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Ask a Designer: Florals, updated, return todecor
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By Associated Press, Published: March 5
After years of simple solids and geometric prints, the lowly flower is making a comeback indecor. Floral patterns have been blooming all over fashion runways in recent months, andthey are slowly finding their way back into the world of home decorating, too.
It wasn’t long ago that any mention of floral upholstery or wallpaper brought backmemories of 1980s cabbage roses, flowery Shabby Chic borders stenciled high on bedroomwalls, and suburban homes designed to feel like precious cottages swathed in pink andgreen.
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But today’s new patterns aren’t your grandmother’s florals. And they can be a refreshingantidote to the minimalist patterns that have dominated home decorating in recent years.
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“It’s what we’re all craving,” says New York-based designer Jon Call, founder of Mr. CallDesigns. “It’s romance, it’s a softness ... andit feels fresh again, because no one hasdefined it for our generation.”
While brands like Laura Ashley delineatedthe floral look of a generation ago, the newflorals have no rules. Which makes themmore fun — and more challenging — to usesuccessfully.
Here, Call and two other interior designers— Betsy Burnham of Los Angeles’ BurnhamDesign, and Brian Patrick Flynn, executiveproducer of HGTV.com’s Spring Houseseries — offer advice on working with thisfresh crop of floral patterns.
WHAT SIZE?
“Scale is the most important factor inmodernizing the look and feel of florals,”says Flynn. He suggests avoiding flowersthat are depicted at their actual size.Instead, pick patterns where the flowers arebigger — between 50 percent and 200percent larger than life-size.
Call agrees: He’s a fan of using vintageprints in “the largest scale you can find,” sothat the print’s eye-popping size contrasts
with its traditional style.
But Call and Burnham also think floral prints can look modern if they’re printed on a verysmall scale, especially if they’re used on smaller items like throw pillows.
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WHICH PATTERN?
Find a floral print that really appeals to you personally, Burnham suggests. “Nothing corny,nothing ordinary,” she says. You want “something really special.”
You might try “chinoiseries that include figures and florals,” Burnham says, “or flora andfauna... That’s a way to do it if you’re kind of scared of just flowers.”
Another option is choosing a pattern that’s more “botanical” than flower-filled.
“Homeowners with aversions to super-girly florals featuring rosebuds or elaborate petalsmay find botanicals a better fit,” says Flynn. “While floral prints include shapes andsilhouettes of actual flowers, botanicals rely more on stems and leaves.”
Call points out that designers like Vivienne Westwood have created digitized, pixilated floralprints that mix traditional and modern style. But, he says, even the most classic chintzfabrics can look great in a modern home if they’re handmade and high quality.
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Flynn encourages clients to mix floral patterns with other prints.
“The floral cottage style of a decade ago was all florals and ribbons,” Flynn says. “AnytimeI’m dealing with a home occupied by couples arguing over masculine and feminine styles,I’m likely to mix botanicals or florals with classic masculine prints such as gingham, checkor plaid.”
That juxtaposition of “classic girly prints with iconic patterns used for men’s spaces” createsa modern, gender-neutral room.
WHERE TO USE IT?
Floral patterns can work especially well on sleek, modern pieces of furniture, Burnham says.Rather than choosing a floral sofa that’s rounded and tufted, use floral upholstery on asimple sofa with straight, clean lines.
And rather than hanging floral draperies in a bedroom or choosing a floral bedspread, usesolid colored fabrics in those locations and then upholster the headboard in a bold, oversizefloral.
WHAT COLORS?
A great pattern can look dated if you pick the wrong color palette, says Flynn. “Florals withmustard yellow and burgundy palettes instantly feel old and stuffy. To make them fresh andfun, look for those with unexpected color palettes, such as black and violet or springy greensand punchy pinks. The pattern will keep its classic appeal, but with a youthful update.”
Burnham says floral patterns done in just two colors (or in two shades of the same color)can look more modern than florals that include several colors. And “if you go for somethingon a crisp white background,” she says, it “might read more current than something on atea-dye that’s more muted.”
Call’s thinks just about any color can work, though he prefers to steer clear of pinks andpurples. “It gets too sweet, too endearing,” he says. You have to “be careful with thesentimentality,” he says, or you’ll lose some of the modern edge.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not bepublished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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