How to Mix Fabrics For A Custom Look in Home Decor

Once you have your main decorating fabric, select two or more fabrics, each having one or more of the colors in your inspiration fabric. Try to vary the fabrics so that contrast, texture, scale, sheen, and pattern vary.

• Contrast: Overall color of one fabric should be light, one medium, and one dark.
• Texture: Choose fabrics with different textures, such as a smooth silk and a woven linen.
• Scale: Vary the size of the patterns by including one large, one medium, and one smaller pattern or solid. For example, you might choose a large floral like the one above, a medium size plaid or stripe in coordinating colors, and a small embroidered pattern or a solid in a textured matte linen or cotton to complement the sheen in the chintz.
• Sheen: Mix shiny and matte fabrics.
• Patterns: Mix curvy and linear patterns, such as a floral or a toile and a check or plaid, with a solid. Or choose a third pattern.

Experiment with different swatches until you find a grouping that balances color, scale, and pattern and is pleasing to you. You can do this with actual swatches if available, or you can request jpegs from on-line sellers whose fabrics you are interested in, download them, adjust the size of pictures for scale, and see how they look together on your computer screen.

A fabulous designer fabric is often the starting point of a great interior decorating scheme and a room that is welcoming -- that just "feels right."

Begin by choosing a fabric in a pattern or color you love. Names to look for include Brunschwig & Fils, Clarence House, Schumacher, Scalamandré, Stroheim & Romann, Lee Jofa or other premier design houses. Try to find a design or pattern in at least three colors, such as the floral shown here.

This will be your inspirational starting point and the most prominent design element in your room. (If you prefer to use a wallpaper for your interior decor's starting point, just substitute the wallpaper for the primary fabric and choose a fourth coordinate according to the following guidelines.)

Don't forget that your walls and floorcoverings are additional areas for color and pattern and be sure to consider them, as well as the style and scale of your furniture, when planning your room. Remember, these are guidelines, not rules, and there are exceptions, including some in the pictures we've included in this lens to inspire you. Have fun!

In the above photos, two fabrics in each one are the same, Just by changing the third coordinate you can create a different look and feeling.