I’m really loving all of the Southwestern influences I have been visiting in interiors and fashion this past year. Many times I get asked how to achieve certain looks without always making them a theme. By playing with stripes and colours I managed to get a look to illustrate that for you. As you can see, I didn’t actually use any actual Southwestern patterns. You’ll see no arrowheads or bison in this pattern play!
More Pattern Plays: Modern Masculine | Traditional Modern
Jennifer Bishop Design
Here is how I used my blueprint mixing rules of thumb to produce for this palette:
1. Decide on a beginning print. I began with the stripe. It gave me a fantastic way to pull my colours in, and the texture reminded me of a tapestry or a poncho.
2. Build the colour palette. With this stripe, I managed to pull in terra cotta, teal, beige and beige. Good colours to provide us our Southwestern feel.
3. Vary the design. Earlier, I pointed out I didn’t really use a typical Southwestern print. Instead, I used an Ikat which isn’t traditionally Southwestern but rather it provides me a similar feel. I then mixed in a tweed pattern that included a manly touch and an oval patterned chenille that read more contemporary to me. The conventional faux silk diamond pattern included yet another layer of texture with twine to layout the contour.
4. Limit the size of the pattern. The Ikat is my big blueprint, the stripe, diamond and tweed are my medium patterns and the oval chenille is my own small pattern.
Tip: You can mix in more medium-sized patterns than you can small and big.
Jennifer Bishop Design
Here’s a closer look at the mixture of textures happening. Next, more on the individual fabrics I used to get this look.
childressfabrics.com
KRAVET VARI – $55.30
This Ikat includes a sublte wood grained pattern in its own beige backdrop, giving it a much more rustic edge — another fantastic way to achieve a Southwestern sense without that theme.
I would love to see these used on an accent chair or even throw pillows.
Jennifer Bishop Design
Lee Jofa-Beehive colour: Mallard – $123.64
The teal color in this cloth was gorgeous, and the chenille added a touch of softness and shine to an otherwise largely flat-sheened cloth palette.
This heavyweight cloth would wear nicely in an ottoman.
Interior Mall
Lassen – Lassen Tawny – Carole Fabric – $33.90
I would use this lightweight synthetic silk as draperies or as a throw pillow that would be put in a lighter traffic place. It is always fantastic to interline silk or lighter weight materials to assist them hang more attractively.
Jennifer Bishop Design
Kravet-26281 colour: 616 – $39.90
This tweed could be used to get a seat, or if you were daring enough, even a sofa. Its smaller pattern would make a wonderful background for some of our larger patterns on throw pillows.
Interior Mall
Grandview Stripe – Grandview Stripe Adobe – Carole Fabric – $49.80
The stripe would make great pillow or upholstered item, as it has such a thick texture.
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More Pattern Plays:
Modern Masculine
Traditional Modern