How To... Decorate With Pattern

Top designers offer a fresh take on making bold choices in your home – think contrasting prints and strong colours for incredibly joyous spaces

- Jacky Parker

1 all in the detail

If you’re tempted to use a pattern but wary of the commitment, remember to start small. One of my favourite uses of wallpaper recently has been in the back of a kitchen dresser where I used the Hegemone paper with its exuberant free-flowing blooms to connect the kitchen to the exterior view of the garden.

Joa Studholme, colour curator, Farrow & Ball

2 anchor the scheme

It’s important to not think of rules but rather be guided by what you love. Mix up the scale and go for contrasts – mix checks with flowers, abstract tiny designs with stripes, and mix textures – linen with wool, flocked wallpaper with silk, satin with velvet. If you’re nervous, keep your palette tight to ‘anchor’ the mix – allowing one offbeat accent colour and keep in mind that one colour should be a neutral.

Tricia Guild, founder, Designers Guild

3 new nostalgia

Gingham has made a comeback; it’s casual yet playful and comes in a rainbow of hues. I love how it has moved away from its original place, traditionally on the table as tablecloth or napkins and now on more noble pieces like armchairs or headboards. Using patterns out of their ‘natural habitat’ is a good way to keep things fresh and modern.

Emma Stevenson, founder, Emma Stevenson Interiors

4 spark joy