'Power Clashing' Is the Art of Successful Pattern Mixing—Here's How to Do It Right

The Real Simple designers share their secrets for making mismatched decor look meant to be.

If you've ever looked at maximalist design and thought, "That shouldn't work, but somehow it does," you may have been observing power clashing in action. Power clashing is the successful combination of patterns, colors, textures, and more that, per traditional design rules, we're told shouldn't go together. We see it all the time in fashion—a stylish person will rock navy and black together or mix unexpected patterns in a sophisticated way, and we'll start rethinking everything we we're told not to do. The maximalist rooms in the 2023 Real Simple Home have had the same effect on us—and the designers behind them are experts at power clashing. And while power clashing is, in many ways, about the abandonment of rules, there are still a few tips and tricks to getting it just right. So, we asked some of the Real Simple Home designers for their secrets to power clashing like a pro.

Related: How to Make Bold Paint Colors Work in Your Home

Go for One Part Mixing, One Part Matching

Designer Megan Hopp's formula for power clashing is essentially a 1:1 ratio of mixing and matching. "My sort of self-prescribed rule on matching is that when you're putting patterns together, they need to have one thing in common and one thing not in common," designer Megan Hopp says. "So, for example, they can share a color scheme but then they can't be the same scale. So you can't have two blue, small floral prints up against each other. You need to have one be small and one could be a large floral print, or they could be the same color scheme and be a different theme, one could be a stripe and one could be a floral. They could both be small florals, but one needs to be blue and one needs to be green."

Choose a Common Thread

Similary, designer Michelle Gage says the key to power clashing is having a uniting thread in the room. "In the home office we designed [for the Real Simple Home], we pulled colors out from the wallpaper for the reading chair, rug, and trim," she says. "All of those elements point back to the star, the paper." The star in question: the Opia Magna pattern in magenta, by House of Hackney.

Consider Scale

Another important element when mixing and matching patterns is scale. "You need to consider scale when pairing patterns together," Gage says. "You can totally have three competing prints in a room, but they can’t all be the same scale or it starts to look like a hot mess." For example, if you have three different floral prints in a room, and all the floral patterns are about the same size and density of pattern, that's when the clashing can happen. However, if one pattern has a tighter, smaller print and another has a bigger, bolder print with more negative space, those patterns can better balance each other out.

When it comes to mixing patterns and scale, Hopp says contrast is a good thing. Don't "play two keys that are closer together," she says, "play octaves apart."

Think High and Low

If you want to go extra bold with your design, don't just mix and match your throw pillows. Look to the walls, floors, and ceiling, too. "A cool and simple way to mix patterns in a space is by picking a boldly patterned wallpaper and mixing it with a finer print in a rug or bedding, or vice versa." designer David Quarles IV says. "And if you’re feeling daring, you can mix wallpaper patterns by placing a finer print on the walls, and place the bold pattern on the ceiling."

Try Out Some Color Blocking

If you're not quite ready to go full-maximalist with patterns, Hopp says another slightly more understated way to do some power clashing is through color blocking. "Maybe it's a solid color pillow that has a [contrasting] border or a solid color pillow that has an accent colored fringe detail or piping detail," she says. "That's another way to work with your training wheels as you're getting more comfortable pulling different pieces together."

Go the Natural Route

"Another, and maybe more unexpected, way you can mix patterns is with plants," Quarles IV says. "Through their variegations and leaf shapes, you can easily play with pattern. For example, the lines in a snake plant mix beautifully styled next to a monstera’s varied leaf shape and bird of paradise’s stature." He says this can be a more subtle and easier way to lean into pattern mixing, even if you aren't comfortable with super busy prints.

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