How to Mix Patterns in Your Home Decor

Mixing patterns is one of my favorite ways to add interest and personality to a room. While it can feel intimidating at first, especially when you’re trying to figure out which prints actually work together, I’ve found that it doesn’t have to be complicated.

One thing I typically try to do is to stay within the same color family. Whether I’m working with blues, grays, pinks or another palette, having that common thread helps different patterns feel cohesive instead of competing with one another.

Blue sofa with layered gray floral throw pillows and a coordinating blue and gray patterned area rug. — Couch | Chair | Patterned Throw Pillows | Lamp

This space is a great example of how subtle pattern mixing can be. The blue sofa creates a strong foundation, while the rug and pillows introduce several different prints without making the room feel overly busy.

Bright living room with a blue sectional, patterned throw pillows, blue and gray area rug, and neutral accent chairs. — Couch | Patterned Throw Pillows

Looking closer, none of the patterns are exactly the same, but the similar blue, gray and neutral tones help everything feel connected. This is one of the easiest ways to make mixing patterns feel more approachable.

Start With a Color Family

If you’re not sure where to begin, start with color that makes you happy. Once you have a palette in mind, it becomes much easier to decide which patterns can live together in the same room.

Room with soft blue patterned wallpaper, pink geometric curtain panels, neutral ottoman, and woven basket. — Blowfish Wallpaper | Nightstand | Lamp | Basket

Here, the patterned wallpaper adds plenty of visual interest, but the soft blue and neutral palette keeps the overall look feeling calm. By repeating at least one of the colors, a room will feel as though it’s been designed with intention (vs. a collection of misfit items that don’t really work together). In this girls’ bedroom, I repeated the sage green from the wallpaper with a bedside table in the same color.

Close-up of soft blue patterned wallpaper paired with pink geometric curtains, a table lamp, and patterned pillow. — Blowfish Wallpaper | Nightstand | Lamp | Basket

I also love that pattern doesn’t have to come only from fabrics or wallpaper. Accessories like woven baskets can introduce another shape and repeat in a much more subtle way.

Mix Different Types of Patterns

An easy formula I come back to is to pair patterns that are different from one another. A geometric pattern can work beautifully with a floral, or a stripe can be paired with something a little bolder.

Light blue botanical wallpaper paired with a patterned rug, woven storage baskets, neutral furniture, and textured lamp shade. — Curtains | Basket | Similar Ottoman | Lamp | Wallpaper

The size of the repeating pattern is also important. In this home office that I designed, the larger organic pattern on the wall is paired with a much smaller, more structured print on the curtain panels. The patterns are different enough that they each have their own moment but still work beautifully together.

Close-up of blue botanical wallpaper, patterned woven basket, neutral rug, and natural woven lamp shade. — Curtains | Lamp | Wallpaper| Pillow

Stripes are one of my favorite patterns to mix because they can almost act like a neutral. They add dimension without demanding too much attention.

Blue and natural woven storage baskets displayed against orange and white striped wallpaper. — Stripes Away Wallpaper | Floating Bookshelf | Basket

The vertical stripe in this space creates a simple backdrop that still has personality. Because the pattern is fairly straightforward, there’s plenty of room to introduce additional color and print elsewhere. I also love a stripe because it’s timeless; you’ll never outgrow a stripe so it’s a safe pattern for a more permanent feature such as wallpaper.

Reading nook with orange and white striped wallpaper, colorful children’s books, large windows, and blue patterned woven baskets. — Stripes Away Wallpaper | Similar Basket

The colorful woven baskets are a fun example of bringing a muted print into a room through accessories. If committing to patterned wallpaper or curtains feels like too much, smaller pieces like baskets, pillows or bedding are an easy place to experiment.

Layer Pattern From the Walls to the Floor

Rugs are another opportunity to bring pattern into a room, and they can work even when there’s already something happening on the walls.

Close-up of gray geometric wallpaper layered with white patterned tile and a blue striped area rug. — Wallpaper

This mudroom that I helped with combines several geometric elements, including the wallpaper and the hexagonal floor tile. Keeping the colors relatively restrained helps all of those lines and shapes live together.

Small room with gray geometric wallpaper, white geometric tile flooring, and a blue patterned rug. — Wallpaper | Rug

Adding the blue rug introduces another graphic pattern and a stronger dose of color. Because the scale and direction of each pattern varies, the layers feel intentional rather than repetitive.

Have Fun With It

Pattern doesn’t always have to be serious. Some of my favorite spaces are the ones where the prints add a little personality and make the room more memorable.

Nursery with pink cat wallpaper, pink curtain panels, neutral glider, wood dresser, and patterned area rug. — Similar Curtains | Wallpaper | Chair | Similar Dresser

We installed playful kitten wallpaper in this nursery as the main focal point of the room and then introduced more color and pattern through the geometric shag rug and curtain panels. Staying within the soft pink, gray and neutral palette helps tie everything together and makes the room feel warm and whimsical instead of loud.

Bedroom nightstand refresh collage featuring a cream textured nightstand, brown table lamp, floral arrangements, decorative books, gold picture frame, patterned boxes, woven tray and classic tabletop clock. — Similar Dresser | Mirror | Basket

Whether it’s through wallpaper, a rug, throw pillows, curtain panels or even a woven basket, there are so many ways to introduce pattern. I like to start with a cohesive color palette, vary the scale of the prints and mix patterns that feel different enough to complement one another. Most importantly, have fun with it. A little pattern can bring so much character to a space.