Top Ten Tips for Mixing Fabric Patterns
Nature mixes color, pattern, contrast and texture with perfection. Designers study the subtle rules of nature and aspire to recreate its beauty in furnishings and fabric. The perfect mix of fabric and color can make a room sing.





Being able to create a beautiful fabric mix takes talent, skill and an intuitive sense of knowing when something is right. One of the superb masters in this area is Ralph Lauren. His mixes are always elegant, tasteful and exciting. Let's use Ralph Lauren Lake House Bedding as an example of how this is done.

Top Ten Tips for Mixing Fabric Patterns

1. Design
   The pattern you love most will either be a curvy/floral or a geometric/stripe/plaid/check. There are millions of patterns, but for simplicity, they all fall into one of these two categories. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to start with a pattern you love. If you don't love it, don't bother. You will never be happy with the outcome. Start with something that excites you.
   • If your first pick is curvy, then your second pick should be a geometric that has a common color

   • If your first pick is a geometric, make your second pick a curvy with a common color

   • Note: Here the common color is red





2. Scale
   The most exciting pattern mixes include a large, medium and small pattern. Add some of each.
   
   
   
   
3. Color
   Add a solid in the common color to "ground" it.
   
   
   
   
4. Background
   Match your background shade! Note that in all the samples, the background color (the lightest color) is ivory. If your starting pattern has a brighter white background, stay consistent with a brighter shade of white.
   
   
5. Connection
   When adding more fabrics to the mix, pull a different color out of one of your first two choices. Design doesn't happen in isolation. The most pleasing mixes connect the colors.
   
   
6. Contrast
   Pull a dark shade out of one of the patterns to give your mix some punch. This strong navy stripe, repeating the navy in the plaid, is perfect.
   
   
   
   
7. Texture
   What color does for the eyes, texture does for the skin. Include some "touchables," something smooth, nubby, sleek and soft.
   
   
8. Rest
   Give the eyes a break with a neutral. Notice how many brown shades there are in nature, tree trunks and branches, dirt, rocks and sand. They soothe and make flowers, sky, water, and grasses more vivid. A tan cable knit adds texture and provides a little relief from the red, as does the cream colored knit.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Balance
   The Golden Mean and the 60-30-10 Rule are guidelines for finding the right balance in your colors and fabric. Which color you choose as your dominant one is up to you. But for a beautiful outcome, strive to add the others within nature's perfect proportions.
   
   
10. Repeat
    Repeat your major fabrics two or three times.

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