ho ho ho!

yes, it's that time of year—Again. I must say this year I am not really feeling the holiday spirit. Perhaps it's the state of the union—well no doubt it Is.
So here is a bit of what to give, to get. I have five contributors coming your way over the next week or two and I am kicking things off with my

FIVE THINGS TO GIVE, & THAT I WOULD LOVE TO RECEIVE

1. Amber ball from L'Artisan Parfumeur, here.

 what's not to adore about this? 

Suggestion—1 in every room

2. Japanese Scroll from Sakura Antiques

I never tire of their spare and knowing Aesthetic. 

This landscape painting by Wada Zanzo, on etsy here.

yes, I love etsy.

3. 18th c. style Manteau de Lit from Frocks & Foppery here.

The robe— made from a hand block print satisfies my love of the past, 

& my desire for absolute comfort.

4. A small bouquet of Anemones. 

Livia Cetti of The Green Vase here creates otherworldly flowers from paper. 

Make mine Purple, please.

5. A straw hat made just for me. 

When throwing shade is necessary —18th c. style.

 A bergere, at Ignatius Hats, here. 

what's your century?

Check back for Lists from:
Olivia Joffrey

Miles Redd 

Olivia Caponigro

 Schuyler Samperton

 Diogo Mayo.

A Fabric Adventure: Charlotte Moss, for Fabricut

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Caroline, Lady Canning in India

Charlotte Moss has just introduced her new fabric collection with FABRICUT.
I had the chance to finger the cuttings last month in her offices.

 photo by Jason Rothenberg

 Charlotte with friends at the beach- breaking all the rules-

while looking super chic wearing her fabric, CAROLINE. 
Her Mercedes is upholstered in the fabric-FANNY.

FANNY & APHRA

FANNY, at left, is one of my favorite fabrics in the collection. It was inspired by a pair of pantaloons Charlotte found in Asia. Fanny is a faux grain pattern double cloth that gives it a great hand-something that is always key in my own selection of fabrics. 
Consider this for a Dining Room- why not cover chair seats and add a couple of odd antique tall back chairs, curtains with a big double border trim like Berlin,Charlotte's fretwork tape,and lots of polished wood. 

More?

How about on the walls with the same trim along the top and bottom?

APHRA is a denim twill. By exposing more of the weft, Aphra makes more of an impact than a typical denim. I searched for good colors in a denim twill this summer and came up empty. I think this fabric will meet the needs of many rooms- Kitchen banquettes, Dorm room sofas (my search),  top stitched and monogrammed spreads for twin beds, game room sofas- and slipcovers-of course.

This to the trade collection is stellar. It is a breath of fresh air & an ode to the traditions of the great English fabric houses of the past . The collection is inspired by Charlotte's antiques, her many varied collections, including her vintage fabric documents. Her raison d'etre for the collection's fabric names is her admiration for women travelers and explorers that crossed barriers to pursue excitement and discover-new territory and perhaps themselves. They followed their dreams, in spite of physical and societal limitations, and that is what inspires me today and into the future. CM


As with everything Charlotte touches-there must be a story-an Inspiration.

The palette of Charlotte's Collection is clear.
Her Blues are Delft. Bluebell, Forget Me Not & Blueberry.

Caroline

AMELIA, above & below

Collage is Charlotte's own version of "patchwork, "so including  AMELIA was natural. Amelia was derived from an antique patchwork fragment and colored to suit the collection. Wouldn't Amelia be perfect in a guest room-again wall to wall! I can not imagine tiring of this fabric. Add old starched linens, some yellows-with this Bluebell colorway and a timeless room begins to take shape. In its Rose colorway Amelia is perfect for a young girl's bedroom-and will grow with her.

One of Charlotte's beautiful collages from her book- Charlotte Moss Decorates.

Charlotte's idea of  the perfect collection is one that is fresh- of the moment-but not one that follows trends. 

HARRIET, below, is perhaps the most formal fabric in the collection & by far the most luxe of them all. I fell for this fabric in all the colorways. It plays as an expensive European cut velvet and I thought immediately of using it for a pair of chairs in a Master Bedroom project I am working on in the color Currant.

HARRIET, in Currant 

 patterns from Owen Jones, The Grammar of Ornament-Elizabethan

Harriet- below, in Midnight

Another favorite in this Collection is CHARLOTTE. An embroidery, Charlotte comes in eight fresh colors- all with white embroidery. This design is taken from an antique garden gate from Charlotte's archives.  The hand of Charlotte is rich and strong-reminiscent of an embroidery cloth itself- this one of linen and cotton.

