Hot Day

January 17, 2017 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

Hot Day

Mid-century inspired pattern

Hot Day

The weather in England is cold and damp and has been for sometime but in the summer the weather can be quite hot.

As a reminder of this I thought that I would convert the Curtain and Carpet room, which I have already improved, to reflect the forthcoming hot weather. I therefore used Mediterranean style tiles that I created for the floor and used a warm colour reminiscent of the colours used in Spain for the interior walls. I replaced the background image with something that looks a little more Spanish and suddenly the room was a warm one.

I have created a new pattern for this room to go on the curtains and the cushions and this pattern, I hope, conveys warmth, sunshine and well-being. The pattern, as well as having warm colours, relies very much on shape and form to, hopefully, create the impression of warmth and homeliness. On this grey, drab winter morning as I write this I can only feel cheered looking at the image and thinking of the warmer days of summer that are yet to come.

You can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

Filed under Interior Textures, interiors, Textile, Tile Tagged with , , , , , ,

Small Apartment: Large Wallpaper

January 9, 2017 Leave a comment

wallpaper01_as_1000Having created the small apartment I thought that it was now time to see how it looked with some decorations in place and also to give it a more homely appearance.

I have added some furniture and some bits and pieces and, most important, a television to make the property look a little bit more alive. I have also used an alternative colour for the chair fabric in line with current thinking and, to make the room look a little more modern, I have made the outside wall and the concrete pillar a very light coffee colour.

The main change, however, is with the wallpaper and I have used a quite large pattern although the colouring is much less intrusive on the walls. I thought the effect of this might be to make the room look smaller but in fact I think this area now looks larger and a little more imposing than it did with plain walls.

I was so pleased with this effort that I thought I would have a look at the possibility of using a bolder but equally large wallcovering.

You can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

Filed under Interior Textures, interiors, Wallpaper Tagged with , , , , , ,

New Fabric Design

December 2, 2016 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

New Fabric Design

I wanted to create a stylish but not eye-catching or particularly colourful fabric in order to cover a new sofa that I have made.

This fabric has its roots in mid-century designs and colours although I have tried to bring it as up-to-date as I can while still preserving the look and feel of that period.

I have rearranged the furniture in the fabric furnishing testing room that I use so that there are now two sofas. The purpose of this is to give a better viewing area and to allow the light to fall from two different planes. The fabric itself is a little darker than I would usually use but I particularly did not want it to catch the eye but rather to be a more subtle texture.

The result, I think, is to create a room which has a sophistication and which allows the furnishing to dominate yet not intrude which was precisely the effect that I wanted to create.

You can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

Filed under Furnishing, interiors, Textile Tagged with , , ,

Bold Wallpaper

November 28, 2016 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired wallpaper pattern

Bold Wallpaper

Visitors always notice a wallpaper pattern on entering a room and will often comment about it if it is worthy of comment.

But do we notice patterns that are always in our rooms? I believe that we do, I believe that patterns will subconsciously change our mood. That is why I try to introduce decoration into rooms which might otherwise be bare because I think that this creates a much more positive attitude for the room and, of course, the occupant.

This pattern is a very simple pattern at a relatively large scale and is designed to catch the eye of the visitor on entering. The colours are bright but without being vivid and overbearing and I believe that a room like this creates a pleasant and interesting ambience. The room itself is a standard living room but this wall covering could be used anywhere from an old and treasured building to a modern concrete and steel apartment.

You can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

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Soothing Wallpaper

October 29, 2016 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

Soothing Wallpaper

Mid-century inspired pattern

Soothing Wallpaper Swatch

I always talk about feature walls making a statement in a room and about using sometimes experimental patterns but this is quite the opposite.

If you have a modern house or apartment then modern wallpapers, particularly at a large scale, can look good. Sometimes, however, you like to relax and have your room look soothing rather than startling and this pattern provides exactly that.

It is, I suppose, a sort of floral pattern but I have made it super-symmetrical to give it more of a punch and more of a textured look. The colours, however, tone down this effect and produce a wallcovering which is both relaxing and also soothing.

The set is my modern apartment set and it is, of course, daytime with full sunshine. However, as I’m sure you can imagine, this would look just as good at night with some avant guarde lighting.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

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Rug Pattern

October 19, 2016 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

Rug Pattern

Mid-century inspired pattern

Rug Pattern Swatch

As you will know, my main interest is in creating patterns for home furnishings rather than for fashion or any other purpose and one area that I am keen to explore is that of carpets and rugs.

This pattern is one that I have used before as a wallcovering and it was intended originally to be used for cushions. Unfortunately, it was not very suitable for soft furnishings but I thought I would try it as a rug. The set that I have used is my normal living room set which you have seen before but I have created a rug for the floor and applied the pattern to it. It is perhaps a little brighter than I had intended which is why it was unsuitable for uses as soft furnishing but it is at least a start and it has given me something to think about for the future.

Although not the success I had hoped, I thought that I would show it so that you can see the way that my work is currently progressing.

As ever, you can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

Filed under interiors, Rug Tagged with , ,

A Splash Of Colour

October 10, 2016 Leave a comment

mid-century inspired surface pattern

A Splash Of Colour – Bradwell Cushion

mid-century inspired surface pattern

A Splash Of Colour – Swatch

One thing that is different between mid-century and now is the way that colour was used and the perception of colour as a means of creating decoration.

The war years left their mark on Britain once hostilities finished with shortages, rationing and a general feeling that, although the war had been won, there was still a lot to do to rebuild the country. Designers, it must be presumed, felt a need to be part of this rebuilding work and perhaps one of the most important contributions was to make people feel better and take a pride in their surroundings.

They did this by using both colour and pattern, elements that were in short supply during the war, and this resulted in an outpouring of talent and ingenuity. It is natural to think, therefore, that colour would play an important part in decorating the new houses that would been built to house the returning soldiers and their families. During the 1950s and into the next decade both colour and pattern took off in directions that perhaps had never been envisaged before and there was much experimentation and pushing of boundaries at this time.

Today both colour and pattern are used in a more restrained way but it is still important to feel enlivened and refreshed by the home environment. One way to do this is to understand that modern interior design techniques are there to provide a cladding to the walls and a structure to the furniture. It is left to the house-owner to provide the all-important decorative additions that, like the icing on the cake, turn the house into a unique statement for that particular owner.

This cushion is designed to do just that. It is bold, and it is eye-catching and it is intended to give a sofa or a chair that little lift that takes it from being just a piece of furniture into being your sofa or your chair. These are important additions since they are the elements that catch the eye of a visitor and subtly influence their view of your room.

The Bradwell cushion can be purchased from Redbubble by going here. You can also see larger versions of this and my other work on my Flickr page which is here.

Filed under Interior Textures, Textile Tagged with , , ,

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