How to Style with Pattern & Colour

Finding your starting place

with GABBY DEEMING — Interiors stylist, former Creative Director of Decoration for House & Garden, founder of Daydress.

Lesson 7 of 24

Rated 4.7/5 on Trustpilot
|

Learn from the world's best creative minds on Create Academy

Finding your starting place - Video thumbnail

Buy or subscribe to watch

The hardest part of any creative endeavour is often knowing where to start. Gabby outlines how you can find your starting point and confidently embark on your styling journey.

From the Lesson Workbook

The Process of Creating a Scheme

Finding your starting place

Often, the hardest part of any creative endeavour is knowing where to start. Gabby outlines how you can find your starting point and confidently embark on your styling journey.

It's a good idea to start with something concrete on which you can build your ideas. This could range from a paint colour to a rug, or even just a postcard, a favourite fabric or an outfit. Sometimes you are drawn to particular palettes.

Everything has to start somewhere; styling doesn't happen all at once. You do need a starting point because it provides you with a focus point to return to and check against.

Visiting design shops as a place to start

Design shops with a creative director who has thought through a space are a great place to start. In London, I really recommend hitting the Pimlico Road. It is lovely – a rare opportunity to see interior design at its best. You should definitely visit Colefax and Fowler, as well as Soane and Robert Kime. You can get a real sense of how to put things together to achieve that mix of old and new, layered interiors combining different textures.

Trust the experts when it comes to palettes

Something like a beautifully made rug from a great rug maker is a brilliant starting point. You will be able to see how the colours work together as well as the textures. Alternatively, you could look at artworks such as contemporary modern paintings which combine colours in a skilled and thoughtful way. Looking at what experts have done is always instructive and allows you to have confidence in the colour palette you have chosen.

Get the full workbook, video lessons, and more with a Create Academy subscription.

Subscribe to access the full workbook
Access all courses
$30 /month

Access 57+ courses, billed annually

Subscribe Now
Buy this course
$130 one-time

Lifetime access to this course

Buy Course

Already a member? Sign in to watch

Rated 4.7/5 on Trustpilot

437 reviews

Read more

Very good tutorial from a professional garden...

I have subscribed to access all the courses so have watched one on interior design and this one with Butter Wakefield who specialises in small garden design. She ...

Louise Brown

Apr 10, 2026

Time spent well

I love CreateAcademy. I came in for the gardening and floristry courses, but am also watching an interior design one at present. And the photography course is an ...

Wellesley

Apr 1, 2026

What a great investment

What a great investment, I have learned such a lot from the first three courses. My evenings have gone from not being able to find anything that captured my imagi...

sojojo

Mar 30, 2026

I loved this course with Amanda\u2026

I loved this course with Amanda Lindroth! Her approach to decorating is so relaxed and she makes it feel attainable. She explains the reasons behind her decisions...

Elizabeth

Mar 27, 2026

Gabby Deeming

Your Instructor

Gabby Deeming

Interiors stylist, former Creative Director of Decoration for House & Garden, founder of Daydress.

One of the UK’s leading figures on all things interiors, Gabby Deeming has spent the past 15 years pulling together beautiful schemes as Creative Director of Decoration at House & Garden. Her route into styling began in her early 20s, when Gabby fell in love with textiles, print and colour after being exposed to fresh and exciting interiors during a year living abroad in France. Gabby started her career at House & Garden shortly after, honing her personal taste and quickly becoming known as a driving force within the magazine for bringing high-end interior design to a wider audience, championing practical, achievable and beautiful styling. In 2017, after taking a short sabbatical in India, Gabby followed her passion for patterned textiles to launch Daydress - an ethically-minded fashion line celebrating block printed fabrics.

Access to all courses

Get access to unlimited learning with a Create Academy subscription