The 'outdoor' look has always been a popular choice for use throughout the home due to its prevalent qualities: floral prints can enhance the softness of a room, adding a delicate, feminine touch; the colours can be invigorating and the mood-enhancing designs make floral prints an easy option for many.
Particularly in Britain, where bright, summery days are infrequent, floral prints can help remove the mood dampening impact of a dull, wintry day; a pastel spring colour can transform the mood of a room immediately.
Inevitably, floral prints are not for everyone; some interior designers prefer not to use the more bold floral patterns. Contrastingly, it is recommended to use these sorts of bold, colourful floral prints when starting to decide a room's inspiration as the colour scheme is already decided on the pattern. Another bonus to the wide range of existing floral patterns is their broad availability of colours: you can find a floral print which would work with anything, the options are endless.
When considering whether or not to take the plunge and implement a floral print within your home, you should keep a few pointers in mind:
· Consider Colours that will work within your existing colour scheme in your room of choice. For example, if your flooring is a darker shade of green, floral pattern with co-ordinating green leaves would be ideal. On the other hand, if your flooring is a beige or tan colour, generally a more neutral look, you should opt for an 'antiqued' look fabric.
· To use the florals to their best effect, balance out the strong, busy patterns with neutral walls, flooring and furniture. A 'scattering' of the fabric or wallpaper would work best, for example, a statement wall with floral wallpaper or floral fabric upholstered chairs or cushions also work very well.
· Choosing your floral fabric is a great starting point to designing your room as it provides a pre-made colour scheme.
· After considering your colour scheme and the lead colour in the room, think about the secondary colour: what would work best? What would be a great compliment to the main colour?
· Floral patterns will inevitably evoke a more feminine feel to a room, so the best rooms in the home to use this sort of pattern would be within the living room, the bathroom and possibly the bedroom.
If you're not brave enough to consider upholstering a beautiful chair with floral print, luxury fabrics, why not opt for some floral china - this is a small step but a nice way to introduce the theme slowly into a room.