Interior Design Reference No. 4 - Repetitive Design When is it Right?

As a designer, I relate to what it would be like living in a candy store because that is what it feels like being around design resources. Fabrics, trims, wallcoverings, drapery hardware, area rugs, paint colors, accessories, and furnishings for example. And new arrivals feel like Christmas day. How does it all get narrowed down to all the right elements for a design plan? It happens by building a relationship with a client, asking the right questions, listening, visiting the home, looking at their dream boards, and the thing I find most important is silently observing. 

I want to create a plan that responds to the client. I want to design a room that allows the client to learn that it is okay to live in a home that can be beyond their wildest dream. Limitations caused by trend, copycatting, taking it safe, thinking about resell can be dangerous.  The design journey I go on with my clients is about discovery. Discovering them, period. Helping them write their design biography and then picking up the brushes and painting the picture in real life. That's how we learn together how bold or subtle their sanctuary is. Now let the designing begin.

Repetitive Design, when is it right?

So how do you know when repetitive design is right? I would have to say that you'll know just like you'll know when any other design plan is right. Frustrating, right? When I was expecting my first child and was taking birthing classes the one question, all the expectant mothers had, including me was, how do we know when we are in labor? The instructor's response was that you'll just know. As a new mother I was frustrated. That didn't really prepare me at all, why was I taking these classes? But after going through childbirth twice and experiencing just how different each was, I realize the instructor was absolutely correct - I just knew. This is no different in the design process. 

If you build the relationship, ask the right questions, listen, and observe. You will discover when your design plan is right. Repetitive design can be a bold statement, yet I have successfully planned it for some of my less than bold clients. 

A design plan does not just fall into place, it is a thoughtful process. Remember there are thousands upon thousands of design resources, and they all sift down to the perfect few. I have found with repetitive design that it can happen when you find that perfect fabric that you are head-over-heels with that maybe just using it on the upholstery doesn't feed the appetite enough. And you leap when you find there is a matching wallcovering that fills your plate with the serving of goodness you needed for your space. However, repetitive design can be accomplished without a matching wallcovering by upholstering the walls in the fabric pattern so don't fret if the fabric you love for the space doesn't have a match.

In repetitive design the principles of contrast and harmony are still important design elements, and it takes skilled control. Just how far do you take the matching fabric and wallcovering. Is it just some upholstery and the window treatments?  Are these used on the upholstered bed, walls, and window treatments? Is it just a small bench upholstery and walls? Go back to the process with your client, you will know when to say when.

Another part of the repetitive design process is to identify the interrupters. What is going to tell the eyes they are not trapped inside a box with no exit? These interrupters are not rude in nature - they are the supporting case to the repetitive flow. Some interrupters are the architectural ones like windows (if window treatments are not part of the repetitive fabric) or doorways already part of the space. Maybe the window and door frames will be painted a dark color which can provide a subtle interruption. 

The design plan checklist needs to include any addition of architectural mouldings that will be installed to interrupt, but harmoniously blend with the flow of the repetitive pattern or texture - such as picture moulding.  There are small detail interrupters to consider as well like nail head trim, passementerie, wood finish on upholstered pieces. All the case pieces, artwork and accessories that are put into the design plan are also interrupters. These well-planned pieces provide balance and rhythm, two more design principles, important to a repetitive design foundation. 

Both the vertical and horizontal applications of the matching wallcovering and fabric give the pattern or texture dimension and geometry to repetitive design. Keep in mind what the backdrop will look like will the wallcovering just go one accent wall or on all the walls; will it continue onto the ceiling. How will matching fabric drape at the window or bed treatment? What shape is the upholstered piece and how will that play into the space (remember comfort first, we do have to sit on these pieces)? All these situations need to be considered.

Repetitive design is not the easy matchy, matchy plan it may seem. It will take a skillfully thought process but keep the fun in it. Just make sure it doesn't turn out to be a "Where is Waldo?" game. Every piece must have its place in plain sight and for good reason. And repetitive design doesn't always mean print on print - beautiful repetitive design is just as stunning in neutral textures.

Be inspired! 

Sources: Atlanta Home Magazine, Decor Pad, Thibaut, Nicholas Haslam, Instagram, Things that Inspire, Eye for Design, Ltd., Round Top, Pinterest

Interior Design Reference No. 1 - Schumacher's Citrus Garden by Josef Frank

 

Josef Frank (1885-1967) was an Austrian-born architect and designer who adopted Swedish citizenship in the latter part of his life. He had an enormous impact on the history of Swedish design. He also had a design philosophy that is dear to my heart. “It doesn’t matter if you mix old and new, or different styles, colors, and patterns,” he advised in 1958. “The things you like will always blend, by themselves, into a peaceful whole.”

He developed his own type of modernism with elements like comfort, coziness, and color were at its centerpiece.

He used nature’s colors and forms in his interiors to be able to breathe and exude freedom even in closed rooms. For the same reason he preferred furniture that people could see through. A chair should have an open back and a cupboard should be on legs that were so high that one could distinguish the borderline between the floor and the wall. (Svenskt Team)

Schumacher's Citrus Garden is an archival Josef Frank is a hand-drawn pattern created in 1947. It was revived in 2014 as part of Schumacher's 125th anniversary celebration and in 2016 they introduced the pattern in wallpaper. 

"The freer the pattern the better." Josef Frank. It is said that when he drew patterns, by hand, he twisted and turned the paper to make the prints naturalistic.

There's a retro coolness to his prints, giving off vibes of both nostalgia and freshness. Citrus Garden is at home in any room, even the outdoors. The brilliance of Schumacher to make this pattern limitless in its application is a delight, truly.

 

Wherever Citrus Garden pops up for you, remember it's story. Josef Frank's design has whimsy, color and the personality of a free thinker who acted in direct accordance with his dreams, desires, beliefs, and values. 

Whether it be a bold statement where the Citrus Garden story is told as if on the big screen or on a tablecloth at your next soiree turn the pages and enjoy the story.

 

Trend or not - what makes a pattern special is the story behind it because that never goes away. It transports your space into a sanctuary filled with secrets that you can whisper to another or keep to yourself. So don't design by trend - fill your spaces with stories both past and present. Give meaning to your design plan. Never leave a space without meaning and purpose. It will reward you over and over again.

Be inspired!

Sources: Schumacher, Architectural Digest, Svenskt Team, Southern Living, Matouk, Conde Nast Traveler, Bunny Guinness, Pinterest