The Fun in Fabric

To me, choosing fabric for a space is the most fun part of putting a room together.  There is something about mixing colours, textures and trims and making it work that always thrills me.  I have had clients that just can’t STAND looking at fabric samples and they beg me to just choose for them so they don’t have to deal with that “boring headache” – fun for me!

I have put together a few images of prints that I think are VERY fun (and maybe a little out there) in the hopes of changing your minds in regards to fabric.  

Here we go!

This one makes my sweet tooth go crazy.  Suitably entitled 'Gourmandise', this Pierre Frey design is lovely and adorable and makes me feel like I'm standing in a french pastry shop trying to decide what to order (a daily occurrence in my life much to the chagrin of my scale!)

 

A sweet take on the mad hatters tea party, this creation entitled 'Ming in Red' and also by Pierre Frey, would be so much fun on cushions or curtains in a salon or tea room!

 

 This Nobilis design from their 'Cote Ouest' collection is so fun and young.  It would be such a great addition to a girl's bedroom, or a funky extra pop of fun in a young professional's flat.

 When I heard a  fabric at Pierre Frey was being named 'Cape Cod' I flew over there, as I adore everything from that gorgeous part of Massachusetts - and I wasn't let down!  This would give any seaside summer home a beautiful taste of their surroundings for the interior. 

This one grabs me, because I can't get over how much this looks like a photograph!  Digital textile printing has come a long way in the last few years and this piece is a great testament to that.  So different to anything I've seen before.

 

 I ADORE this.  Gorgeous porcelain, macarons, candies - who thought of this for a fabric design?  So cute and fun, it would add whimsy to any space.

This looks more like a 19th century lithograph then a fabric design.  With the sheet music and frames, it would be stunning in a music room or study.  

 I hope with this quick introduction into a different type of fabric design, you have all become a tad bit more interested in what's out there for textiles.  Fabric design has come leaps and bounds in the last couple of decades.  It doesn't all look like your grandmother's curtains anymore!  

The New Toile

I adore toile.  I grew up surrounded by it on my grandmothers sofa, cushions, curtains.  I think my mom even decked out a whole powder room in it.  There is something about the history, the beauty of the fine prints and the story it tells that just makes me swoon.

Over the last couple of seasons, I have seen toile everywhere in the collections and they are all very different to the toiles I grew up with.  They are vibrant, fun and loaded with wit.  Here are two designers that are giving toile new life to attract a younger generation.

Manuel Canovas

When you look at these toiles you will see the familiar pictorials from toiles of the past, but they are updated with bright, vivid colours.  Gone are the simple cream and red, blues or blacks.  These daring new colours allow you to use the classics, but implement them into your space with an edge so you don’t think you just walked into your grandmothers sitting room.

 Timorous Beasties

This designer is staying more close to home with their colours, white and red, white and blue, and white and pink.  It’s the story, pictorial that is coming to life with young, fun new images.  They have done away with the quaint, picturesque country images and plunk you right down into the 21^st century.  City scape images with, if you look for them, witty (and sometimes shocking) stories.  A drunk guy passed out on a park bench, a guy taking a leak by a tree (mon dieu!), a person smoking and all next to city landmarks.  (With the colours more or less typical of toile, I’m sure if your grandmother saw it, she probably wouldn’t even notice the crude subject matter).

 

A fantastic way of updating old, tried and true style.

Designer Profile: Nobilis

Nobilis has always been a favorite of mine to work with.  Their collections are gorgeous, diverse and very, very special.  Recently I went to their Paris showroom on the Rue de Bonaparte in the 6^th arrondissement to reacquaint myself with an old friend.

This lovely little vignette shows off two gorgeous fabrics that I fell in love with as soon as I laid eyes on them.  Classic, timeless and elegant.

The Sofa is in a grey hued fabric from Nobilis’ Villandry collection and the curtain fabric is a fantastic contemporary and subtle spin on a heavy damask print.

 This next pair from the Cote Sud collection display a daring print that would pop any bed or living room to life with their vibrant shapes and contrasts

 

 This woven fabric is amazing and would be great as Swedish blinds or even a basic roman blind.  It is actually Asian script on paper woven together – fantastically graphic!

 This is probably my favorite trim I have ever come across and I would use it on every cushion, curtain or bedspread if I could.  It is such a sweet little embellishment and would benefit anything you wanted to add it to!

Nobilis also designs furniture.  Here’s a couple that I adore

This sofa is a beautie!  The curves, lowered armrests and studs would make this a glamorous addition to any sitting room.

These chairs are adorable – their lacquered frames and monochromatic upholstery would be so lovely in a small office or in a bedroom for a dressing or writing table.

 I hope you all enjoyed this little romp around Nobilis.  Hopefully it inspired you to check out more of what they have to offer!