Louisa’s favorite commissions include the use of stripes as designs and accents in acid yellows and tobacco browns, while they become somewhat more immersive and layered throughout the room. Similarly bold are Schumacher’s humbug-style stripes, which come in both summery shades and smart neutrals. It is now available as an indoor/outdoor fabric that will add a crisp feel to sitting in the garden.
His natural partner? Flow Collection crockery for Deborah Brett’s own label, DB Ceramic. Here, the stripes lose their straightness and rigidity and are reimagined as hand-painted watercolor-style lines using a Japanese brush. ‘They grow waves, ripple water or even grow tree rings,’ notes the ceramist-turned-fashion journalist. ‘I think stripes are incredibly calming – they can either be the hero of a space or quietly tie everything together. They are the perfect foil for a simple yet effective tablescape. In my home IbizaI like to use blue and white striped ceramic pieces, with lemons scattered across the table to add a pop of color instead of the more usual flowers.’
Deborah’s organic crockery finds a sense of flair in Flora Soames’ hand-block-printed ‘Palentine Stripe’ linen (shown on previous page) and wallpaper, which she says was inspired by ‘Kits 1930s wallpaper’. It’s ideal for those who want stripes with a softer effect, as the design combines vertical repeats with a scrolling acanthus-leaf motif. This versatile design is available in a large (as the ‘Grand’) or a more delicate form (as the ‘Piccola’), and the two work beautifully together. Flora describes stripes as ‘a decorative tool to emphasize height and structure’, and explains, ‘We have successfully used the “Palantine Stripe Grande” in the dining room for a subtle, less decorative backdrop. It has the added benefit of perfectly offsetting contemporary artwork.’
American fashion designer Johnson Hartig’s ‘Crème Anglaise’ wallpaper collection for Schumacher offers another playful take on linear motifs. Influenced by 18th-century trims, it features scalloped lines punctuated by sassy edges. ‘It’s got a more-is-more esprit and gives an unmistakable nod to layered and old-school decor,’ says Schumacher creative director Dara Caponigro. Or, to put it another way, faith in repetition.
