Mixology 101: Decorate With Colour & Pattern with Urban Barn

Happy Spring, everyone!

We kicked off the season on the right foot with an exciting event where we hosted a designer talk session at the Urban Barn in Waterloo, Ontario. We were thrilled to share our expertise and pro tips with clients of all ages and design style preferences. Urban Barn hosts these sessions twice a year, each focused on a seasonal design topic. This spring, the spotlight was on ways to incorporate color, pattern, and texture into your home, while also covering composition, size, and scale. We also had the chance to showcase product coordination ideas suited for various spaces, including dining rooms, bedrooms, and living rooms.

If you missed the event, we’re recapping some of the key takeaways today so you can keep them in mind for your next project. Plus, we’re making it even easier for you to choose and shop pieces from Urban Barn during your next visit. Let’s dive in!

A Little Bit About the Brand

Urban Barn is a Canadian furniture and home décor retailer known for blending modern and rustic styles. Their brand emphasizes accessibility, offering well-crafted products at approachable price points. They also prioritize sustainability by incorporating reclaimed wood, recycled metals, and other eco-friendly materials into their designs. For their Spring 2025 collection, the theme of the designer talk was Mixology 101: Decorate With Colour & Pattern. We were invited to share some of our top tips for building cohesive color schemes using Urban Barn’s furniture and accessories, tips that come in handy when creating stylish, well-balanced interiors. We started with a few foundational color theory principles (which you can also explore here), then moved into 3 real-life styling setups that can be adapted to any home, including yours!

The Basics: A Quick Guide to Color, Pattern, Texture, Size & Proportion

If you’re staring at a blank room, or a space that feels tired, outdated, or like it’s just missing something, and you’re unsure where to begin, we always recommend starting with the basics.

Before diving into Pinterest boards, scrolling through designer posts on Instagram, or dreaming about that perfect HGTV makeover, it’s important to figure out what you like, what you need, and what actually works for your home and lifestyle. It’s easy to fall in love with a catalog-perfect room, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right fit for your space, budget, or daily routine.

Start by asking yourself:

Are there one or two design styles I naturally gravitate toward? If you’re not sure, try taking our quick style quiz to narrow it down. Next, think about the colors you’re drawn to. You don’t need to look far, start with your wardrobe! Do you lean toward cooler tones (like blues, greens, or purples)? Warmer tones (like yellows, oranges, or reds)? Or do you prefer neutrals (beiges, whites, blacks, greys)? Maybe you enjoy a mix of warm and cool tones, or you like color, but in softer, less saturated hues. There is no right or wrong answer, this is greatly determined by your personal choice and amazing personality.

This simple exercise helps you understand what colors make you feel comfortable and inspired. If you’re designing a shared space, try it with your partner to discover overlaps in style and create a space that reflects both of you. Once you have a general sense of your preferred style and color palette, it becomes much easier to look through inspiration with intention. Instead of a cluttered mood board full of conflicting ideas, you'll start curating visuals that are more aligned with your lifestyle and taste.

Setting One: Dining Room

Layering Textures & Tones for a Welcoming Gathering Space

For this first space, we chose a beautiful, minimal yet enchanting wooden dining table in a mid-tone finish as our base, and built the color scheme from there. Since we were working with a warm wood tone, we introduced accessories in cooler textures and neutral shades to create balance.

Formal dining spaces are often reserved for special occasions, so we made a statement with an oversized stone vase filled with tall branches as the centerpiece. We paired it with a smaller stone vase in a warmer tone, a few candleholders to add contrast, and small woven wicker trays for texture. For the tableware, we selected round wicker placemats to bring a nature-inspired, rustic touch, and ceramic dishes in a deep grey-blue to introduce a subtle pop of color.

This setup was inspired by a minimal, neutral design concept, focusing on blending textures and finishes while keeping the color palette restrained but elevated. The centerpiece definitely sparked some questions around size and whether it felt too overpowering. And yes, we agree, it’s not ideal for an everyday family dining setup where conversation and eye contact are key. That’s why we made it clear this look was designed with formal dining in mind.

To adapt it for everyday use, we swapped the oversized vase for a smaller version and traded the tall faux branches for something shorter, or as an alternative, a beautiful bowl or tray, still elevated and rich-looking, but more practical for daily life. If you are afraid of going too overboard, remember always fruping your decor pieces in 3s: One large vase, one smaller vase, one set of candle holders (yes, these count as one). Alo, play with geometry: if your table and chairs tend to be more on the rectilinear side, then bringing some more organic, rounded shapes as accent pieces is great!

