birch & lily

(via Amanda Forrest Interior Design)

(Design by Hilary Farr)

(design by Hilary Farr)

Settee Fabric - Rethink

A while ago I posted about my fabric considerations for a sweet vintage (antique?) curvy settee I scored online. I explained what I wanted:

Bold and playful
Wide range of colours
Not geometric/symmetrical (i.e. hard to line up on the curves)
Not old-fashioned
Feminine

Now, insert loud game-show buzzer sound here. I ordered my fabric and it goes against every one of the above requirements. Ya see, I ordered all of the fabric samples - some I loved just weren’t sturdy enough for my liking. Others had colours that weren’t quite right. And some got weirded-out stares from my husband. But I had ordered another swatch for a completely different project - a black on ivory ticking stripe:

It was exactly opposite of my requirements, but I was finding myself drawn to it, and here’s why:

While the other fabrics were beautiful and fun, I was concerned that in time I’d grow tired of them. And after further inspection of my settee I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a doozy to reupholster - and I don’t want to redo it in only a few years.

Also, over the last year or so I’ve been seriously assessing my personal style. On this blog I curate a collection of images of what I consider great design - and there’s a pretty wide range there. I’m smitten with organic minimalism. I have a growing affinity for midcentury-modern. I appreciate over-the-top eclecticism. I enjoy sparkly glam. I adore rustic industrialism. But as we move towards building our house I find myself needing to reign myself in from all of that inspiration and seriously narrow down the style I really love and want to present in my home. And part of that is using some restraint in some of my choices. The rooms I like best save their colour and pattern for thoughtfully considered pieces. For this settee I want it to be a more flexible, classic piece. Nothing’s as flexible as neutral black and cream. And a ticking stripe is totally classic. It speaks to the humble country vibe I want, but is still elegant and restrained. AND I can dress it up with a vibrant throw or wildly patterned throw pillows that suit my evolving tastes.

Nowadays design styles are not so formally categorized as they once were - traditional, modern, country… Most design melds a few different styles in an eclectic (but not chaotic) mix. So I don’t have to fit into one category. Tonight I did the quiz in the August issue of House & Home, and I think it nailed it: