Pattern

Everything looks better covered in stripes, no?

Shop four prints that are ready to take you away.

It’s the stuff of picnics and summer parties, but also perfect for seasonal home decor.

Plus, tips for styling the look.

According to a design pro.

From chevron to polka dots and beyond.

From polka dots to chevron prints, scroll ahead for some gorgeous graphic sofas that will seriously make you reconsider your opinion of patterned upholstery.

And why is it everywhere?

Perhaps you’ve been playing it safe, decor-wise, your whole life, and are ready to do something wild. Or perhaps you have a room that you feel is finished, but you’re still just a little bit bored with it. Either way, here are five different pieces that will take your space to the next level, that will have your friends (and yourself) convinced that you are a person of taste, refinement and aesthetic derring-do.

It's classic and fresh all at once.

These are tours of the homes of people who took big design risks... and those risks paid off beautifully.

I know it’s hard to think about fall right now, when it’s 100 degrees outside. But this crisp, yet not quite chilly, colorful season is on its way, folks. And with it comes a shift in decor. Home trends don’t move quite as quickly as fashion ones do, which may be one of the reasons plaid is, yet again, everywhere in major retailers’ and smaller home designers’ collections alike. But there’s another reason: Plaid is pretty rad.

Like all the best trends—velvet furnishings, pastel kitchen appliances, even low-carb diets—animal prints have cycled in and out of style over the years (and centuries). At times they’ve been perceived as luxurious and expensive, at other times tacky, outdated, and even a little scandalous, but they never truly leave the cultural lexicon (most recently, Tom Ford’s 2018 Fall Ready to Wear Collection relied heavily on those wild patterns).

With the cold weather season fast approaching, it’s time to finally address an age-old debate in the decor world: Are there really any differences between flannel and plaid? The answer, simply, is yes. So to further breakdown the distinction, we called upon textile aficionado Annie Selke, CEO and President of The Annie Selke Companies, for help. We asked her what really made plaid and flannel all that different and she spelled it out for us.

I’ve long been fascinated by toile. Toile, if you’re not familiar, is the name first given to the cotton fabric produced in the town of Jouy, in France, and then to the pattern of charming vignettes, usually printed in a single color, that covered its surface. Traditional toile, like the wallpaper that covered the walls of our bathroom in the house where I grew up, features scenes of provincial life: shepherds driving sheep, lovers meeting beneath trees.

As the bedroom is a place in which you want to be lulled to sleep, its design is typically tackled in ways that could be described as “soothing” and “serene”. Soft colors and delicate patterns are the norm for a “sophisticated” retreat. But what if you want something with more pizazz? A room that’ll get you excited about the day the second you peel your eyes open?

Homeowners: Lloyd Pierson and Laura Ginsburg Pierson Designer Name: Michelle Nussbaumer, Ceylon et Cie Location: Dallas, Texas As staunch supporters of color-soaked interiors, we can certainly get on board with a home that embraces a saturated scheme. So was the case for interior designer Michelle Nussbaumer’s lively pad for Lloyd and Laura Pierson, a young couple-turned-growing family in Dallas.

The world of prints and patterns is wide. For instance, what you think is simply “plaid” is far more intricate. All tartans are plaids, but not all plaids are tartans, in fact. There are madras plaids, houndstooth plaids, windowpane plaids, and many, many more. So we beg the question: Do you know one from the other? With fall—the high season of plaid—just around the bend, it might be a good time to polish up on your terminology. As always, we’re here to help!