Middle Of The Decade Walls

July 12, 2017 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

Middle Of The Decade Walls

Mid-century inspired pattern

Middle Of The Decade Walls Swatch

There was a lot of pent up design energy generated in the 1950s and the early years of the 1960s which came to a head in the mid-century decades.

It was then that interior decoration changed forever with the advent of big, bold, eye-catching patterns and solid, brassy. well-saturated colours. The strange thing was that almost all homemakers, who previously in the early 1950s had been so conservative, revelled in the new look and took it to their hearts.

It is now that the icons that we call mid-century began to materialise as did many of the colours that we associate with that period. As a prelude, I have taken the 1950s dining room and shown it as it might have looked in that period.

My intention is to create an authentic room but, to modern eyes, the room looks cluttered and too full. However, this was a feature of mid-century decoration. It was usual to choose wallpaper, carpets and curtains without, perhaps, too much of an overall plan resulting in rooms that look like the image above rather than the much more stylised spaces that use mid-century elements today.

If you would like to see larger versions of these designs and my other work then you can do so on my Flickr page, a link to which is here

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Regular Furnishing Pattern

November 10, 2016 1 Comment

Mid-century inspired pattern

Regular Furnishing Pattern

Furniture can either have elaborate, but subdued, patterns or you can go all out and create something that is very simple, very loud and which makes a statement in the room. However, between these two extremes, it is also possible to produce patterns which combine the best of both.

This pattern is based on mid-century designs which have made it through to the present day because the pattern is both simple and effective. I have used this pattern at a scale which is not too large and in a way that does not produce too much contrast. The effect of the pattern is that it is noticeable yet not too cumbersome.

I have used it as if it were material for the sofa and chair and you can see that the effect is pleasing and yet not to overbearing. Furniture using this pattern would, I feel, be acceptable more or less in any room so long as there was some harmony in the colour scheme.

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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A Versatile Dark Pattern

July 17, 2016 Leave a comment

A mid-century influenced design

A mid-century influenced pattern

Most of my mid-century influenced designs are created with an end use in view, in fact, I find it hard to create a pattern when there is nothing at the end.

This design was made as part of the furnishing texture program that I was involved in and was intended for the fabric used for covering chairs and sofas. At least, at the time, that was how I saw it!

However, when I had finished and I was playing around with the colours I created this dark background against a lighter two-colour motif and realised at once that this was a pattern that had many more uses as you will see later…

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

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The Balloon Race

July 15, 2016 Leave a comment

Mid-century inspired fabric pattern "The Balloon Race"

Mid-century inspired fabric pattern “The Balloon Race”

Some patterns speak volumes as soon as you look at them, you can write pages of comment about them while some, well, let’s just say that their voices are more moderate.

There is not a lot to say about this pattern, it is a very stylish and pleasant design based on mid-century ideas and created by thoughts about a balloon race! Intended as a fabric pattern, it is a simple repeat which is intended to be harmonious and easy-on-the-eye. It did, to be honest, get a little overlooked recently and so I am going to remedy that and give it some work to do, I hope that you like it.

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

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A Pattern Sophisticated And Square

July 11, 2016 Leave a comment

Midcentury Pattern Barham

Midcentury Pattern Barham

Mid-century patterns have an elegance and sophistication all of their own which seems to, not just endure over the years, but become stronger as the decades advance.

There were many patterns like this created in mid-century UK and the design has lasted down the years until today. Barham is a simple pattern which uses easy shapes coupled with colours from the British Standard palette which was in use at the time. The effect is to produce an ‘all over’ pattern that can be used today for a variety of purposes.

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

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A Floral Sort Of Day

July 8, 2016 Leave a comment

A Floral Sort Of Day

A Floral Sort Of Day

Some patterns take just days to complete but some turn out to take much longer and be the result of several weeks of work.

This pattern was begun some time back – several months in fact – and used a different software (Xara Designer). But I couldn’t get it to look the way I wanted and so I left it for a week or so to go ‘off’ and then began again in Adobe Illustrator. I’d like to say it came together instantly but in fact I paused several more times before I was able to get it to look the way I wanted. Sometimes it just seems to go like that.

However, here we are with a finished design. I just have to see how it looks on the internet, see what other people say and then I can start getting it ready to hopefully use later this month.

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

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Cavenham A Bright And Cheerful Pattern

July 5, 2016 Leave a comment

Cavenham A Bright And Cheerful midcentury inspired Pattern

Cavenham A Bright And Cheerful midcentury inspired Pattern

The mid-century period after the war, particularly in Europe, was a great time of hope and expectation after all the horrors of the Second World War.

And this expectation and hope showed itself in the surface patterns that were produced by the innovative and talented designers that began to emerge in the 1950s and 60s. This pattern, which I have called Cavenham, has its roots in such designs and I have tried to translate it into a modern day pattern suitable for cushions and to provide a surface for tote bags.

The pattern is available in four colours created from the colourings in use at the time and are, Canary Yellow, Chocolate, Baltic Blue and Regal Red. My favourite is Canary Yellow, but that is just a personal thing.

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

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