How to Use Abstract Pattern Fabrics in your Interior Design

Abstract fabrics are one of the cornerstones of contemporary interior design. Evocative, transformative, and fresh, they bring a new breath of life into any room they touch.

While abstract movements in art and design is often a result of seemingly random, passionate brushstrokes, disorder and imaginative chaos, abstract patterned fabrics are appreciated for their ability to temper that chaos and disorder, and to establish a sense of symmetry. This is what makes them such a powerful tool for interior design – even if you’re not yet convinced that your existing style would lend itself to abstraction.

Here are our tips for integrating them into your home. 

Use an abstract print to add bold pops of colour…

Abstract patterns represent the ideal vessel for colour. While florals and more illustrative designs generally dictate their own colour schemes, abstracts needn’t adhere to any rules. They can, for that reason, be ideal for facilitating a more haphazard colour story – for matching the energy those colours bring into the room and helping everything to feel balanced.

This is particularly useful for a more bohemian style of décor. While the romantics among us tend to gravitate toward layering floral prints and illustrative patterns, the more modern bohemian will find plenty to love in layering abstracts and geometrics of various colours, sizes, and textures. The effect is similar, but the execution far more contemporary.

A busier abstract pattern is a powerful force – but, then again, it needn’t overwhelm an entire room. In the world of interior design, there is a lot to be said for using a firm hand, and refusing to be daunted by some of the bolder, stronger prints that find their way onto the inspiration board.

…Or something much more subtle

Colour and scale are everything, and, with the right combination of elements, even a bold abstract pattern can be softened to live harmoniously with a more understated style of décor. Abstracts don’t necessarily have to draw the eye from the doorway; they can represent the little extra touches that add a sense of depth to a space.

Our Tulkan Blue, for instance, is a handprinted, textured linen ideal for building layers and utilising abstract shapes without straying too far into the realms of maximalism and modernity. It’s a pattern than looks beautiful from across the room, but offers more detail to the eye on closer inspection.

Draw inspiration from around the world

Like art and music, textile is one of the most powerful mediums we have for transporting our imaginations to other parts of the world. It’s something that fuelled our own passion for exploring fabric, print, and colour at Penny Morrison, and a strong guiding force behind our complete fabric collection.

At Penny Morrison, we have drawn inspiration from across the globe – the rough, organic shapes characteristic of African artistry, the traditional block printing methods pioneered in India, the flowering patterns of East Asia and motifs from the ancient world.

You needn’t devote the entire room to one particular style – and you might be amazed to see how easily and effectively these disparate patterns can be pooled together and combined to create an immersive and unique space.

Look for meaning

Consider how you take in an abstract painting. However random the shapes, however sweeping the brushstrokes or obscure the faces, it’s possible to unpick the artist’s intentions – to find the meaning and expression buried within.

While abstract patterns in textile and wallpaper tend to be less complex than, say, Picasso’s Guernica, it is still often the case that parts of the world are represented within those seemingly random shapes. Our linen Vasari fabric in China Blue, for instance, is inspired by the garden, as well as the tapestries woven throughout England in the Medieval age.

When you start looking for abstract textiles for your home, give the prints the same level of attention you would give to a framed work of art. It will help you to decide how to combine various patterns together, and how to build a rich, evocative collection of textiles for any room of the home.

Abstract patterns are some of the most evocative and exciting patterns you can introduce into your home. While they are, by definition, far more representational than they are illustrative, they rouse the imagination and help to set a particular tone, depending on how (and to what extent) they are used.

Take a look at our full range of abstract prints here.