Ask a Designer:A column by Kevin Harrison

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It took me a long time to learn how to wear a patterned tie with a patterned shirt.
I knew it could look great; my favorite shirt retailer, Thomas Pink, has made a worldwide business on pattern combination ? the English style of dress.
It took observation and experimentation, and I mastered the shirt and tie combination.
As difficult as the shirt and tie combination was, I have always been able to combine patterns for the home.
For some reason, this is easier for me.
Pattern does not have to be strong to be effective. A small pattern or patterns in similar colors create texture when viewed from any distance.
Both pattern and texture are important when creating a pleasing finished product.
Solid fabrics are easier to combine, but are not always very interesting when the room is finished.
Pillows can introduce the pattern; however, I often recommend that at least one piece of furniture also have a patterned fabric.
I feel that this creates the most visually balanced room.
A few ideas:
? Tone-on-tone pattern is often the easiest to combine with more vibrant patterns.Think about a basket weave carpet to combine with your upholstery. Or a tonal ticking stripe with floral.
? In general, as long as the colors in each pattern are the same, the patterns will work together.
? A big pattern should be combined with smaller patterns. As with artwork and accessories, you should create a hierarchy of pattern. Lay all of the fabric samples you are considering out on a table, and put them in order of largest to smallest pattern or most colorful to softest color.
As you look at your fabrics, each pattern should step down in scale and intensity.
? If you still doubt your choices, ask your designer or retailer to order one yard pieces of your fabrics. I find that customers always feel more comfortable when they can work with larger pieces of fabric.
It gives a customer the chance to cover an existing chair or the end of a sofa with the fabric as it will exist in the new plan.
This will cost you some money; however, it is much less costly than reupholstering an entire sofa. Also, you can have several accent pillows made with each sample.
? An oriental rug is a great start to a room, and also introduces your first pattern. Something as large as a rug is automatically the number one position in your pattern hierarchy. Even if the rug has a very soft palette, because of the size, it is dominant.
? If you already have a room full of solid color upholstery, think about patterned drapery or wallpaper. Both drapery and wallpaper are experiencing a strong resurgence.
If you have specific design issues you would like me to address, please send your questions to Kevin@khhomeonline.com.
I will be happy answer your questions in one of my articles.
Kevin Harrison is an interior designer who owns KH Home, 6 N. Main St. in downtown Clarkston.

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So, you walk into your living room, and although it is very well put together, it still seems to be missing something. You could even say the room is boring.
What the room is probably missing is the unexpected. What I am referring to is that element in a room which catches attention because it is out of character with the rest of the items in the room.
A room with many unexpected elements is eclectic, but one or two items add interest.
The unexpected item in a room should have at least two of the following characteristics: visual texture, extreme color, large scale, obvious age, or ethnic interest.
A few ideas:
? Use one piece of artwork that is much larger than you would normally select for a space. I have a very large antique oil portrait in my living room that totally dominates one wall, and is the first thing that visitor’s notice. It is certainly unexpected to have a painting that is over 5? tall in a room with 9? ceilings! This example gives the room large scale and obvious age.
? If you collect, use your collection en masse to create the unexpected. A large collection of Teco or Grueby pottery is stunning. This would look equally fantastic in a living room or dining room. This gives the room both large scale (collection en masse) and visual texture.
? Use color as your unexpected element in a room, but use it sparingly. During one period in my life, I traveled frequently and was fortunate to stay at some wonderful boutique hotels. The W Hotel did a great job using color as an unexpected element; at their hotel on Union Square in NYC, the rooms are very monochromatic but have a bright purple throw on the foot of each bed. This one element relieved the severity of the monochromatic color palette. In this case, the throw was of a very different texture than the bedding, so it gave the room visual texture and extreme color.
? If you have a contemporary room, try adding one very ornate antique to the mix of furniture. A large French armoire or console is a wonderful contrast to chrome and leather. This example adds visual texture and obvious age.
? Antique Chinese items can be a great addition to both traditional and contemporary spaces. Try adding a red pagoda box or a collection of imperial yellow vases to a coffee table or mantel; it will add vivid color and also ethnic interest.
If you have specific design issues you would like me to address, please send your questions to Kevin@khhomeonline. com. I will be happy answer your question in one of my articles.
Kevin Harrison owns KH Home, 6 N. Main, downtown Clarkston.

Ask a Designer
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