Trends come and go, but the rooms people love living in tend to follow the same handful of rules. This guide sets out the principles we come back to again and again in the shop: how to plan colour, mix pattern with confidence, layer texture and light a room properly. Get these right and individual pieces can change over the years without the room ever feeling dated.
Colour: plan the whole room, not just the walls
The most reliable way to build a colour scheme is to divide it roughly into three. A dominant colour covers the largest areas (walls, perhaps a large rug), a secondary colour appears in curtains, upholstery or a big piece of furniture, and an accent turns up in small doses: cushions, a lamp base, a vase. That balance gives the eye somewhere to rest and something to notice.
Before you commit, look at undertones. Two greys can look identical in a tin and completely different on the wall, because one leans blue and the other leans green or pink. Paint large sample patches, or pin up a generous piece of wallpaper, and look at them in the morning, late afternoon and under lamplight. North-facing rooms get cooler, flatter light, so warmer shades usually sit more comfortably there; south-facing rooms can carry cooler colours without feeling chilly.
Pattern: vary the scale and share a colour
Pattern only clashes when every design is fighting at the same size. The simple fix is to combine scales: one large, confident print, one medium design, and one small or textural pattern such as a stripe, check or tight geometric. Then make sure they share at least one colour, so the eye reads them as a family.
A good place to start is with something you genuinely love. Choose a design from our wallpaper collection or a printed fabric, then pick out its colours for the rest of the room. Starting with the pattern is far easier than trying to find a print that matches paint you have already chosen. Our fabric range is useful here too: a curtain or blind in a coordinating design ties a patterned wall to the rest of the room.
Texture: the secret to rooms that feel finished
When a room looks flat but you cannot say why, the answer is usually texture. A space where every surface is smooth and the same sheen can feel cold, even if the colours are lovely. Mix matt and gloss, rough and soft: linen next to velvet, a wool throw on a leather chair, a ceramic lamp beside a polished wood side table.
Texture matters most in calm, neutral schemes, where there is less colour and pattern to hold interest. Three or four different materials in one corner of a room is a good rule of thumb. Natural materials such as wood, stone, wool and rattan also age well, which is part of why they never seem to go out of fashion.
Lighting: layer it, and keep it warm
A single ceiling light is the quickest way to make a room feel flat. Think in three layers instead. Ambient light fills the room, task light lets you read, cook or work, and accent light picks out a picture, a shelf or a plant. In a living room that might mean a pendant, a floor lamp by the reading chair and a table lamp or two at lower level.
Put lamps at different heights so light pools around the room rather than coming from one spot, and choose warm bulbs for living spaces in the evening. Dimmers are worth fitting wherever you can. Our lighting collection covers pendants, wall lights and lamps, so you can build those layers gradually.
Buy slowly and invest where you touch
Rooms that last are rarely furnished in a weekend. Spend more on the things you use every day, like the sofa, the dining chairs and the bed, and let accessories do the changing. Good furniture in a shape you love will happily outlive several colour schemes.
Smaller pieces are where you can follow your mood. Cushions, throws, vases and prints from our home decor range let you refresh a room each season without starting again, and they are the easiest place to try a colour before committing to it on a wall.
If you would like help pulling a scheme together, browse our wallpaper and fabric collections for a starting point, or visit the shop in Somerset and talk it through with the team. Bring a photo of your room and we will happily help you find the pieces that make it work.
