Solid colors are great and all, but don't you think they're kind of boring for use throughout an entire room? Sure, colorblocking is a huge trend in the fashion world, but there's a reason why patterns exist - they help shake things up when it comes to interior design. One of the most notable patterns, which you probably have a lot of experience with already, is stripes. If you're buying bamboo blinds or wood blinds, or even have a room with wood-paneled walls, you might already have touches of these dynamic lines. But if you want even more stripiness, consider these tips to make them work with your current decor.

1. Make stripes the accents. You probably know that an entire room full of stripes would be a lot busier than any space should ever be. Avoid using too many stripes in your design plan - it's much easier (and better looking) to use them as accent patterns that add pops of pizzazz to the area.

2. Don't play around too much with the scale. When it comes to using patterns in rooms, there's one golden rule that should always be followed, and it has to do with size. Basically, prints that are large belong in rooms that are big, while patterns that are small should be placed in rooms that are tiny. Think about it - if you put an item with huge stripes in a small room, you'd probably have a lot of trouble focusing on anything else. And if you placed a petite print in a large room, you'd barely notice it.

3. Get creative with other patterns. Stripes are great on their own, but if you want to create an eclectic space with plenty of surprises, you might want to mix in a few other patterns, like polka dots, zig zags or florals. As long as something is similar in each piece, they should blend well. That could be a similar color palette, texture or size.

4. Realize that the choice between horizontal and vertical is important. You might not care either way, but there are reasons why you should pay attention to whether you're using vertical or horizontal stripes. Vertical stripes can help make a room feel taller, which might come in handy if you have low ceilings. Horizontal stripes can widen a space, making it seem bigger. Maybe using both would make your room look huge!