Lighten up!

A Summer makeover using antique French textiles and an inspirational book!

Normally by this time of year we would be dining outdoors but despite occasional glimmers of sunshine the torrential rain and accompanying gloom continue...................

The mountain is lost behind the impenetrable mist and so we are still dining indoors.

The séjour (a dining/living room) was designed to be used in the coldest months. It is the beating heart of the house, a room that gives you a big hug when you come in from the freezing Auvergne weather. With its soft  red walls, log burning stove and thick interlined damask curtains it creates a theatrical setting forWinter dining.

I found the damask after I fell in love with the silk drapes in the textile museum in Lyon, then discovered the price! Still woven by hand in Lyon it costs from 3000 Euros a metre! So I found this faux silk that was woven in Italy using 18th Century plates and made the curtains by hand, stitching the lining and interlining carefully in place so that they look plump and luxurious. It took weeks but was well worth the effort.

These have now gone into storage and I have replaced them with simple unlined toile de jouy in blue and cream. This works really well with my collection of blue and white porcelain.
I have only recently discovered that there is a textile producer just a short distance away with a factory shop! How did I miss that all these years? I soon made up for lost time though and bought so much that they gave me an extra discount! It is a large room (66 square yards) with four large windows so the yardage soon adds up.

Even better.........it is double width, that saves a lot of fiddly pattern matching and sewing.
Once the curtains were hung I have started creating cushions from scraps of antique textiles that I have squirrelled away over the years.
This one is made from a piece of 'Toile D'Abbeville' that is over 300 years old.

I found just one shallow scallop, probably from a pelmet or a bed canopy and backed it with homespun hemp.
The next couple are made from recuperated monograms appliquéed onto a bright Vichy check. It looks like new but is actually from the 1920's. The edges are piped with a sunny buttercup yellow piping that is from my collection of stock from a mercerie that has sadly closed down.

The end result looks like this.........................

I haven't finished dressing the room yet but it is starting to look very Summery.

It is interesting to see how the wall colour changes too. It seems to have lightened with introduction of the blue, whereas in the Winter it has a warm ochre glow. 

 The colour is Porphyry Pink by Farrow & Ball. I deliberately used soft calm greys for the floor and the woodwork so that other elements can be changed without the need to redecorate.

Once I began ideas just blossomed and I have really enjoyed sewing again.

It really is worth having a go................especially with antique and vintage textiles. If you haven't sewn before I can highly recommend this book. French General, Home Sewn by Kaari Meng.

You can find details by clicking here
There are lots of projects with easy to follow instructions for a professional finish.

The book is an absolute delight for French textile addicts. The photographs are beautiful and it even has a wallet inside the front cover containing patterns for all the projects.

Even if you have never sewn anything this book will inspire you to become creative with your hoard of vintage scraps.