How To Mix Patterns

"Don’t let the fear of mixing three different patterns leave you perplexed. Just remember: large scale with many colors, medium scale with some colors, and small scale with just a few. Don’t mix whites with off-whites, and you'll be well on your way!" --designer Shari Hiller, co-host, Room by Room

"Patterns? We love to mix them up! Just a few things to keep in mind. Use related colors to tie the patterns together. Choose obviously different patterns--like a wide stripe and a paisley in the same palette. That way it looks intentional."
--Kitty and Jennifer O’Neil, authors, Decorating With Funky Shui

"Ultimately, mixing patterns is pretty unpredictable. Just look at the wonderful chaotic mixes on African women in Native dress. Most important, new, young, hip designs use pattern mixes that shock or even obviously don’t work. The wit and sass come from the audacious mix of patterns. "What works for me is to mix like patterns in different scales or colorways." -- Cy Winship, designer, Swank Interiors, Minneapolis

"Many novices play it safe by having one pattern and all solids in a given room. I urge you to experiment with mixing plaids and florals, or paisleys and stripes. If the thought of multiple patterns in a room gives you the willies, at least offset the solid fabrics with the use of texture. Tone-on-tones, jacquards and moires will offer great interest by virtue of their innate textural appeal, yet they are still considered solid, not patterned." -- interior designer Jayne Pelosi, Renaissance Interiors, author of Interior Divine: The Design Coach Walks You Through the Transformation of Your Home

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Anne Krueger is the editor of HGTV.com’s Decorating newsletter. She has written for In Style, This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and The New York Times.