How to Mix Patterns Like a Pro - Sunroom One Room Challenge - Weeks 4 & 5

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Welcome to Newbury Home! This is your source for timeless home decor, gardening tips, and elegant living on a budget.

If you’re new here, welcome! I’m Sasha. My husband, Matt, and I have slowly been renovating and decorating our Victorian home, while trying to maintain its historic charm. For this One Room Challenge, we renovated our sunroom.

how to mix patterns for cohesive interior design

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I have been following the One Room Challenge for inspiration since we moved into our home nearly 2 and a half years ago, so it was a thrill to participate for the first time this spring when we tackled our guest bathroom renovation! For this One Room Challenge, we will be finishing our sunroom. I will be sharing the progress on Instagram as well as here. Today’s post will focus on mixing prints to create a cohesive color palette.

Mixing Prints for a Cohesive Color Palette

Before we even finished the drywall, I knew I wanted this room to be a colorful space. I wanted to incorporate greens and blues to blur the line between the outside and in. It was a happy coincidence that the colors I ended up choosing work well with the colors in the sofa I found on Facebook Marketplace.

Working around a strong pattern, like the floral one I have in this space can be intimidating. Here are some tips and examples to demonstrate how to mix patterns for a cohesive color palette.

Examples mixing patterns done right

Mixing colors and prints with Mural Source Maysong chinoiserie wallpaper, pink and blue accent pillows — Caroline Gidiere

Mixing colors and prints in chinoiserie living room with pink and green accents — Trevor Trainer and Alex Swanson

Mixing patterns and colors with blue and brown color scheme by Caroline Gidiere — Caroline Gidiere

Mixing prints and colors with William Morris lemon wallpaper by Heidi Caillier — Heidi Caillier

Tips for mixing colorful patterns like a pro

Tips for mixing patterns - first choose a lead print and identify key colors - one room challenge

Choose a lead print and identify key colors from it. I like using Canva to do this. I insert generic shapes, like the circles above, then use the color selector tool to choose colors from the pattern for the shape colors. Alternatively, Canva preselects colors from an image in the document that you can choose from.

Tips for mixing patterns and selecting paint colors - select main colors and use these to guide paint color choice - one room challenge

Out of the eight colors I selected from the pattern above, I would choose about four of them to use as the main colors in the space. Use these to guide your choice in paint colors. If the colors in your lead print are vibrant like the ones in mine, you may want to choose muted versions of those colors for the walls.

Tips for mixing patterns and selecting primary prints - select primary prints that incorporate main colors

When it comes to coordinating additional patterns with a strong lead one, I would select ones that incorporate no more than three of your main colors. These patterns will be used for “larger” items – i.e., elements that take up more visual space in the room. These would be things such as window treatments or other upholstered furniture.

Tips for mixing patterns and identifying complementary prints

For smaller elements of a space, like accent pillows and lampshades, I would choose from the remaining secondary colors for when selecting fabrics.

Tips for mixing patterns and selecting decorative accents - select accents that incorporate colors from lead print - one room challenge

Smaller decorative accents can really help tie a space together. Select items within your color scheme for these pieces.

The last two weeks’ progress:

These past two weeks have been really busy for me so I have not been able to accomplish as much as I would have liked on this project (hence the combined post). However, I did manage to make progress on the chairs!

Reupholstering the vintage chairs

This is the largest upholstery project I have undertaken. One takeaway has been that the correct tools make a big difference. Additionally, documenting the order in which you remove the original upholstery, makes it easier to determine how to put the new fabric on.

This inexpensive toolkit has certainly come in handy! Prior to purchasing this, I had been using pliers and a flathead screw driver. I broke the tip of the screwdriver and my hand was sore and blistered from the pliers so it’s safe to say that wasn’t the most effective method for me.

Remaining tasks to accomplish:

Finish reupholstering chairs
Sew curtains
Source, purchase, and install curtain rods
Install wall shelves for plants
Purchase accent tables
Purchase new door knob
Source and purchase mirror
Source and purchase ottoman
Source and purchase remaining accents and décor

Make sure to check out all of the fabulous spaces that are being renovated for this season’s One Room Challenge here. Thank you for reading. Good luck to everyone with your renovations!