I can spend hours mulling over fabrics. The colors and patterns can make a room. If there is one place in the budget for a room where I am likely to splurge, it is fabric. Sometimes it doesn’t take a much of a great pattern to completely change the feel of a room. Pillows are a great way to add a designer fabric because it doesn’t take many of them to make an impact. Etsy is a great resource for pillows and fabrics. I don’t have any deals with Etsy. I have just been impressed with the quality of some of the pillows I have ordered recently. You can get custom to the trade fabric pillows for often less than it costs to buy a yard of the fabric and sometimes they have fabric that you cannot get unless you are trade. I was researching some fabrics for another project and I decided to have a bit of fun putting together some looks that would transform any room.
The first pillow is a fabric called Bowood. It is a classic chintz pattern by Colfax and Fowler. The pattern was originally discovered by John Fowler when he was working to restore the Bowood Estate in Wiltshire, England. If you want to read a bit more about this fabric and the beautiful English estate, Joni Webb of Cote de Texas has a great piece about the history of the Bowood. Chintz is definitely back and this classic pattern is a designer favorite. Its green and gray colors and the smaller three flower bouquets make this fabric something that can even work in a slightly more modern room. I have paired it with another classic pattern Les Touché by Brunschwig Et Fil. The finishing touch is a gray linen pillow by Suzanne Kasler which picks up the gray details in the roses. If you wanted a touch more color I could also see this working well with Kasler’s lavender linen. If you like the look then here links to the sources for these pillows:
- Bowood Pillow- Accent Marks
- Brunswick Et Fil Pillow- The Pillow Studio
- Gray Linen Pillow- Ballard Designs
Celerie Kemble has impeccable taste. There isn’t a project of hers that I haven’t loved. Her fabric line with Schumacher is amazing. This first pillow is a pattern called Hot House Flowers. The brilliant colors in this one fabric could inspire an entire room. The second pillow is the one that started this whole blog post. I was looking at this woven navy pattern also by Kimble called Betwixt and I just love it. This small scale graphic pattern comes in many other very pretty color ways. It’s a popular accent pillow that shows up in many designers’ homes. The final pillow for this mix is a larger graphic orange called Bleecker Spark which picks up the orange from the floral pattern and plays with the cross pattern on a slightly larger scale. You can find the links to these gorgeous pillows below.
- Hot House Flowers Pillow- Lily on the Blue
- Navy Betwixt Pillow- Sew Susie Design
- Bleecker Spark Pillow- Pop O Color
Blue and white is a classic color combination, but the mix of pattern and textures gives these pillows a well traveled look. The paisley block pattern and the stripes coordinate without feeling too forced or like a matched set. The striped lumbar pillow is a pattern called Tangiers by John Robshaw the Esty shop that carries it makes it in a variety of sizes. Sometimes I like to use a large lumbar pillow in the center of a sofa to break up the pillows sizes a bit. The paisley print is by designer Petter Dunham. This look makes me think of summer, but its classic enough to look good all year round. Here are the sources:
- Blue Grain Sack Pillow – Linen and Oak
- Tangiers Lumbar Pillow- Spark Modern
- Blue Paisley- The Pillow Studio
The pillow in the middle of this set is what inspired me with this look. The vine pattern is by John Robshaw. Robshaw is an artist who traveled to India to study indigodye for his painting. While traveling he fell in love with the tradition of Indian fabric and printing. This love of printed fabric and his travels inspired him to create a textile company. This vine pattern comes in several different color ways including a two toned blue and a yellow and gray. I like the rust color here so I decided to pick some coordinating pillows that would complement that color, but you could also go with blue and it would still look stunning.
- Terracotta Medallion Pillow- Indigo Bliss Boutique
- Prasana American Beauty Pillow- 3B Mod Living
- Kashmir Red and Tea stained Linen-Accent Marks
This pillow collection takes its inspiration from the rich colors of a Persian Rug. The print in the center of this grouping is by Eric Cohler and his fabric line for Lee Jofa. The inky black background with the reds, golds and a touch of aqua make this an eye-catching and sophisticated pattern for a room. This is a bold pattern so I didn’t want it to compete with another fabric so I think it would work with a textured neutral accent pillow. Two options to pair it with might include this first pillow Celerie Kimble’s Betwixt in Biscuit Brown or a textured camel leopard print
- Betwixt in Biscuit Brown- Accent Marks
- Persian Tribal Print Pillow- Accent Marks
- Camel Animal Print-Accent Marks
At first glance you might think that three busy patterns would be too much in a room, but because the prints are all small scale and linked together by color and style they work. The Indian block pattern in the center has the colors of all three fabrics in it. This center pillow works by setting the theme and then the coordinating fabrics take a bit of the colors from this center pillow and have there own variation of that theme. Several small scale prints can work together to create a very coherent and layered look. One small pattern might get lost in a room but together they make a statement.
- Green Anya Paisley- 3B Mod Living
- Kashmir Green Moroccan Print Pillow- Shop Block Print
- Busun Aqua Green Pillow- Pillow Time Girls
Hopefully these pillows and patterns have inspired you. Whether you love to look at fabrics and discover new ones like me or whether you feel a bit lost trying to put together a custom look, either way the fabrics and sources here would be a great starting point for a new design or just a seasonal refresh for your sofa.
