Shiny black horsehair furniture is a signature of formal Victorian era design.
Like Abraham Lincoln's rocking chair.
But black isn't stuck in the past.
This perching stool from Pearson combines the splash of Victorian shiny fabric and railhead trim with a modern shape and a great leg detail.
Black With Texture
Like any tone-on-tone design, playing with black means thinking about texture.
Play with the rich texture of black velvet or chenille.
Or a knobbly black with teeny tiny flecks of primary colors.
There's always my personal favorite — a tweedy black inspired by suiting fabric.
Black With White
A black print on a white background or a jacquard with black tree trunks on white can be dramatic in a room with mostly black.
Black and white comes in menswear-inspired patterns, too. Like black and white houndstooth or black and white plaid. (Is it just me or is black and white plaid all over clothing at the moment?)
I especially love more feminine black and white patterns, like the sort of brocade-y looking black and white jacquard that is only available from Pearson.
But my super most favoritest of all is combining the splash of black and white with the rich feel of silk velvet.
Black with brown almost echos the feel of black shiny horsehair fabric against the rich brown wood of a Victorian sofa.
In an all black or black and white room, an elegant brown-on-black damask could really pop.
One More Black Idea
How about newsprint wallpaper in a black and white bedroom?
Damask has a long and gorgeous history. It's a middle eastern weaving technique that's been around for centuries.
The most traditional damasks are monotone — the woven patterns become visible only because of the difference in shine between the warp and weft threads.
But damask can seem a little stuffy.
So we took one apart.
It's a damask in pieces, "deconstructed" like they say on Top Chef. It plays with the idea of damask. And it's woven of beautiful indigo and ivory threads.
It looks like five different damasks were cut into strips and reassembled to create a new textile.
When I'm looking for new ideas for color combinations, I often start with fabric swatches. A beautiful fabric might combine colors I hadn't thought of or find ways to make familiar combinations exciting by adding an unexpected third color element.
Here are a few excellent color combinations in fabrics that are inspiring me today.
Olive green and icy grey-blue in a wool-silk damask that's exclusive to Pearson (shown on a Pearson love seat below).
Orange, tangerine and poppy pink in this jacquard inspired by Suzanni motifs from Uzbekistan but made in the U.S.
Indigo, gold, grey-blue, and white in this incredible print from England.
Apartment Therapy has a few other color combo suggestions. Try red, yellow and grey (this red and yellow damask would be a great start).
It's here, the perfect marriage of blue and green, the color of the hour, the new Pantone color of the year for 2010. Turquoise.
You could look to Design Trade Magazine for some turquoise inspiration (and life in a venti cup had a few words to say about turquoise), but we have a few fabulous fabrics to inspire you to use next year's hottest new color, as well.
First, there's the Trina Turk Turquoise, which is a very bold way to turquois-ify your space.
Instead, you can work turquoise in with a subtle stripe.
Or use turquoise as the background in a beautiful and bold bird print.
Just a tiny turquoise detail against a neutral background is also a great way to bring a hot color into a space.
I've always had a special fondness for turquoise with black and white. Turns out turquoise is even better with brown, black and white (pictured).
* Bonus link: Interior Design Magazine had a few words to say about Turqoise 15-5519, too.
When I think of tapestry, I pretty much think virgins, knights and unicorns. It's silly, but it's what comes to mind when I think "tapestry."
According to our Pearson Textiles glossary, a tapestry is:
"A Jacquard woven with multiple warps and wefts creating various color patterns or scenes. Used as wall hangings for decoration or sometimes to cover furniture."
"Wall hangings" still sounds a little unicorny to me, but there's nothing fairytale about this beautiful sofa covered in an embroidered linen that's exclusive to Pearson.
And there's nothing knights-of-the-round-table about the sophisticated modern color, natural fibers and great design of a 100 percent cotton embroidered fabric, either.
For something with a little of that romantic tapestry spirit but completely chic and modern at the same time, I think this floral tapestry in blue and purples (also exclusive to Pearson) is my personal fav. And it looks lovely on a love seat (left).
If you can't quite embrace a modern tapestry, a jacquard can give the texture without the tapestry.
I'm a big fan of this sea-life inspired jacquard in beige (and it looks great on a pillow).
One of the lovely touches observed at market was the use of an unexpected fabric on a chair back. Whether it was made to look like a vintage French flour sack or a luxurious Asian inspired silk, the idea was to make the otherwise utilitarian chair back anything but ordinary.
Regardless of how formal or informal the design, the result was always memorable. It's a tiny detail to add to a look, but one that will certainly make a huge impact on the finished look of your home.
PadStyle's latest Trend Spotlight: Textured Fabrics is making us so happy. And it makes a great point:
"In the past, modern design used fabric as an accent color or pattern. ... However, now we are seeing a resurgence of fabric for the love of fabric. Using a variety of fabrics to enhance the textures in your room is a great way to stay ahead of the design curve."
If you're looking for texture, chenille is a great place start. (For reference, check out the definition of chenille in our glossary).
The chair pictured is covered in an amazing floral chenille that's exclusive to Pearson.
There's also a red floral chenille (you can see it on a sofa, too).
If you're looking for something a little more formal, but still chenille-y and textured, an icy blue and grey chenille combines modern colors with a more traditional pattern. Or go for a classic green floral with the texture of chenille.
By the way, compare those burlap chairs on PadStyle to the chairs Pearson covered with vintage Dowry bags and antiqued velvet. Yes, we are terribly cool, thanks.
One of the more versatile furnishings for a space in an ottoman. No longer relegated to the lowly duty of raising one's feet off the floor, this workhorse piece serves as both table and seating in modern life. While we adore the versatility of the oversize tufted variety, the dainty versions are just as mesmerizing. Adorned in rich red silk and fringe, these served as jewelry for a space as well as a comfortable place to sit while sipping a glass of Chilean red. One thing is certain: our love affair with this flexible piece of furniture has barely begun.
The dining room's biggest season is the holidays. This is the time of year when we all sit around the table together to eat and visit and give thanks.
When you're decorating a dining room, choosing fabric for dining chairs is a special challenge.
Fabrics must be durable and able to withstand at least some cleaning. Stain resistance is a plus. But the fabrics should also be comfortable and beautiful and fit with both the look of the room and the style of the chairs.
Here are a few of our favorites.
An ice blue polyester/rayon blend with an elegant geometric pattern (be sure to zoom to see the details). It looks great on an elegant dark wood dining chair.
An unusual neutral-colored but richly textured mirhon fabric. It's neutral enough to blend with signature details (like those script numerals), but still special and rich feeling.
A masculine plaid in a feminine color. The straight lines and angles of the pattern work beautifully with a round-backed chair. And the cotton/rayon blend will wear well.
I used to live in a house with a beautiful ginkgo tree in the backyard. It would turn the most amazingly vivid yellow in the fall. (Not unlike this Central Park ginkgo.) I always wanted to bring some of the leaves indoors for a little fall bouquet.
Ginkgo leaves are a wonderful motif for decorating even if you miss the season for those fall yellows.
A heavy-weight printed canvas printed with falling ginkgo leaves can bring the distinctive shape of a ginkgo leaf into a room in green or a bright turquoise.
