Page 75 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2023

Incorporating Exciting Patterns and Textures into Your Home
Much like how items have a physical texture that we can feel, they also have a visual texture, which can help keep us interested if there’s a variety, or bore our senses if it’s all too similar. Without texture, a space can feel uninviting. You can use furniture, patterns, textiles, objects, finishes, colors, and more to help add more visual interest to a room. Diversity is key.
If you’re nervous about changing up a room too much, don’t worry! You can start small. You don’t have to create a physically textured wall or ceiling to bring excitement to a space – although, that is an option
if it’s what you want! Various accent cushions on a chair, sofa, or bed are a great place to start. You can mix patterns, fabric types, the physical texture, or all! Sticking with just one pattern or color can lead to a one- dimensional space, so that’s why it’s important to mix things up.
With patterns, it’s important to choose patterns of varying sizes and to use them sparingly. You can mix natural patterns with geometric ones, stripes, dots, plaid, and more. You can even choose items with the same pattern that are in different, complementary colors!
If you’re looking to create a monochromatic room, there are plenty of options for you. Use a variety of materials, finished, and shades of that color to add the texture you’re looking for. The important part is just not to use the exact same shade of the color for everything.
You can also try new lighting in
a space, and/or adding a rug. You can complement or contrast the pattern or texture of your rug with curtains, blinds, or drapes. You
can also style shelving with various accessories. A shelf with a pottery collection can add more depth to
a space than a simple piece of art on the wall. Even just adding plants and greenery to a room can do wonders. Doing these small things can add a lot of visual texture to a space but are also easily changeable if you aren’t a fan or need to try a few times to get things right!
Feel free to experiment with mixing fabrics like velvet, silk, wool,
cotton, and linen. Your choices
all depend on the feeling you’re looking to invoke from a space. For example, if you have an industrial style chair with lots of metal, you can soften it with a plush throw pillow. If your home has more rustic features, you can bring
some seriousness to the room with industrial style light fixtures.
Before you decide to make any big design choices, like getting a new piece of furniture or painting/ wallpapering a wall, get swatches of fabric, paint samples, and other materials to see if they work well together.
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