Oh God I remember that banana-leaf pattern like it was yesterday...

To be avoided.

And uhhh, about the 70s picture..
Maybe when the clothes start matching it's time to start seeing a doctor...

Personally, I feel like all the matching automatically makes a space look dated.

These remind me of Zach Braff's scene in Garden State where he has a shirt from the leftovers of the bathroom makeover.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1607178496/tt0333766

if i wanted to live in a motel, i would move into one...too much matching is simply too much.

I think it works to some point. My room, I got a really fun printed throw pillow I put center on my bed and got a big canvas and painted the same exact pattern on it to hang above my bed. I think with the really contrasty colors on the wall, it looks nice.

I sometimes like the matching wallpaper and drapes, but it's tough to pull off. The third picture works for me, but the 6th doesn't (maybe from pattern overload with the carpet, or the spread out furniture).

I dislike the matching curtains and bedspreads (bad 80s childhood room flashbacks), but I think pulling the curtain fabric onto maybe one throw pillow (nestled amongst several contrasting ones) can create a subtle design coherency.

lol, reminds me of a hotel room I stayed in once, a blue peacock(?) themed "country french boudoir" *shudder*

http://www.brandywineinn.com/slideshow/french3.jpg

#5 is hilarious.

Poor Blanche, little did she know that's why she really got left at the altar in this episode.

If it's something older, it may be deemed as hideous and best forgotten. If it's something else, it's fabulous.

Marimekko Fatboy:
http://www.hausmodernliving.com/ProductDetail.cfm?ItemID=502

Dresses, handbags:
http://fashionista.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=6&limit=20&tag=Marimekko

Duvet:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/skimbaco/holiday%20gifts%20girls/Unikko_duvet_cover_big.jpg

Car:
http://site.alwaysmod.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/marimekko-car-1.jpg

Cow:
http://hikephotos.fortunecity.com/cowsmall/003%20Marimekko.jpg

A particular PATTERN or COLORWAY may not appeal to some people, while being the cat's meow to others. I LIKE that banana leaf pattern, but I wouldn't be pairing it with the mauve carpet today.

But I LOVE greenery and have many houseplants. So it would be natural in my place. Even that wallpaper headboard would be cool behind my white iron daybed.

One person's "before" image is another person's "after" image. And, one person's "after" image is another person's "before" image.

Same goes for "ugly" and "beauty".

I think it would be fun to try out some things, if I had the space and money. Retro rooms. Garden rooms. Exquisite antique rooms full of gilded, ornate furniture. Sparse rooms with a single chair. Because I think a lot of it is wonderful.

I draw the line at more than three items in the same pattern...and it had better be a damn good-looking pattern.

In my bedroom, I have a chair and footstool (different styles and eras) upholstered in the same damask fabric. They don't match anything else in the room, but the pattern tones with the walls and curtains.

Regardless of how you feel about matching, it is inevitable that the next big, decade-long trend will be more visually organized than the current one.

Decorators are on a tear right now to be as "bold" as they can be - mixing clashing patterns, styles, trends, colors, and accessories in the most obviously discordant way possible. Some of these mash-ups work better than others, but the result is the same: everyone is starting to wear the exact same interior uniform. Wild colors, blended decades, and mismatched frames are rapidly becoming the new beige. And that means the design leaders are going to begin casting around for something new to separate themselves from the herd.

I think its pretty inevitable that they will move towards a more "match-y", visually organized aesthetic as a tonic to all the wild rooms that have gone up in the last few years. How they will manage that in a fresh way is anyones guess.

Agree with RichardinLA 100%. Wait for it.
Please Lord, deliver us from the hideousness of wearing our sofa!!!

Ewwwwwww, no.

There are a -couple- exceptions, but generally, no.

If it's good enough for Blanche, Dorothy, and Rose; it's good enough for me!

I think I would like it if, for example, the bed canopy were the same pattern as the bedding, but with the colourway reversed or mixed up a little. Otherwise I feel like it's overwhelming and busy.

Oooh...I hope not. I like the mix of different things. Like already mentioned, it's time for a recycle of trends...so now it'll be matchy matchy.

To make this work, you need a dead on textile and the perfect room proportion. Otherwise, it's one hot mess, as is evidenced above.