CHARLOTTE in Delft, above & below in Peony

Charlotte is named for Countess Canning, the first Vicereine of India. Charlotte, Lady Canning, was born to the daughter of British Ambassador, Charles Stuart, but nothing prepared her for her India Adventure. She found it hard going and wrote in detail about her life in India to friend and Queen-Victoria.  The V& A houses over 300 of her drawings-the result of her years of observations in India.

Elizabeth Stuart,Lady Stuart de Rothesay, and Her Daughters, Charlotte (Later Countess Canning),& Louisa (Later Marchioness of Waterford)by George Hayter

Lady Canning's Watercolours of India, from the V&A

CAROLINE is a beautifully scaled cotton print. A collector of  American baskets, Charlotte wanted Caroline to have a modern graphic appeal.

 from her Collection & the pages of Charlotte's own "C'est Inspire"

 see more here

The ground of CAROLINE is a basket weave. Charlotte is wearing a skirted version of Caroline, but I can see Caroline in a bright Sunroom-full out- on everything. Walls, Curtains, furniture. As the focus of a room it takes on a decidedly European feel-or used in a monochromatic room of white as pillows, (oversize please)  it is a very graphic jolt. Either way, Caroline will make an impact.

Caroline in Rattan

Charlotte's Greening of a Collection-

fabrics from the Collection in Grass, Clover, Kiwi & Granny Smith to be exact.

 

as a Slipper above-& on the chair covered in THALIEN, below

A spicy version of THALIEN in melons and oranges. This colorway is my favorite. Thalien is a linen and cotton interpretation of the Indienne paisleys the French were mad for in the late 18th century. Thalein would be beautiful anywhere-in a den or even a formal Living Room. Use it like the French would- again on everything- Walls, Windows, every single chair and sofa in the room.
Oh- and don't forget the slippers!

Honeysuckle

a shadow box with sculpted botanical by artist Carmen Almon. 

photograph by Charlotte Moss

& Thalien's namesake, Madame Thalien, painted by Jean-Bernard Duvivier in a high-waisted dress she made famous perched in velvet cushions & draperies along with a paisley cashmere shawl.

 Madame Thalien

This is a Collection that will Inspire you!
-make you think about your rooms and what they might be a little differently.
It will give you a taste for being more adventurous when you are imagining your rooms.

photograph by Pieter Estersohn from Charlotte Moss Decorates

Charlotte's Collection for Fabricut has been in the making for some time-it takes time to create.
She writes, "I have designed this collection not as a group of fabrics that just seem to nicely go together, but rather as rooms, because that is what I have been doing my entire career."

This Collection tells a story-
and you are the author.

there are many other fabrics in Charlotte's Collection- for a glimpse go to Fabricut here
& to Charlotte Moss here

other fabrics mentioned in this article are named for - Fanny Kemble, Aphra Behn, Queen Caroline, Amelia Edwards, Harriet Martineau.

all photographs and color quotations provided by Charlotte Moss & used with permission.

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is it a girl? a quote?

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NO, it's a chest !

As bloggers will say- I'm smitten. I've always been intrigued by chests and dressers. Everyone seems to have a dresser or chest they inherited, they hate or that they inherited and hate. This particular chest photographed with an Olsen atop it and a quote by the same-, says-its all good! But the chest is a show stopper. I know there are paper covered chests and fabric ones- I see them about, but this one is the best of the best- Chest.

What I love about this piece is the use of the Indian floral Chintz and its border placement. The textile has the look of an old one. I'm not advocating cutting up a valuable piece, but if you are up for a project- Give covering an old piece of chest a try. I would love to have one just like this one since the rich luxury of a tented room done up in yards and yards and swathes and swathes of the fabric is completely out of my decorating picture.

Lee Radziwill in one of the most famous of all the 

Indian chintz tented rooms designed by Renzo Mongiardino

Saffron Marigold here has gorgeous Indian florals by the yard , favourites below that would make a great chest.

A HANDSPUN, HANDWOVEN COTTON HAND-PAINTED MORDANT-DYED, RESIST-DYED AND HAND-PAINTED COROMANDEL COAST OF INDIA, 18C FOR THE THAI MARKET
 private collection, Horyu-ji, Nara (image from Narablog)
the real deal-could you possibly take the scissors to something so gorgeous?

something else to do with the Indian chintz-but still, I'd rather have the chest. Does anyone know where it is?

1780s Robe a l'Anglaise

Indian export 18th c. from Cora Ginsburg

see the most beautiful textiles at Cora Ginsburg here

Courtney of style court has several great posts on these Indian florals, here and just recently here.
& The Zhush here found these chests by Byronie Porter recently that are papered, but the company does take commissions and there are papers available that could do-