Adding colour with pattern

Late, late late in posting today my apologises - utterly lost track of time at the National Portrait Gallery where I went researching for a project I am about to undertake. This post is a little inspired by all those fabulous portraits I have just seen and how by hanging a great portrait on your wall you can add instant colour and pattern and bring everything alive. For my book I photographed designer Lisa Whatmough's house (a detail of her living room sits below). Patterns are a tough one - I used to shy away from them but realised I wasn't really pushing the visual envelope until I started embracing them. They key to decorating with pattern is allowing areas where the eye can rest - too much visual stimulation is tiring and won't allow you to dally long in the room. So intersperse your design with some plainer notes to help highlight the patterns you have selected. Below shows a period picture and more modern upholstered rocking chair introduce pattern in quite different, yet complementary ways. Together they make a strong statement and the contrasting fabrics covering the chair really punch up the room and are beautifully balanced by the white painted floors and strong grey walls. [caption id="attachment_299" align="aligncenter" width="497" caption="Photography Graham Atkins Hughes"][/caption]