I am not a big fan of small patterns used over and over again in a room, but I love that large banana leaf pattern from the Beverly Hills Hotel, it looks great when used in small spaces.....Blanche's room could be easily updated, get rid of all that mauve and paint the walls green, violet, lavender or even black and change out the carpet for a hardwood floor, update the chairs and lampshades, it would be beautiful............so in answer to the question, matchy matchy works but mauve does not!!

I wouldn't discount it entirely. I don't particularly like any of the examples here-- most of the patterns are too busy and dominate the space-- but I think a simpler version could work. It could even be a little humorous, like wide stripes matching up across the different surfaces-- rug, curtains, wallpaper, etc. Probably really expensive though.

if i ever do so... will someone please shoot me?

tia!

Photos #3 and 7 are not bad.

My headboard, bedskirt and curtains all match. I like it. I don't think it's always bad use the same fabrics over and over, especially when the idea is calm and simplicity. Plus it does feel a little like it comes from another era, but I also like that.

In other words, my matchy room is not like Blanche's room. Although I kind of love Blanche's room.

Don't know about the paper.... but the carpet should always match the drapes...

dear lord. i used to work at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. These pictures are giving me a very unpleasant flashback.

I kind of love it -- maybe not in every instance, but when it's done well, it has a comforting, old-fashioned quality. A nice example is this bedroom in Gay and Nan Talese's home in Ocean City, NJ:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/08/03/travel/20070803_AWAY_SLIDESHOW_7.html

ugh to the matching...i go for coordinating

@creativeintheory - i love that you know how that episode ends.

@magmapdx - naughty! just kidding...

i don't think that i could ever do all the same pattern... just too much overload.

There's a catalog that always features matching bedspread, drapes, valances, etc. I think it's called Domestications? I always wonder what sort of people buy things like seasonal bedspreads?

All of the matching isn't for me... however, I do like the banana leaf wallpaper as a headboard in Blanche's bedroom. I'd just skip the matching bedspread.

None of these except for #5 do as first off, #5 is from the very cool mod 70's, perhaps mid to late in the decade and I love the color combo, however they went overboard w/ the pattern. If you notice, the beige/tan portion of the couch is the same pattern as the cushions and draps, and her dress.

What makes this work well is that first off, the pattern is very mod and bold and only on the cushions and drapes, while the couch has the same pattern, it's tone on tone beige/tan which then separates the cushions, allowing them to be on their own and you have the wood textures/colors and the silver textile covering the windows so you only see this bold pattern on the drapes and on the sofa cushion and since they are in the same line of sight, it works great in this situation.

That said, I'm usually not for matchy, matchy but #5 is a good exception and example of how to pull off the matchy, matchy and do it well IMO.

I don't know..perhaps I'm being nostalgic for the matchy matchy look, but I like it...let's bring it back!

Not a fan..but that Afro is awesome in pic #5.
Somehow I think Martha Stewart could come up with an acceptable matchy-matchy theme, tho.

It's already happening.... the current issue of Elle Deco UK has this image of Lee Radziwill's home:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tKUwC7TQWt0/SdZq3-0L2cI/AAAAAAAACf4/b09C3HxK6Yk/s400/ElleDecorApr09.jpg

Matching colours of everything in a room reminds me of my Grandma... which is not such a bad thing! It's definitely a bit outdated, but we rolled with it. If I remember correctly, she always matched the bedspread, rugs, curtains, lampshades and walls at their home. The cottage was a different story, because the walls were that faux wood panelling.

If I remember correctly:
Grandparents bedroom at home: purple
guest bedroom at their home: blue
their bedroom at the cottage: pink
guest bedroom at cottage #1: blue
guest bedroom at cottage #2: green

And while I wouldn't do it now, I loved it as a kid! Felt like coming home :)

I love Blanche's bedroom! And number 5 is too funny!

I had curtains made from twin sheets for my bedroom closets. To match the pillowcases! I removed the closet doors - oh, and was also coordinating with the shower curtain (which I had made in all three patterns)

I've since moved and decided to enjoy having doors again. But I really enjoyed my custom look and I've kept the curtains - just in case.

For now, I can still coordinate my bathroom curtain with my bedroom pillow cases. Which is a bit more subtle, ha ha. But still. Matching is loads of fun. I don't care if it's outdated or whatever. I have a raincoat that... never mind. I'm into matching. Bigtime.

PS I think #5 looks fabulous. I'm seriously considering having closet doors removed and getting back into a groove here.

everything matching = old folks home!