When I got back from Indianapolis this past weekend, I immediately delved in to the stack of shelter mags that were waiting in the mail. I subscribe to House Beautiful and Elle Decor (as well as the New Yorker and Elle), and between those 4 publications I have plenty of reading material for short subway rides. I'd love to subscribe to more, but tend to be a bit anal about reading each cover to cover and it'd probably stress me out more than anything to have additional "required" reading (thanks dad for passing on the OCD). I first skimmed the pages of April's House Beautiful, and it's definitely one of my favorite issues to date. There is an 8-page spread on a drool-worthy New York pied-a-terre Markham Roberts designed for a west coast couple who travels to the city frequently for fun weekends. The saturated colors, mix of hard and soft textures, and the balance of the delicate with the masculine is so apparent here:
One of my favorite things about Markham Roberts is his unabashed use of one pattern throughout a room. While the idea of this could scare off even the most seasoned of designers, he's done it several times in his work and I love it. The master bedroom of this pied-à-terre is covered in a mix of similar Lake August fabrics. The bed and vanity chair are upholstered in Half Moon and the curtains are in Brink of Summer. While the idea might seem over-the-top, Markham says "the layers of blue and white patterns can actually be coherent and calming... because the prints are unified in scale and color."
The matchy-matchy feel of this bedroom got me thinking about other interiors I've seen that utilize one central fabric throughout the space on everything from the walls to the furniture to the lampshades. While this was a popular trend in the 80s, it's been considered a bit "stuffy" in more recent years and you don't see it that often. It also reads very traditional. Nonetheless, some very popular decorators in addition to Roberts are making the look cool again. They're being so overt with the matchy-ness that you can't help but admire the bravery:
An ode to toile by Mimi Mendelson:
Australian designer Cameron Kimber utilized a small-scale geometric print throughout this bedroom and even mixed it with a few other fabrics in the same color family. My favorite detail of this room is the shape of the canopy on the bed:
Brunschwig and Fils Les Touches is up near the top of my "all-time favorite" fabrics list. It's timeless and charming, and looks incredibly chic throughout the guest bedroom of Michael S. Smith's Palm Springs home. I'm planning to spend my 30th birthday in Palm Springs next fall, so Michael- if you see this- let me know if you want to open this fab guest room up to yours truly. I'm a phenomenal guest.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Sam
