even try to. Instead, I focus on designing spaces that are beautiful and charming to me. The hot topic in Faye’s room is patterns – too much, not the right scale, clashing prints, yada, yada. To each their own, but I thought I would turn this into a teaching moment and show you how I’ve played around with patterns in both Faye and Polly’s rooms.

Shop Faye’s Room

In Color School, we briefly talked about the principles of design, like balance, scale & proportion, repetition, and balance. There’s no secret sauce when it comes to mixing patterns, but I keep these in mind with everything I do in my home, including using patterns. One easy rule of thumb is to balance the use of organic and geometric patterns, as well as the scale.

For example, the wallpaper in Faye’s room has these repeating diamond shapes, so I brought in the contrasting organic patterned curtains, and together they’re a lovely juxtaposition.

Curtain Rod | Curtain Rings | Curtain Brackets

Even the bedding has some fun pattern play happening. The embroidered floral quilt has a more sparse pattern, but it’s bold in size and color. And the reversible gingham side is more soft and small in scale.

The rug even has a geometric pattern, but the contrast in colors makes it more subtle and soft, so it doesn’t overwhelm the space.

Polly’s Room

Shop Polly’s Room

While Polly’s room is different, I still abide by a similar rule of thumb of balancing a mix of organic and geometric patterns. Obviously, the wallpaper is a scenic, organic pattern, and to balance it, I laid down a straw/ivory rug that has a subtle grid pattern.

Dresser (vintage) | Green Lamp | Keepsake Box | Open Basket | Woven Hamper | Floral Art

One thing I’ve realized is that using patterns can sometimes be just as scary, if not more scary, than using color in your home. And everybody has different tastes when it comes to mixing patterns! I really like to keep my home feeling interesting and captivating, which is why I take risks when it comes to things like mixing patterns.

Do you have patterns that feel “safe” to you? Any patterns you’re tempted to use more of?