Meet An Interiors Master Of Colour & Pattern
What makes a home one’s own is a question I come back to time and again. Home should be a place of normality and familiarity – of comfort; a place that wraps you up and makes you feel safe, warm and happy. Home is where you can create your own world and what makes my home mine is completely different to what makes your home yours.
The things we love, collect and arrange make a space feel like ‘us’. Without them, a home can feel empty and soulless. I’ve been creating a home that I love ever since I left my family home in my early 20s. Yes, I have lived in several houses since then, but much of the furniture, art and other bits and pieces that I have collected have stayed with me. These elements have travelled with me on my journey and I have reworked them into my various houses.
One of the challenges I enjoy the most is creating something out of nothing. I like to make spaces feel exciting yet comfortable, interesting yet harmonious. When I’m presented with a house or room that doesn’t have much going for it, I think about what I can add to make it more special. Does it need intricate new cornices and skirting boards? Or new timber windows and doors to open up the space and add some detail to the room? Or would a particular paint colour or wallpaper do the job? What colours or fabrics could be used on old, outdated pieces of furniture to upcycle them? These are all key questions I ask myself.
Any room can be made to look and feel amazing – it’s all in how you approach it and what you bring to the space. It’s the combination of interesting elements that creates distinction. Think of it like making a cake but not following the recipe to the letter: always throw a little something extra in to spice things up. I often find myself feeling disappointed when a room comes together too perfectly – there’s nothing I hate more than something feeling dull.
That said, to create a room with lots of contradictory elements that all work together, you have to have a clear plan. Most importantly, you must find one element that can unify the madness – for me, it’s colour, but you might discover your own approach using pattern or texture. Get this right and you will be able to create an interesting and inspiring space that truly reflects you or your family.
Incorporating antiques into your home adds character. It can also help balance out the use of bright colours and patterns on fabrics, wallpapers and art. When I have the time, I like nothing better than spending a day out and about exploring auction houses, junk shops and antique stores, hunting for the perfect piece, whether it’s for a client or for my own home. One-off items help me create that eclectic look I love so much. They also tend to be the pieces you love the most.
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Something I always do is make a list of the items I need and the rough dimensions of each. Similarly, when embarking on a new project, I always make a spreadsheet to keep track of every piece purchased along the way – including how much I paid for it, its dimensions and a photograph. This information can be so useful when it comes time to place the pieces into the floor plan. It’s also useful for keeping track of your budget as you go along.
Don’t be afraid of colour and pattern. Embrace them and incorporate them into your home, even if you start with just one room. I guarantee you won’t be able to stop. Combining colour and pattern is the secret to creating a comfortable home that is full of interest, happiness and unique style. Layering a bold, multicoloured throw on the end of your bed, or selecting an array of mismatched cushions for your lounge room sofa are simple but effective ways of uplifting a space.
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Colour and pattern should be all about play. I love to experiment with colour, to push the boundaries and put interesting combinations together. Bucking at anything normal and coming up with something extraordinary is what gets my heart racing. Whether you’re mixing and matching period furniture with more modern elements, challenging expectations with daring combinations, or covering a room head-to-toe in one pattern, just be confident about it.
Inspiration is everywhere. From an interesting colour palette in a streetscape to an old wallpaper or patterned vintage dress, you just need to open your eyes. Take photos of the combinations you see, make a note of those you are most drawn to and use them as the starting point for putting together an interesting scheme for your home.
Whether you love warmer or cooler tones, there must always be a balance. Choose an array of patterned and plain fabrics in your selected palette to use on various pieces in a room. Consider how much pattern you are happy to live with. If you prefer a more toned-down look, I suggest covering larger pieces of furniture in plain or ditsy fabrics (i.e. with small, irregular patterns), and covering accent pieces such as armchairs, ottomans and scatter cushions in bolder, more multicoloured patterns. I often think of my schemes as a big jigsaw puzzle. You have to make sure that each element works collectively in a cohesive yet interesting way and fit the pieces together to create the right result.
Consider layering traditional florals with more modern geometric patterns, stripes or checks, and using a mix of large, medium and small pattern scales. Sometimes a clashing element, such as a bold multicoloured geometric pattern in a slightly ‘off’ colour, can be just what your room needs. I like to look for patterns that I haven’t seen used very often. This is part of the reason that I love to use antique textiles to cover ottomans, bedheads and cushions, or even as tablecloths or hanging works of art on a wall. Often one of a kind, these textiles add a special, cosy feeling to any room and often end up being pieces that are cherished for years to come.
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Photography credit: ©Tim Salisbury
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