Mixing patterns is one of the most rewarding ways to decorate a classic room, and damask, birds and botanicals are natural companions. Here we look at how to combine them across wallpaper, fabric and rugs without the room feeling busy, and how a few modern pieces of furniture and lighting can keep the whole scheme fresh.
Choose an anchor pattern
Every successful pattern mix starts with one design that leads. In a classic interior this is often the wallpaper, because it covers the largest area and sets the colour palette for everything else.
A damask is a dependable anchor. Renaissance Damask Wallpaper by Zoffany is inspired by a strip of precious Renaissance velvet and captures the antique feel of the original fabric, glamorised with metallic scatter beads. Choose Warm Gold or Russet, both of which give a dining room or study a rich, enveloping backdrop.
If you would rather lead with nature, Rousseau Wallpaper from Clarke & Clarke x Emma Shipley is a maximalist jungle scene with winding vines, flamingo details, peacock feathers and colourful parrots. It comes in Blue, Eggshell, Jungle and Lime. With a design this lively, keep the other patterns in the room smaller and quieter.
Layer birds and botanicals at a different scale
The simplest rule for mixing patterns is to vary the scale. Pair a large, dense design with something lighter and more open, so each has room to breathe.
Swallows Wallpaper by Sanderson is a serene design from the 1930s, originally a chintzed cotton fabric, showing a flock of slender swallows soaring through the open sky. Its open background makes it a lovely partner for denser patterns elsewhere in the room, or in an adjoining hallway. It comes in Black, Silver, Wedgwood, Pebble and Lime.
Underfoot, the Stapleton Park Navy/Burnt Orange Rug by Sanderson brings English country house chintz to the floor, with burnt orange, sky blue and cream florals on a navy background. Because Stapleton Park and Swallows are both Sanderson designs, they make an easy pairing for anyone nervous about combining patterns.
Bring damask into fabric
Once the walls and floor are settled, use fabric to repeat a motif or a colour. Repetition is what makes a mixed scheme look intentional rather than accidental.
Florence Fabric by Harlequin features a damask motif of interlocking flowers in a mirror effect. Shown in a calming Linen colourway for curtains and blinds, it is a softer, lighter take on damask that sits happily beside a bird or botanical wallpaper. It is a blend of viscose, linen and cotton, with a coordinating Florence wallpaper if you want to carry it onto the walls.
For more options, browse our damask fabrics and our curtains.
Add modern furniture and lighting for contrast
A room full of traditional pattern can start to feel like a period set. A few clean, contemporary shapes stop that happening and make the patterns look more considered.
- Seating: the Masters Chair by Kartell, by Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet, interweaves the silhouettes of three 20th-century design icons into one graphic form. In White, Grey, Sage Green, Mustard, Rusty Orange or Black, it makes a characterful dining chair against a damask wall.
- Side tables: the Max-Beam Stool by Kartell is a stool and side table in one, with thick transparent walls that catch the light. Tangerine Orange would pick up the burnt orange in the Stapleton Park rug.
- Floor lighting: Edison The Giant Floor Lamp by Fatboy is a 182cm floor lamp with a minimal shape. Twist the label to choose one of three light settings, from cooler white to warm yellow.
- Table lighting: My Tiny Moon Lamp by Seletti is a small table lamp by Marcantonio that brings a soft glow to a bedside table, desk or shelf.
Our lighting collection has plenty more to choose from.
Keep the palette tight
Patterns can differ in style and scale, but they should share colours. Pick two or three shades and make sure each pattern contains at least one of them. A navy, burnt orange and cream palette, for instance, links the Stapleton Park rug with a Wedgwood or Pebble swallow paper and a gold damask. Plain walls or upholstery in one of those colours give the eye a rest between patterns.
If you are planning a classic room and would like help pulling patterns together, browse our home decor collection or visit the shop in Somerset, where the team will happily look at samples with you.
