Materials, colours and textures all come together in your home. What’s the best way to combine them?

There are two basic concepts for putting together an interior design: harmony or contrast.

The materials, colours and textures of the objects, furniture and fixtures in the home will make up what we could term the “melody” of your decoration.

If you are looking for a harmonious composition, make your dominant colour something neutral and accompany it with another complementary colour, and splashes of intermediate tones. For perfect harmony, combine materials and textures that work well together, such as natural textiles with timber, or metal with glass.

Then again, if it is contrast that you are going for, you can achieve some fabulous effects by combining different tones, or mixing bright colours with blacks, greys or whites. Materials and textures are your true allies when it comes to contrast, for example, using timber and metal in the same space.