Welcome to our a short series of guides on the best ways to adapt various looks and trends to create the ultimate design scheme for your wedding or event space. You can see our first guide on TEXTURE here and our second guide on MOODBOARDS here.
Next up is....
PATTERN
Inject a bit more visual interest, personality and colour into any event by introducing pattern. Whether you are more of a maximalist and want to apply patterns everywhere, or apply them more sparingly, by incorprating them you will be adding more depth yo your design and styling, energising the impact for guests.
We like to use pattern to draw the eye, highlight specific areas and define areas - a bold pattern on soft furnshing in lounge areas makes them more of a feature, a floral pattern fabric on dining tables draws your eye to the middle of the room, or layered in stationery gives a more elevated look to your suite.
There are no rules, and it's nice to have a bit of fun when it comes to using pattern - just try to remember your colour scheme and wheel when combining them (more on this in our next post of the series!). Ditsy patterns tend to work nicely when picking up the same colour used boldly elsewhere, larger motifs can sometimes be more impactful and smaller spaces which you can transform boldly, and don't forget you can layer it in tablescapes with linen, crockery and stationery too.
If it feels a little overwhelming and risky, but you want to ensure your event design is not too flat, then we would recommend choosing just one pattern as a starting point and creating a colour palette around that. It will act as a grounding base foer you to build on, with other plain colour or patterns in the same or co-ordinating shades. So for example, using that technique of a core colour palette and co-ordinating shades only, you might have an overall look that is entirely centred around neutral and earthy tones, or all sweet pastels. It will help your overall design look cohesive and not a confused muddle!
TOP TIPS FOR PATTERNS
Try using a mix of different patterns to create a beautiful layered look
Think about combining small, mid and larger scale patterns and designs in varying quantities in any venue space.
Get physical samples to layer in a visual moodboard to ensure nothing competes against each other
Check out brand and interior collections, as they will often give you examples of patterns and colours that already work together for you to take as inspiration
Have one main print and colour palette, then find complementary prints to sit alongside them.
Break the rules and have some fun... sometimes more really is more.
If in doubt, remember that a neutral background will give bolder contrasting prints some room to breathe and stop any room in a venue feeling overwhelmed
Next up? We will be guiding you through how to use a colour wheel - giving you more confidence to design your own wedding and event design schemes.
PLUS we have just launched a new virtual design service so do book a consultation if you feel you need more support in bringing your wedding or event vision to life!