It's All Greek to Me!

One of the ways to draw inspiration for your own spaces and design style is through the things that you are passionate about.  My love of traveling and experiencing other cultures has created a lot of inspiration for me in many areas of my life, and design is one of these areas.  The patterns, colors, and textures that I have encountered in other countries are so interesting, and it really broadens your horizons to experience what other cultures use to beautify their surroundings.  The Greek key pattern is one cultural design that appeals to me because it can produce such an interesting contrast to other elements in a space.  Here are some ways that you can integrate Greek key into your designs:

A Pillow or other furniture accent is one of my favorite ways to add Greek key to a room because you can mix it with so many other patterns to create a unique palette.  Here the pumpkin headboard, black and white bedding, and charcoal gray walls create a beautiful backdrop for the Greek key accent pillow.

In another view you can see that Courtney Giles, the designer, mixed the geometric Greek key pattern with a black and white gingham neckroll pillow and chair and a black and white zigzag rug.  I love how the colors are the same in each of these elements, but the patterns are so vastly different that they create depth in the design.

Here the greek key rug adds interest to the flooring of the room- this choice is very bold with the repetitive greek key element, so if the intensity of the geometric pattern makes you feel uneasy, I would stick to something a little smaller with less impact.

If the black and white pattern is too much of a contrast for you, consider implementing Greek key into your design in a more muted color.  This taupe-colored Greek key pattern on the chair and two sofa pillows integrates the geometry of the pattern without too much contrast.

Using a large-scale Greek key pattern on a piece can create quite a statement-- here the valences are patterned after a twist on the traditional Greek key design.

The border of this rug also uses a larger-scale Greek key pattern, and it really works well with the white chairs with woven detail and the white framed cabinet in the background.

These crocodile embossed stools are studded with nail heads in the traditional Greek key pattern along the bottom of the piece, and it is such a subtle and chic way to integrate this exotic and fashionable pattern.

This sideboard has a Greek key detail on the drawers on either side, and it really makes the piece stand out.  What a great way to make an old vintage piece stunningly updated! Plus, the design is multifunctional-- it serves as handles for the drawers as well.

I hope you can all embrace the amazing geometry of the Greek key pattern to turn your house into a home, because it is truly timeless and trendy at the same time.  

God Bless,

Julie