Perfect Bathrooms That Play With Pattern Like a Pro

Combining multiple patterns makes for interesting and layered spaces, and one of the more fun parts of pulling together a room — once you’re comfortable with doing it. It’s creative work in part, but there are also some guidelines to make it easier for us non-professionals. These bathrooms can teach us all the art of mixing it up.

Amber Interiors did a lot with this tiny powder room, combining mud cloth wallpaper with vertically laid black subway tile, geometric tile and topped off with a kilim rug. It’s the largely tone-on-tone black color scheme that helps keep everything harmonious.

Dayka Robinson Design used a large print for the fabric, medium size subway tile, and small penny tile for the inset shelves. The variety is what makes it work.

Bringing in a patterned shower curtain is a good (and low-cost) way to try out a mix without the high commitment. Emily Henderson cleverly used multiple shower curtains to make this vintage-style bathroom more Bohemian in appearance.

On the other end of the spectrum (and one of my favorite bathrooms of all time) is the gorgeously tiled specimen that is this bathroom, designed by Ensemble Architecture. All the white space makes these three different tiles appear cohesive.

Here, the craziness of the hand-drawn bird wallpaper is tempered by the reliable repetition of the small tile floor. Also by Ensemble Architecture.

Mixing up pattern with patchwork tiles is another way to add interest, but in a contained and consistent way. This bathroom uses a random and riotous mix of patterned tile but restricts it to the floor.