Colour and pattern in the winter sitting room

Garrison, New York

Colour and Pattern in the Winter Sitting Room

The plan for this room was to create a space to retreat to in the evening that felt cosy. Once the new layout had been established, it was time to consider how colour and pattern might be used to achieve the right mood.

Designing the Winter Sitting Room

• A small scale patterned wallpaper can be a brilliant choice if you are wanting to draw a room in, and make it feel cosier.

• Colours such as deep yellows and terracottas are earthy tones that will register as a natural neutral within a room, while still injecting the feeling and interest of colour.

• To help a small room maintain a sense of openness, choose light and bright window dressings - in this scheme I went for cane blinds and white curtains with a terracotta trim.

• Introduce surprise elements of colour and pattern. To prevent this scheme from feeling too brown, I chose a colourful floral print for the cushions.

• When things become a collection, they nearly always look better - which was the case with the homeowners Hudson River School paintings. Group together similar items within a room to really make a feature of them.

• I like to layer lighting with pictures, and will quite often place a small painting behind a lamp so that it illuminates it. Hanging artwork at different heights is important, as you want to be able to see pieces both when you're sitting and standing.

• Where possible, aim for the rug to take up most of the floor space or go for the biggest rug you can afford. This provides a strong backdrop to the rest of the furnishings, and you can always layer smaller rugs on top.

Sourcebook

Gaia Millet wallpaper, by Robert Kime

For similar cane blinds, try Color & Co or search 'Cross Thread cane blinds' on Etsy

Cushions in Mortefontaine L4238001, by Le Manach

Cushions made in Kente Cloth bought from Nushka

Rug from Tim Page Carpets

Further Reading

Hudson River School paintings

Examples of Hudson paintings