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.