Our guest blogger this week is Lee Hall, Senior Writer at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and creator of the popular blog Sassy Living Below the Mason Dixon Line.  Lee discusses the role of bright colors in the current interior design market and their traditional roots. 

 
Lee Hall

Mink.  Azalea. Peacock. Plum.  We’re in color!  Robert Allen and the WILLIAMSBURG brand have joined to offer a new collection that is alive with the boldness of vibrant hues.  The designs feel traditional yet, on trend.

In a way we're all new traditionalists.  We're influenced by the worldwide economy just as our ancestors were greatly influenced by global colors, products and processes.  Sophisticated design and emerging technology made specialty fabrics more accessible in 18th century England. 

Bold Sconce/Peacock

Indienne textiles were hugely popular and imported by English and Dutch traders, but they were hand painted, and very expensive.  By 1700, emerging technology offered English calico printers the opportunity to block print cotton and linen fabrics.

Floral Inset/Mink

This led to the affluence of vibrant colors such as yellows, reds, greens and blues in fabrics throughout upper class English homes.  

Plaid Ikat/Eggplant

 Imported ceramics from East Asia and Japan added more color and verve to the newly stylish interiors.

Full Sails/Azalea

We’re continuing this trend, and our new fabrics mix tradition with the same splash of color and vitality from over 200 years ago.  Style started here, and when trend meets tradition, the story continues.  

Unique Floral/Beachglass

Lee Hall has an M.F.A. in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College, and she is the Senior Writer at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.  Lee created and edits a design blog, Sassy Living Below the Mason Dixon Line (www.sassyliving.wordpress.com). Her fiction and non-fiction work has appeared in The Cortland Review (www.cortlandreview.com), Richmond Lifestyle, Commonwealth Magazine, Style Magazine and Lostwriters.

Our guest blogger again this week is Taylor Anderson, Design  Assistant at Beacon Hill.  In this blog, Taylor continues her exploration of our attraction to the stripe and its place in fashion and interior design.

Taylor Anderson

There is no room for error when it comes to straight lines: the stripe abandons its quiet demeanor, and can’t help but tattle on anything that is not perfectly aligned, measured, sewn, painted, or stretched. Whether it be the strings of our instruments or the frames of our architecture, the importance of precision resonates with those who recognize true quality and craftsmanship.

I find it fun to be on the lookout for stripes in fashion, because the human body is anything but straight! It's always inspiring to see a designer who can flatter the female form while still capitalizing on the impact of a stripe pattern.

Source

I love the way the taffeta in Grace Kelly's skirt appears pieced together, almost like beams of light shooting from her waist.  We see a greater sense of circular rhythm coming from her skirt than from the mosiac behind her: like a parasol or pinwheel ready to spin.

 
Source: The World of Interiors

The broad, hand-painted strokes in this gown allow your eye to take quick inventory of every pleat, tuck and fold.  It's the structure in the stripes that reveals her form and the desiger's workmanship.

Zoe Saldana in Armani (Source: In Style

Each bag below speaks a language of sophistication, where less is more, and pattern serves to focus our attention on excellent workmanship.  Would we notice such curvature and layering without the stripes to guide our focus? Would this Miu Miu bag look as crisp and sleek?

Giuseppe Zanotti                     Miu Miu                    Edie Parker                       Fendi  

And now, we look at some of the most challenging and satisfying uses of the stripe in design: interiors!

We get a sense of austerity and serenity from these meticulously painted stripes.  Whereas the flat plane of the wall is a perfect canvas for clean lines, the stripe reciprocates by accentuating the curvature of the shelving and molding.  Such a simple motif transforms these small bathrooms into spaces with drama and character.              

   
                                Source: House Beautiful                                   Source: Lonny                                                               

  
Source: 1stDibbs.com                     Source: House Beautiful

Note the alignment of each piece on both this bed and the settee. The stripes seem to spill in an endless flow, jumping over spaces or bumps along the way without missing a beat.

But Sampson, steer clear of that pink bedroom! 

Our guest blogger this week is Taylor Anderson, Design  Assistant at Beacon Hill.  In this entry, Taylor dives into the meaning behind a basic pattern seen every day: the stripe.  Drawing on history, art and fashion, Taylor explores the attraction to and enigma surrounding this staple in the design world.

Taylor Anderson

 
15th Century Depiction of Cain & Abel: Cain- the Bible's first traitor and murderer- is shown here in an unmistakable two-toned smock.

Francesco Morone's (1471-1526) "Samson & Delilah": Stripes on the bed, stripes on the wall: an obvious lair of deception.

However, as Lynn Phillips’ points out in her New York Times article “Crossing The Line,” does our eye understand the stripe even now? Perhaps to me they flow down a plane, but to you they climb up it. We welcome such enigmas now: they intrigue and excite. Is this why we love the stripe? Because our subconscious is drawn to solving the puzzle? Is it because we are convinced that the simplicity can only be skin-deep? Are we drawn to it simply because we can’t crack the code?

Unitled (Violet, Black, Orange, Yellow on White and Red)  by Mark Rothko