One of the challenges that we encounter with home decor is accurately setting the appropriate mood in the home. That can be achieved through a smart and creative use of textiles, so today we’re going to talk about how to use fabrics and materials in your home and how you can mix and match (and even pattern clash!) to establish different moods as the seasons change throughout the year.

Fresh for Spring

Mood: Rebirth

How to achieve it: floral patterns, bright colours, pastel colours, lots of greenery, light fabrics

Spring comes as a breath of fresh air after the long, dreadful winter, so the decor should definitely reflect that. It should feel like an awakening, so an explosion of colour and pattern is definitely appropriate.

The easiest way to dress up your home for spring is to add some floral cushions to your living room sofa, along with a lighter throw draped over it. The cushions don’t need to match – in fact, the more colourful and different they are, the better. The throw can continue that colour story by echoing one of the shades in the pillows – for example, green. It will really offset the colourful patterns in the cushions.

If you like matching your bedding to the season, this is a great time to throw in some pastels and replace the fleecy blankets with a lighter texture. Not everything needs to have a floral pattern on it; a leafy one is just as nice, or just something colourful and happy.

Most of all, you want to make sure that there is a different atmosphere in the house. All the heaviness of winter goes away, and the lighter, breezier, and more playful colours and patterns are coming back out.

Roomzly can also provide you with Home Decoration services either by offering you a personal shopping experience with our designer or by creating a mood board to reflect the style and vision you wish to bring to life. Contact us for more information.

Cool for Summer

Mood: Relaxation

How to achieve it: breezy fabrics, cool colour palettes, lots of white, natural fabrics and textures

Summer decor is all about staying cool and comfortable and adding that beachy, vacation vibe to your home. Summer is not particularly pattern-heavy, but it’s definitely big on natural textures – raffia, baskets, burlap, and weaving of any kind is very popular for this season and it adds a lot of depth and visual interest to space.

For example, you can add a woven rug to your living room and a pair of breezy, net curtains and you’ve taken your home from spring to summer. A woven basket next to your sofa can serve a practical purpose – storage for throw blankets and magazines.

In terms of colour palettes, white, blue, and shades of sand reign supreme, to inject that cool, Mediterranean vibe we love. This would be ideal for your bedroom, or living room. The kitchen can be a bit sunnier, with use of shades of yellow and patterns like sunflowers and wheat, and this is also where you can make great use of burlap. Making seat covers out of it is quick, easy, and inexpensive, and it changes things up a bit in a space that doesn’t see a lot of variation, normally.

Over the last few years, summer has seen a lot of green in homeware – leafy prints and all the cacti you could ever want. You can incorporate these fresh accents into your home and even “match” them to the real plants these prints are mimicking. It’s a great echo to introduce throughout your house and it ties everything together.

Cosy for Autumn

Mood: Hibernation

How to achieve it: warm colour palette, natural elements, darker, moodier colours

By the time autumn comes around, the weather cools down, life becomes slower, and we’re all ready for a cosier mood. Light a fire and allow it to inspire your decor! There’s a lot of nature-inspired decor for autumn, so you can retain some of those natural textures and materials from summer – just dress them up a bit.

The colour palette is inspired by the changing autumn leaves and how everything around becomes rust-coloured or deep brown. You can reflect that in your choice of fabrics, by hanging some heavier, darker curtains to keep the home warm – gorgeous dark floral patterns are always in fashion this time of year.

And if you thought you couldn’t mix that pattern with other ones, think again – you can play with any patterns and textures you want, as long as they retain some common elements, whether that’s shape, size, or colour. In this case, if you’ve got a floral pattern on your curtains, try adding some cushions with a pattern with dry, crunchy leaves, or even tartan.

The fabrics you use should be getting thicker, softer, and warmer, like corduroy, velvet, and even brocade. The latter can make any piece seem luxurious, whether it’s a cushion or a headboard. Don’t be afraid of “loud” textures – they can often become the focus of the space. Homedit lists multiple ways to get creative with curtains.

Festive for Winter

Mood: Celebration

How to achieve it: glitter, sparkles, and lots of texture, festive colours, expensive fabrics

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and you should be able to see that in your home décor. Not everything needs to be glitzy and glam, but a little sparkle never hurt anyone, and it adds great visual interest. There are a lot of fabrics and textures that have a little gold thread going through them this time of year, or glitter –knitted fabrics, natural woven ones, and even wallpaper, if the changes you want to make are semi-permanent.

It’s the one time you’re “allowed” to pair glitter with more glitter, so take advantage of that and go all out: a little on the tablecloth trim, a bit on the ties on the curtains, a little bit in the guest throw, and everywhere else you can add it. If you’re going to be adding glittery textures, you can keep the colour scheme neutral, as to not overwhelm the space. Think less red-and-green glittery tartan and more shimmery champagne tones.

Heavy, luxurious, expensive-looking fabrics are great for winter. They serve a dual purpose: they’re warm, and they look festive and elevate a space. Red velvet curtains scream Christmas, and for added texture, a faux fur area rug or throw can give you something to snuggle up against.

This is the ideal season to play with textures, because layers are needed, especially when it comes to something like bedding: a fleecy base sheet, with a soft, knitted top layer, and a faux fur throw on top will not only make your bed very cosy, it will also add some visual appeal.

As you can see, making clear distinctions between seasons in your decor is easier than it seems. Mixing and matching textures and colours isn’t that scary after all. There are always things you can carry from one season into the next, and just rework everything around it to breathe new life into your space and ensure it reflects the mood of the season.