Make A Room Cohesive, But Not Matchy-Matchy, step by step
Q: Assist! I’d truly enjoy your input and expertise with a designing conundrum I frequently find myself in. I have checked out several design/home décor books lately in an effort to grasp the ever elusive concept of “the ideal room.” It seems that everything I read both in books and online state the same thing – being matchy-matchy in decorating is the cardinal sin and anyone seen committing it should be voted off the island. So here is my dilemma: how do you coordinate a room using a chosen color scheme, but avoid making it appear too contrived and heaven forbid – matchy-matchy? I feel that every room in my house consistently come up short – if I stick to my color scheme, it frequently looks boring and flat. If I branch out and add pops of color, it tends to appear disjointed. Is there a basic rule that would assist me in decorating my rooms? I’d enjoy some pointers. As consistently, enjoy you both. You are strong in every way. Cheers! – Jamie
A: Ideally, you want a room to “coordinate” but not “match.” Rooms that coordinate have varied textures, prints, materials, and tones that work together and appear balanced and cohesive. Rooms that match typically have all the same colored wood (typically all made by the same company and sold in a suite) they also have a matching sofa and loveseat or matching bedding that was sold in a set- heck, you know what matchy-matchy looks like so I will not belabor it! Here is a model-home-ish example thanks to JC Penney.
The basics are not bad (we could totally work with the tan sofas and the side tables, but we’d bring in a bigger rug with a pattern or a texture and switch out the wood coffee table that matches those side tables for a round leather ottoman or even a few smaller rattan cubes. The major takeaway from this point is that rooms that look collected over time (and feature a variety of tones, textures, and materials) consistently look eons more stylish than rooms that look like they could have been purchased all at once from one store.
But there is a fine line between collected over time and mismatched and chaotic, as demonstrated by this tossed-together dorm room decor.
The key:
- variations in texture & materials add stylish, layered interest that draws you in, but…
- a deliberate, defined color palette reins things in and keeps the room cohesive
Here is a room from House Striking that totally gets it right. See how the side tables are painted cream but the coffee table is dark wood? Notice how there is texture in the upholstery and even in the grasscloth wallpaper? See how the palette is fairly tight, simply yellows and creams with a dash of dark wood and two pops of deep blue?
Adding texture and subtle, layered interest is the surefire way to a warm and inviting space that feels wrapped up yet anything but formulaic. Here are a few examples of some varied materials and textures that can be brought in to create the ideal foundation for a stylish space: leather chair + tan couch + black metal & glass coffee table + woven tray on the coffee table + dark wood TV stand + chocolate shag pillows + tan linen pillows + cream linen curtains + jute rug.
You can also see inspiration in some House Crashing photos that we have taken below (find more on all of them here in our Gallery):
Notice all the distinct materials and textures that will add that layered style that feels collected over time: wood with metal, linen with jute, leather with upholstery. But note that they are still in a similar color palette: the black metal works closely with the dark wood and the brown leather, etc. Thanks to the coordinating tones of these foundation pieces, you can then add a few brightly colored accessories into the mix without fear of things looking too chaotic. It is essential to keep a tight color scheme in mind and not simply go accessory crazy at Target.
Take this room that feels a bit flat as an example (also from JC Penney). It is not nearly as textured, layered and interesting as it could be.
Simply switching out the basic tan curtains with these subtly striped cream ones from West Elm, replacing the matching ottoman with this textured rattan table, and bringing in a larger patterned wool rug would add movement and texture for a serene and inviting space with character and interest. And to expand the palette and bring some color into the mix, some punchy silk pillows on the sectional and a brightly colored glass-based lamp on the side table would inject more of that je ne sais quoi!
Prints and patterns are another way to add interest and style to your space- especially if it is feeling a little blah. And when it comes to mixing patterns, there are a few ways to keep them from looking disjointed and chaotic, and our new lattice pillow in our bedroom conveniently demonstrates a few of our go-to pattern mixing pointers.
First of all, you want one of the prints or patterns to be a larger scale, more bold pattern (the pillow) while the other pattern is smaller in scale and a bit more subtle (the duvet cover). It is typically a good idea for the smaller sized item to be the more bold piece (ex: a subtle small-scale patterned armchair paired with a graphic large-scale patterned pillow). Although we have seen some majorly dramatic rooms with large geometric or floral patterns in the curtains or even on the walls that knock our socks off, so it can go either way.
The other thing to keep in mind when you are mixing and matching would be to try to keep the patterns or prints in the same color family. Thanks to the similar tone found in both the duvet cover and the pillow, they do not seem to be fighting each other and can peacefully coexist in our master bedroom.
So there you have it: layered textures + a defined color palette + mixed & matched patterns = a visually interesting, coordinated space that looks warm and authentic and anything but matchy-matchy. Do you folks have any pointers for keeping your rooms interesting and anything but cookie-cutter without erring on the side of crazy? We’d enjoy to hear what works for you! Dish the decorating dirt…
