While designing a room, bear in mind the triumvirate connection between colour, pattern and texture.

Choosing patterns

Large and busy designs tend to draw in walls and make big rooms seem cosy, but they overwhelm a small space. Similarly, tiny or subdued patterns will make the most of small rooms but get lost in a large one.

A pattern can also create optical illusions and be a useful decorating tool. Uneven walls can make pattern matching very difficult ? so choose a wall covering design with care.

Floral patterns don’t allow the eye to fix on any one point, so they are great tools for irregular walls and for disguising an unattractive feature. Dainty floral sprigs may be used for small rooms, narrow hallways and cloakrooms.

Stripes suit almost any room. Classic stripes in contrasting colours are good for daytime rooms and hallways, whereas stylised stripes are informal and versatile. Stripes are also useful for altering the proportions of a room. Horizontal stripes seem to push out walls in a small room and vertical ones will make a low ceiling appear higher.

Trimming wallpaper around doors, windows or cupboards can ruin the look of a large pattern. Stripes and small designs are a better choice and more economical. Geometrics are neat and restful, and make walls seem to recede, so they create the perfect backdrop to a busy or cluttered room.

A stimulating colour scheme should be sparing with pattern on furnishing and accessories. Busy patterns will simply compete for attention.

Mixing patterns

Pay attention to the size and scale of a pattern, and use large designs over large areas such as a sofa or curtains for a wide window, and keep small-scale designs for accessories like cushion covers and lampshades.

In a large room, don’t be afraid to break up walls with pattern and add deep borders for emphasis. In more modest rooms, mix a small pattern with a bolder design, and if you think a room is becoming too busy, tone it down with areas of plain colour or paint-effect wallpaper.

If you are not a confident decorator, choose wall coverings and fabrics from a fully co-ordinated collection, which will ensure that patterns are evenly balanced and have a similar dominating colour. This allows the eye to flow from one part of the room to the other, and is especially important for open- plan living areas and dual-purpose rooms.

However, if you do want to try mixing different patterns, the key to success is to choose designs that have a common colour and style, and stick to it throughout.

Decorative borders are not just for walls, but they help integrate patterns and can be used to jazz up doors and even some types of furniture.

Introducing texture

Texture is a subtle way of adding visual interest. Matt, rough textures such as brick, wood and cork add warmth, while smooth, shiny surfaces such as chrome, glass and ceramic tiles are cool and more sophisticated.

Texture can enhance the overall effect. Matt emulsion, for example, has a rich velvety finish that helps make big rooms seem more snug, while the light-reflecting sheen of silk vinyl has a brightening effect that makes small rooms seem more airy.

Texture is very important in one-colour schemes. Where a room has no colour contrast, add rugs and fabrics with a woven pattern for warmth.

Poor surfaces will be much more obvious with a plain painted finish. So, if you don’t want to add pattern, add texture. Paint techniques such as sponging and ragging will help disguise blemishes.

If pattern isn’t your taste, paint-effect paper will give walls an instant facelift with colour and texture, but without the skill or effort needed for the real thing.

Starting out

Few of us are lucky enough to start decorating from scratch. There is usually an item that we don’t want to replace and which has to blend in with the new colour scheme.

With plain carpets and fabrics, you can be either bold or restrained, but picking colours or patterns to complement existing designs can be trickier. Take your cue from a shade in carpet or curtains and use it as the starting point.

Choosing colours

If you are not a confident decorator, a colour scheme that uses several strengths of the same basic colour is a safe choice and very easy on the eye. Use the mid-tone for a large area like curtains or the floor covering, a lighter tone for walls and ceiling, and the strongest only for emphasis with accessories.

A bookcase or large piece of furniture can be turned into a focal point by painting the wall behind it in a more vibrant colour than the rest of the room.

Unattractive features such as built-in cupboards will be less obvious if they are painted the same colour as surrounding walls.

In small rooms, doors and windows should also be painted to merge with their surroundings.