I am an advocate for mixing patterns when it comes to design, but even that can many times get out of hand. Haven't you entered a room only to have your eyes wanting to go in 10 different direction because of the over use of pattern? Nowadays we over complicate rooms with too many patterns and colors. Sometimes the best way to be bold is by unifying your look. It's an older style of decorating used by icons like Dorothy Draper, that now has such designers as Tory Burch praising it's merits.
I have always admired the idea of what I like to call camouflaging a room. This is done by using the same pattern on your upholstered furniture as on the walls so that the furniture blends into the background and is somewhat camouflaged.
To make this look work you need to show some restraint and not drench your whole room in a particular pattern. To make this style more modern you need only to have one piece of upholstery that coordinates with your wallpaper. I am fondest of chairs and sofas blending into the paper like those in the images below.
Having just one piece done in the coordinating fabric is enough to make an interesting statement without your space feeling overly "matchy".
It's a perennial look that is classic and will never completely go out of style. Rapper LL Cool J, says it best......"don't call it come back. It's been here for years."
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It has always been perfectly fine to saturate a room in toile covered furniture and wallpaper......a look that is never frowned on and never goes out of style.
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Chairs and wallpaper perfectly matched in toile.
eclecticrevisited.com
There are so many other lovely patterns on the market that look equally beautiful when upholstery and wallpaper are matched.
For many, the thought of a room covered in wall to furnishings pattern may induce vertigo, but the effect can be surprisingly serene, unified and harmonious.
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"Dorothy liked the idea of upholstered furniture becoming part of the architecture of a room and blending in with the wallpaper so your eye didn't jump from one fabric to another," said designer Carlton Varney, who runs Dorothy Draper Designs today.
dreamstime.com
Sometimes continuity is a good thing! I was taught in landscape design that one large splash of a single color flower makes a bigger statement that a multiple colors in the same bed. It is true! And this thinking also works in interior design. You can see here what a large show of pattern on walls and furniture does for a room.
via pinterest
If you don't want to commit to this look all the time, simply slipcover chairs in the pattern of your wallpaper to use occasionally.
Stroheim & Romann Neoclassical Print Room
This lovely space has just enough of a small print to break the over all larger pattern.
This might have one leopard chair too many for me....would rather see one chair or settee that matches the wallpaper. But you get the idea.
aynart.livejournal.com
Matching upholstery to wallpaper can transform a mundane space into a wonderland—if you've got the guts to try it
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If you like the look but don't want your furniture to totally blend in with the wallpaper, install some millwork or simply paint under the chair rail.
Rose Tarlow
You can still have a mix of pattern as long as you match only one item of furniture to the wallpaper.
via pinterest
Maybe just cover something small like a bench of chair in your wallpaper pattern.
Maybe just cover something small like a bench of chair in your wallpaper pattern.
To me the prettiest use of this style of decorating is with soft pattern so it is not overwhelming. There is alot of the same pattern here but it is calming to the eye.
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Again the best of both worlds is the slipcover! You can have the wallpaper/upholstery matched look as well as something more subtle.
via pinterest
Window treatments may be too much of a good thing for many of you. One item matched with your wallpaper and camouflaged is plenty.
Even though this isn't, many people like the pattern on upholstered pieces to blend in perfectly with the horizontal pattern on the wall. This is true camouflaging.
via pinterest
chelseatextiles.com
Liberty of London fabric on the upholstery and matching wallpaper.
Even though this style of decorating has been generally used with traditional fabrics, that is not the case in today's interiors. Camouflaging with bold designs is becoming very popular.
decoratorsbest.com
Please visit my website at www.lisafarmerdesigns.com
Please visit my website at www.lisafarmerdesigns.com
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This blog post was published by Lisa Farmer