So much work by nature and man goes into making things we can easily take for granted, like textiles.
A beautiful short film showing how linen textiles are made, beginning with flax in Normandy:
A short movie showing how silk can be made while allowing the silkworms to live:
My previous posts about block printing favor light natural colors. But of course block prints also come in luscious and even riotous color. Check out this first one — looks like the richness of pomegranate color!
Images from Soma, textile creators and exporters in India:
These can be yours, at Soma shops in India. (By the way, I am not paid at all to post about where to get these things — I really appreciate it when other bloggers reveal where to find the things we adore, so I’m just sharing in the same way.)
From Kilol, here is a combination of prints similar to the look I favor from Les Indiennes but stronger in black and white – a mix of very large and small prints:
This image above reminds me – this weekend I got a little package in the mail from my parents. It was an envelope of photos they found of my first apartment as a single gal finally earning enough for my own place, in the mid-90s. That apartment was full of black, white, gray, maple and other blond woods, just like the photo above. I had columns and Grecian busts mixed with modern silver/aluminum things. Framed posters of words and fonts. A cardboard chair! An eclectic mix. I loved what I lived with then, I love what I live with now. Certainly there’s much more color now. Oh how things have changed over the years. I think we all evolve that way, don’t we?
Back to the block print obsession of today. Following images are from Anokhi’s USA website (although I’d rather go to Mauritius to buy in person there! ha ha). Here’s only one of an enormous selection of hand-printed cotton voile scarves:
I love cotton voile. Sewing is one of my hobbies and for summer I sew dresses with two layers of cotton voile — one outer layer usually with a printed design, and a solid lining layer. It’s so sheer, you need minimum two layers. The two layers of cotton voile feel luxurious due to the quality of the fabric, and they’re very cool in hot climates. Lightweight cotton voile scarves are a great way to add a punch of color to spring and summer outfits. Anokhi is in Chennai as well as many other cities in India. Surely I’ll stop in the Chennai store on our next trip. Thankfully it’s not far from our apartment in T Nagar. If you’re in Jaipur, you can visit the Anokhi Museum on hand block printing. As I appreciate textiles and learning more about them, that’s on my must-stop list whenever we get to visit Jaipur.
Speaking of learning about textiles, Selvedge magazine celebrates all textiles. Here’s an image from the magazine of brilliant block print inks:
Imagine mounting wood print blocks with remnants of color inks on a wall — they really are little works of art:
If you find wood print blocks with ink, don’t wash it off — hang mixed colors together. Or apply ink to unpainted blocks you find. The mix of various colors could bring an eye-catching look to a wall, more than plain wood.
Posted in Color, Home Decor
Tagged bedding, block prints, linens, scarves, textiles, wood block
I’ve written previously about how I envision a master bedroom in our Chennai apartment that’s supremely restful. An escape and an oasis of calm. Because I really need that space to recharge when I travel there. And I’m pretty cranky when tired. So a good night’s sleep is important. One element that will surely be in the room is interesting but serene block print bedding.
If you don’t want to go the poster bed route, there’s plenty of other bed designs that could serve as a quiet backdrop and let block print bedding take center stage.
Here’s a recap of the block print style that caught my eye. From Les Indiennes:
From John Robshaw:
From Viva Terra catalog:
I don’t know if this is all block printing, but I like the handmade artistry and casual slightly rumpled feel of Alabama Chanin products:
Likewise these may not be block printed (?) but I like the mix of prints from JA Design Studio (but not in pink!):
From Raksha Bella:
Now imagine the following beds as foundations and backdrops for bedding like those shown above. This is how I’ve always thought of a bed’s role in a room – it is not the star of the show, it is there for support.
Alexandrie Bed from Les Migrateurs:
Barbara Barry Sleigh Bed by Baker:
Chelsea bed from Gingko Home Furnishings:
Headboards from Wisteria:
I love this style. Our coffee table in our Chicago living room is this style, purchased in Thailand. Kang bed from Kismet:
Wow, this one is not in our price range, that is certain, but beautiful and still quiet enough to let block prints sing for attention. Pompeian Style Gilt-Wood Bed by Quatrain:
A new bed could be painted to deliver the antiqued look shown above.
Tapered Bed from Infusion Furniture:
Logic bed by Room & Board:
I’d hire any of these beds to do the job of showcasing block print linens. Also each of them has a bit of detail for personality so they bring something to the bed+linen relationship.
Last night we went to dinner at a Chinese-Indian fusion restaurant, Inchin’s Bamboo Garden:
Afterwards we wanted to visit Arhaus, but unfortunately the store closed at 7 p.m. We must have looked like two kids peering in a closed candy store. Oh the things we could see in there! I know right now they have old Indian doors in their frames. We could see a collection of block prints arranged on a wall.
As a consolation prize, we visited Sur la table around the corner. We saw a few things that would be perfect to pack up and take to our India pied a terre …
Linens in beautiful colors:
See the flatware in the photo above? We saw that at the store too, and talked about how we could just “see it” on the India dining table. It comes with wood handles as well as red and an ivory color handle. Here’s a close up:
Absolutely I would buy this and haul it in my suitcase to India! Actually all the silverware in our Chicago home is from a lady in the Chatuchak market in Bangkok. We look unique flatware. We bought pieces from her in 2001 during our first visit to the skinny winding and visually overwhelming aisles of the Chatuchak market. But we miscalculated. We didn’t buy enough, for when you have many people over for dinner. Uh-oh! Thankfully, we were able to find her again in 2004 or 2005, whenever was the next time we visited Bangkok. I forget now. It’s like we’re birds. We can fly anywhere on the planet, and then find our way and return in the future to the same little spot.
We love coffee so for certain, we will have a french press in the India kitchen. It’s simple low-tech and wouldn’t require cleaning tablets and filters like our Jura-Capresse does. Here’s a Bodum french press:
Here’s another version:
Of course, I need to learn to make a good Madras coffee because I love the combination of Madras coffee and payasam! I love the combo of bitter and sweet.
I liked the bright colors and “old time” printing on these storage canisters:
And of course this would match our Tuscan kitchen theme:
The yellow canisters would pick up on some yellow in the kitchen tiles, but of course color contrast is visually interesting too:
I did not see these in the store, they’re on the Sur la table website; I really like this canister style too:
I liked this hot rack that hangs from a wall. There’s a spot next to the fridge that would be hidden from view of the dining area where I’ve been thinking a pot rack could hang on the wall, like this one:
That’s all we had time to see — the store was closing in only half hour after we got there. But we saw quite a bit in that time for India pied a terre ideas.
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Hi! I'm Deb. Here shopping for silk saris in India. We travel and weave what we find into a total global home. I also like to do global design-inspired DIYs. More about us and about the pied-à-perre. I hope you are inspired here! Locations: Chicago | Chennai |
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