Setting Two: Bedroom

Soft Layers & Calming Colors for a Restful Retreat

For this space, we worked with a tone-on-tone color scheme and chose shades of blue as the foundation. Blue is a cooler tone often used in calming environments like bedrooms and bathrooms because of its relaxing and airy, sky-inspired feel. When combined thoughtfully, it creates a timeless, serene atmosphere.

Our selected bed had a combination of an upholstered headboard and wooden legs in a neutral tone. To style it, we focused on layering pillows in three different sizes to add depth and proportion. For this queen-size bed, we used:

• Two 22"x22" pillows at the back

• Two 20"x20" pillows in front of those

• One long lumbar or bolster pillow as the final accent

  
  

We played with tone variation, moving from darker to lighter shades of blue, and added a cozy throw blanket at the foot of the bed for warmth and texture. The bedding itself was kept light and neutral, with a subtle, nature-inspired pattern to keep the overall look soft and inviting. We added a variation with bolder patterns as well.

During the session, a common question that came up was whether there are specific "rules" for how many pillows you need and what sizes to use. While these guidelines are everywhere online, they’re just that, guidelines. At the end of the day, your personal style and everyday needs should always come first.

Not everyone loves a bed full of fluffy pillows, especially from a practical standpoint. That’s why we always recommend adapting these ideas to suit your preferences. That said, the suggested sizes and groupings are based on aesthetic principles that help create visual balance, proportion, and depth, so they’re a great starting point if you’re unsure where to begin.

Setting Three: The Living Room

Balancing Comfort, Contrast & Personality

For this final space, we went with a complementary color combination of pinks and greens, with a bonus neutral version for those who prefer a more minimal look. One of the most common questions we get is: What’s the right number of pillows for a sofa or sectional, and how should they be placed? Great question! The answer depends on a few things: the size of your sofa, how the space is used (rec room vs. formal living room), and, of course, your personal style.

Functionality is key in living spaces meant for hosting and entertaining. The last thing you want is a pile of pillows with no place to go, or guests who feel like they can’t sit comfortably. Deep sofas can usually handle more pillows, while standard ones are best with just a few well-placed pieces.

If your goal is to create a luxe, elevated look, layer pillows in different sizes, colors, and patterns. Having them all the same size or color can make the sofa feel flat or uninspired. Mix things up for more visual interest! And if you’re worried about going overboard with color, texture, or pattern, just follow the classic 60-30-10 rule:

Dominant Colour – 60%

This is the main color of the room, think large pieces like your sofa, walls, or flooring. It sets the overall tone. Whether it's soft grey, warm beige, or cool blue, your dominant color should act as a neutral backdrop that ties everything together. In our living room sample setting, the neutral-toned sofa was the dominant color.

Secondary Colour – 30%

The secondary color adds contrast and depth without overpowering the space. This might show up in your rug, curtains, or larger throw pillows. If your dominant color is neutral, this is where you can have fun with pattern or boldness. In our setup, the larger pillows carried the secondary color and were a great way to introduce subtle patterns.

Accent Colour – 10%

This is your pop of personality. Accent colors are bolder and used in smaller doses, think decorative pillows, artwork, or throws. These elements draw attention and add texture and energy to the room. In our setting, the lumbars and throw featured the accents, perfect for injecting extra texture without overwhelming the space. Whether you love bold combos like pink and green or prefer a muted palette, this approach helps you strike the right balance between comfort, contrast, and personality.

We created a couple of additional variations for larger sectionals, which can be a bit tricky to style as well, both featuring more toned-down neutral color combinations with nature-inspired design vs something more geometric:

Urban Barn has already done the work for you with curated pillow combos that suit a variety of color schemes and styles, saving you tons of time! They’ve also put together complete room looks you can shop directly, plus helpful how-to tutorial videos. Enjoy!

Final Takeaway

Designing a space you love doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By starting with a few foundational principles like color balance, texture layering, and practical proportions, you can create rooms that feel both beautiful and functional. Whether you’re refreshing a single corner or reimagining your whole home, let your personal style lead the way.

And remember: inspiration is everywhere, but the best spaces are the ones that reflect you!

Thanks again to Urban Barn and its amazing team at the Waterloo branch for having us! We loved being part of this season’s talk and can’t wait to see how you bring these ideas to life in your own space. Please remember we are available all across Canada and the US, so if you need some extra help, schedule your complimentary call here.

Happy spring decorating!

White Dahlia Design Team

*Blog article not sponsored.