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 collections 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. Use a complementary colour palette

To help stripes and florals blend seamlessly and ensure patterns and colours aren't all competing for attention, stick to a complementary colour palette. In The Lane collection I have used the same rich blue ink colour throughout for the perfect mix and match.

Suffolk Stipe and Stitchwort fabrics from The Lane Collection

In much brighter tones, I have used apple green on our Pomegranate Vine and Grand stripe fabrics so that all the guess work is taken out, which most designers do with any collection they put together.

Pomegranate Vine and Grand Stripe fabrics from The Indian Summer Collection

Using fabrics with a single colour also helps when mixing florals and stripes - 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

Patterns all of the same scale can be tiring on the eye, so for a good floral and stripe mix you may want to consider, for example, a broad horizontal stripe with a smaller floral, or a fabric with large floral motifs partnered 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. Use your stripe as your 'neutral'

Stripes can sometimes be easier to work with, compared to the more complex, weaving nature of a floral fabric design. If you are unsure where to start, consider using stripes as your 'neutral' on the larger pieces in the room, such as curtains, blinds and upholstery and bring in florals on accessories, such as cushions and lampshades.

Campion Breeze and Stitchwort fabrics

If you would like help choosing fabrics from the Leaping Foxes Designs collection, please contact us at leapingfoxes@gmail.com

View and order samples from The Lane collection. View and order samples from the Indian Summer Collection