Many of you might be familiar with the successful design duo Pierce & Ward, responsible for Dakota Johnson and Emma Robert's stylish homes, among others. They seem to be leaders among the rising pack of pattern drenching design pioneers in the last five years.
Below you can see a photo from the home of Karen Gillan of Guardians of the Galaxy fame. Her dining room features no less than three dominant patterns on the floor, walls and ceiling, a combo you may not have seen ten years ago and certainly not in the home of Hollywood elite. Grandma-core is in and based on the most recent offerings at mega retailers like Crate & Barrel and smaller boutique designers like Lulu & Georgia, this trend has captured the imagination of the general public
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| Karen Gillan Dining Room |
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| Swan Lake Kitchen Interior |
Perhaps you never thought of putting stripes on the ceiling of your dining room or patterned penny tile on your exhaust hood, but the rules of design are changing and pattern is de rigueur. The winds of change have decided white and modern is out, and warm and patterned is in, specifically in muddy colors designed to bring a certain lived in atmosphere that screams "old money."
Well, this isn't new you might say, people have always loved gaudy wallpaper and floral grandma-core sofas! But as with all design movements, the spin is fresher, the patterns more sophisticated, and the accessories more modern and sculptural than ever before. Lulu & Georgia showcases this beautifully below in a room designed to show off their scalloped table lamp, a design look also adored by Pierce & Ward with their use of a bespoke scalloped headboard and no less than four prominent complimentary patterns.
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| Lulu & Georgia |
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| Pierce & Ward |
Is this look for the masses? Well, why not? I think anyone stepping in to the design world for the first time feels a bit of hesitancy when combining bold patterns, but the truth is that if you follow the simple rule of thumb of sticking to a 3-5 color tone pallet, these kind of interiors can really sing. If you notice in the above photo from Pierce & Ward, all colors reside in the green, brown, mustard, and clay color tones, with the majority of pattern play taking place on the bed and the draperies (you should also notice the walls remain neutral, and this is key). The designers here have given the eyes so much candy at the center of the room, they have chosen to keep a more neutral background to provide a cleansing or resting point so the room doesn't feel disjointed. In the Lulu & Georgia photo you see the same but reversed, with a neutral bed frame playing foil to the pattern drenching of the walls and bedpsread. If you give the eyes a place to rest and a place to play in every room, you will find the perfect balancing point for utilizing multiple patterns per design.
If you want to give this style a try, I would say utilize at least three patterns per room, and stay with the same color pallette (3-5 complimentary color tones), and don't be afraid to layer, layer, layer. The key to this look is soft colors, organic patterns and quirky accessories that excite the eye (think scalloped lamps, unusual wall art, and funky trinkets). A great resource is the Pierce & Ward website which showcases their work and will give you a great idea of how to achieve the pattern drenched grandma-core cottage look. Happy desinging!
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