Designers moving away from the stark modernism of years past have discovered the virtues of mixing materials to achieve more complex interiors. A result of these combinations is new, unexpected textures coloring spaces—not only in individual materials, but also in the way the materials play off of each other. Reclaimed wood, for example, has a unique texture of its own, but gains an added dimension from the way it interacts with the resin or rubber that may be in the same room.

"Perhaps the number one request I hear from clients is to make sure [the interior] is not stark and cold," says Cass Calder Smith, founder of CCS Architecture in San Francisco. Clients want warmth and texture, he says. Mixed materials provide both. For Giorgione 508, a recently completed eatery in New York, Smith worked with existing wood walls (replete with chipped plaster), reflective surfaces, brick, and steel. "I think most materials are better with some kind of counterpoint material that's the right one."

In addition, refined and unrefined textures complement each other. The result: "It tends to diffuses the feel of the space. It puts people at ease," he says. This approach goes hand in hand with another trend designers are seeing: bringing nature indoors. For example, a tree's log, cut and sanded smooth, with the bark edge left intact may be used as a bar, explains Smith. As it warms the space, it also introduces another level of texture, especially when it is contrasted by another material.

Mixing materials, especially the artificial with the natural, is trickling into the textile design arena, where there is more experimentation. "A fabric isn't [necessarily] identified by its fiber. It might just be about the mix of materials," notices Michael Koch, who runs L.A. Mills, which manufactures fabrics for companies including Maharam and HBF. "I'm really interested in the mixing of natural and man-made. It involves asking, 'What does it mean to create a modern textile?'" A new fabric may combine wool chenille, tape yarn, and olefin in a striped pattern, he suggests. And why are we seeing more of this? "People are expecting more out of design. So if there's more on the market and it meets the performance requirements, they'll want it," says Koch. "And it just feels that much more human and personal."