Fabric Crush: Lee Jofa's Hollyhock

At this point in my life I've embraced the fact that I prefer a more traditional aesthetic.  Delicate antique French furniture, rich (but well-proportioned) wooden armoires and dressers, and large hand-blocked floral fabrics are a few of the many traditional decorative elements I love.  I've discovered recently that I'm not alone in my love for all things classic- apparently there's a word for it now, "Grandmillenial style".   House Beautiful,  NY Post, and One Kings Lane have all shared articles on the trend.  As House Beautiful says,

 “Ranging in age from mid-20s to late-30s, grandmillennials have an affinity for design trends considered by mainstream culture to be ‘stuffy’ or ‘outdated’—Laura Ashley prints, ruffles, embroidered linens,” Emma writes. They like D. Porthault and entertaining. They are building a party closet and collecting their grandmothers’ china. They take inspiration from Sibyl Colefax and Albert Hadley. They’ve never met a chintz they didn’t like. “Taking fringe, trim, chinoiserie, drapery, skirts on furniture, slipcovers, wallpaper—all of that–and updating them to be convenient for today’s 30-year-old” is what grandmillennial style is all about, according to interior designer Becky Boyle."

As a self-proclaimed grandmillenial, I thought I'd share one of my all-time favorite fabrics with you today- Lee Jofa's hand-blocked Hollyhock.  Hollyhock is a hand-blocked linen with a pedigree that dates back to the 1850s.  A century later, it was hailed as "the most beautiful chintz on the market" (Kravet). It comes in several colorways and is available either as a linen or as a cotton chintz.  The fabric is an absolute work of art, as seen below on the curtains in this England country house:

{Cameron Kimber}

The design features a lush bouquet of flowers and trailing vines on a neutral background.  My boss, Markham Roberts, used the coordinating linen version that has a lighter background, called "Althea Linen," on the walls in this Nantucket guest bedroom:

{Markham Roberts}

Miles Redd used the print on a dining table-turned-desk skirt for his mother in her Atlanta, Georgia home.  The  cords on the ginger jar lamps were snaked through the table leaves and under the carpet:

{Miles Redd}

While many fabrics get discontinued after a few years, Lee Jofa's Hollyhock has remained in production and continues to be used frequently as a designer favorite.   In 2014, designer Young Huh covered the walls in the Kips Bay Designer Showhouse lounge in the blush colorway of Hollyhock:

In his Montecito, California living room, Mark Sikes covered his tufted sofa in the chintz.  I love seeing it on a larger piece of furniture:

{Mark Sikes}

And, as I've written about before, I love seeing a room covered in the same fabric- I guess it's the maximalist in me.  This detail shot of Hollyhock on the sofa, sofa pillows, and walls slays me in the best way:

{I found this image online, but can't find the source for the life of me.  If it's yours, please message me and I'll properly credit you. }

Want to acquire a little Hollyhock for yourself?  Decorator's Best sells fabrics to the public (albeit at a mark up), and offer Hollyhock in it's many colorways here.  Just note the fabric content you want is selected underneath the fabric before purchasing- the shinier cotton chintz will list as 100% cotton, the linen version which I prefer will list as 100% linen.  The coordinating "Althea Linen" print is available here.

XOXO,

Sam

P.S.- Read my other fabric crush posts:

Brunschwig & Fils Les Touches
Scalamandre Le Tigre
Michael Devine Hand-Printed Fabrics