How to pull off mix and match interior design – without causing chaos

How to pull off mix and match interior design

The method to the madness? Anchor blended patterns and textures with a rug or carpet

From the red carpet to the family den, designs that expertly mix and match textures and patterns continue to trend skyward in 2025.

There’s no need to make room as this maximalist approach to interior design fills in spaces left sparse by the minimalist movement that, until recently, defined the first quarter of the Twenty-First Century.

When executed thoughtfully, this décor method allows residents to style their home to reflect their personality, or brand a commercial interior as unique and memorable. It creates a stimulating sense of visual interest and makes it easier to adapt to shifting tastes, piece by piece.

Ready to experiment with your interiors? Don’t be intimidated – Vifloor Canada is here to help, with guidelines to keep your mixed and matched spaces feeling curated and eclectic, not cluttered and messy.

1) Begin with a cohesive colour scheme

Does entering a room overwhelmed with reds and oranges leave you agitated? Does being surrounded by a soft blue or taupe send you into a Zen state?

There’s an emotional spectrum that correlates with colour you need to be mindful of if you’re planning to redecorate. Colour can influence how a space feels – think of the vibe a lounge with darker, deeper tones sets, compared to the typical lightness of an office setting.

Once you have a sense of how a space should feel, pick a hue that evokes that ambiance, and build a cohesive colour scheme around it. Use this as your guide to avoid – or intentionally combine – clashing elements.

There’s an emotional spectrum that correlates with colour you need to be mindful of if you’re planning to redecorate.

2) Create spaces with balanced visual weight

Texture adds a sense of depth to our perception of a space, and every item in a room adds texture, from lighting to furniture to rugs.

When designers discuss texture, what they are really addressing is a room component’s “visual weight,” or how it draws attention to itself, and a pattern may enhance that visual weight. The key to layering textures successfully is in finding a balance between the subtle elements and the dramatic.

See the photo below – the Chevron pattern in the rug and the parquet flooring have every potential to clash. Instead, the monochromatic colour scheme ties them together, and the size variance gives the rug a lighter visual weight that is harmonious with the heavier flooring design. Which takes us to the next point.

Vifloor Chevron area rug3) Give patterns space to breathe

The most artfully crafted mixed interiors give patterns room to breathe, meaning that they mix and match with elements that have either a subtle pattern or none at all. It seems like a simple rule, but when ignored, it takes the layered look from eclectic to garish.

For example, if you lay a rug with a loud pattern, you might skip the neon binding or serging on the boarder, opting instead for a neutral colour that complements the design.

The most artfully crafted mixed interiors give patterns room to breathe.4) Layering from the ground up, starting with rugs and carpets

Mix and match interior design may seem overwhelming at first, but expert results are possible if you follow a cohesive colour scheme, balance the visual weight, and allow patterns to stand out.

One last piece of advice: consider working on your next design from ground up, starting with a rug or broadloom.

Not only can it tie a room together, but it can also provide you with a ready-made colour scheme, along with a baseline for textures and patterns, that you can build the rest of the space around.