Fearlessly Mix Colors, Patterns and Textures
This five-bedroom condo in Steamboat Springs features original artwork and handcrafted furniture in nearly every room, but rather than be set apart like precious investment pieces, they intermingle with the vibrant mix of colors and prints on the everyday items around them. The homeowners worked with interior designers Donna Figg, Sloan Pressly and Tara Klaers of Slifer Designs in Edwards to give their second home a lighthearted sophistication.
Strong Impressions
The entry feels like a gallery, with each piece deserving of attention. “We wanted a really strong setting to give a sense of arrival,” Figg says. While nothing technically matches, there’s a not-so-subtle symmetry to the space.
A Stand-out Piece
In the living room, the designers worked from the ground up, drawing their color inspiration from the handmade rug from Niba Rug Collections. “We made this room’s palette a peacock blue and funky green balanced with the warm taupe walls and the base of the brown rug,” Figg says. Playing with texture was important too. Plenty of soft, upholstered seating makes the space welcoming, and touches of metal and stone add visual interest. The custom live-edge cocktail table by Dillon-based Summit Woodworks, the only wooden piece in the room, “really stands out and looks special,” Figg says.
Patterns at Play
Mixing three disparate patterns—as the design team at Slifer has done in the photo above with the geometric rug, floral drapes and tweed chairs—could instill fear in the hearts of many otherwise intrepid homeowners, but designers Donna Figg and Sloan Pressly insist that mixing and matching can be easy:
1. The key, of course, is to forget about matching. Instead, stay within the same general color family, as the designers did in the photo above with browns and creams.
2. Mix patterns with different scales and structure. Here, the tweed’s tight weave recalls the rug’s lattice-like grid but on a microscopic scale. And the drapes’ large, loose painterly print breaks up the rigidity while its scale balances well with the rug’s repeat.
3. Pair layered patterns with clean-lined furniture in solid shades and keep accessories to a minimum to prevent visual clutter.
