How to mix florals and stripes

Trends come and go, but florals and stripes remain a classic combination in interior schemes.

Florals are one of the biggest and ever changing categories in design - from the English cottage rose and ditsy French florals to the dramatically sculptural tropical flower - there is something for every taste and room in the house. At the same time, stripes are omnipresent as a classic 'neutral', mixing easily with most patterns and lending themselves to both a nostalgic and modern feel.

As a fabric designer, I couldn't wait to create a collection using florals and stripes - I love the way stripes balance out florals, opening them up to an even broader audience. If you are unsure how to use them in your home, I have put together 3 simple tips to get you started:

1. Stick to a complementary colour palette to help stripes and florals blend seamlessly, particularly if you like a calm interior where patterns and colours aren't all competing for attention. In The Lane collection I have used the same rich blue ink colour throughout to create that serene feel.

Suffolk Stipe and Stitchwort fabrics from The Lane Collection

Using fabrics with a single colour also helps when mixing florals and stripe - here the soft tonal colours of dried sage and shell pink enable this pattern combination to sit easily together.

Rye Grass and Campion Drift fabrics

2. Vary the scale and size of the patterns to create balance in your room, for example a broad horizontal stripe with a smaller floral, or a fabric with large floral motif mixed in with a narrower ticking stripe. As a general rule, stick to one larger scale pattern in a room and then add in smaller scale patterns to complement it.

3. Choose a 'hero' pattern that will dominate. Stripes can sometimes be easier to work with, compared to the more complex, weaving nature of a floral fabric design. If you are unsure, consider using stripes as your 'neutral' on the larger pieces in the room such as curtains, blinds and upholstery and bring in florals as smaller accessories from cushions to lampshades. Again, if you use the same colour palette in the stripe and floral, it can be easier to play around with the dominant and complementary patterns.