In a modern chic look, Schumacher’s Pyne Hollyhock chintz in charcoal is used for drapery in a city office setting. The classic fabric is perfectly paired with a Saarinen tulip table, a black painted faux bamboo chair and yellow table lamps in a vignette in the Lonny Magazine offices in New York. (above) |
I was reading one of my favorite blogs the other day…
Wait wait wait…I’ll interrupt this post for a moment here to clarify a point first… just in case anyone cares….I know I’ve only written one line of the post…but I feel like it might need clarifying…or maybe I just constantly have a million “asides” going on in my head and instead of staying focused on the story at hand…I’ve decided to go on yet another tangent…woohooo….here we go…
Pointless clarification begins
I know I am always whining about my lack of time due to my self inflicted busy schedule which includes working a demanding full time job as an executive, maintaining my blog (1-5 hours per post daily (includes research time)) and then running the COCOCOZY textiles business and shop (a second full time job) and yet I admittedly seem to have time to leisurely read through design blogs? Doesn’t seem to match up. Busy busy busy but has time to read blogs? Hmmmmm….? Right? Well the truth of the matter is I don’t really have time to read all of the blogs I would like, nor have I really had time for a good book, magazine, newspaper or anything lately (sad but true admission). For the last 6 months, since starting the COCOCOZY textiles business, I get all of my news from my sis DS, friends NS and AM and my mother…not a formal news brief but when they mention something interesting they have read I definitely note it. So then I feel like I am in the know when someone I’m out with socially mentions a story they’ve read and if one of my four news hounds has told me about it already and has told me the source, I simply respond and say something like “oh yes, there was a Wall Street Journal article about that”…it is like my news hounds provide the Cliffs Notes of current events for me. Am I cheating then or is it legitimate? Cliffs Notes weren’t considered cheating…right? Notice I do not lie (don’t believe in that)…I don’t say I’ve read the article…I just state what I heard from my news gals about where they read the article. I know…not impressive…gleaning and syphoning everyday important news stories from family and friends. I know. I know. At least I am honest enough to say…I don’t have time to read. I don’t. Book lovers please do not hate me. 🙂
So that being said, I certainly don’t have time to do a good thorough read of anything nowadays…not even time to “read” my guilty pleasure, InTouch magazine which really requires no reading skills at all (don’t judge…being honest here about everything including guilty pleasures…sadly I even get info on these important celeb stories from AM and sometimes sis DS (she’ll read one here and there at the nail salon)) (aside: I’m not proud of my lack of literary prowess as of late…just being open and honest…hee hee…)
Pointless clarification ends.
So back to blogs…while I’m not giving my favorite blogs a good thorough read, I check in on some of my favorites from time to time to see what they have to say about design (see the “Links” tab above for all of my faves).
All of this to say…the other day I was checking out one of my favorite blogs Pure Style Home written by Lauren Liess…she is an interior designer. On her blog, Lauren was showing off a living room project she just completed and chatting about a chintz settee she had upholstered for the project. She mentioned the name of the chintz fabric in her post and I immediately started researching this fabric.
So what is chintz you might ask? I found a definition that says its “glazed or unglazed printed cotton fabric”. Vague. Yes. Not very specific indeed. It seems like a chintz could encompass a lot of fabrics. Well I did a little more reading about chintz…apparently its origins are in India from hundreds of years ago and the colorful printed fabrics were often used for drapes in European homes. Okay…a little more specific.
Apparently Lauren used this Schumacher fabric named Pyne Hollyhock Chintz on the settee in her clien’ts living room. With a little nosing about on the interweb, I found that particular print is definitely all the rage in decor these days. This print is named after a New Jersey heiress known as Nancy “Princess” Pyne who first had the pattern in her New Jersey estate in the 1960s. Years later Schumacher asked if they could reproduce the pattern and tah-dah today the Hollyhock Chintz is hot!
Living room with settee covered in the Schumacher Hollyhock chintz in tobacco from designer Lauren Liess of Pure Style Home blog. (above) |
Featured in House Beautiful in 2009, this Albert Hadley designed room in a colonial home features the chintz on a English settee. (above) |
A 1960’s image of living room designed by Mr. Hadley uses the original chintz throughout! (above) |
The 100% cotton Pyne Hollyhock Chintz from Schumacher. (above and below) |
A writing desk in a bedroom with the chintz fabric in charcoal as designed by Joel Woodard Design (above) |
I like this chintz. I feel like it could be used in a variety of spaces or in different styles of homes. It is a traditional floral pattern fabric but can be made a little more modern as seen in the first photo.
What do you think about this chintz? Would you use a hint of this chintz in your decor or not?
Happy Tuesday!
xo
Coco
I love the Chintz pattern! I’m usually not a fan of florals but this one speaks to me. I prefer the cream/black to the yellowy version. I love how Lonny mixed in some modern touches. P.S. I love all of your kitchen posts. I’ve been getting so many great, inspirational ideas for our upcoming remodel. Thank you, thank you!
Thanks so much for including me in the post Coco!! Loooove that fabric & didn’t know that it originaly came from “Princess!!!” … I did a post on her estate a while back – it was featured in Elle Decor with new owners Dransfield & Ross- and had no idea we were using a fabric from her estate in 1 of our projects!!
big hug & talk soon,
lauren
I LOVE the look of this fabric. I really like the pattern of the oversized floral because it doesn’t seem too busy. I really like the posts on your blog- I’m not an interior designer but I love everything to do with design and houses. Your blog has inspired me to start my own about decorating dorm rooms. I’d love it if you would do a guest post on decorating small spaces or even if you could check out my blog and give me some pointers on how to make it better!
The link is http://academicsandinteriors.blogspot.com/
Thanks!
Ldanielle
Great post! I have always wondered what chintz stood for and I clearly needed someone (you) to virtually sit me down and explain it to me in simple plain english. And now I’m that little bit smarted thanks to you. Very interesting read! X
Coco I do love it in the Charcoal/ white it is fabulous. I would use it on a smaller piece, a chair, a bench etc.; Not wanting to overpower the room!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
hmmm….if you look closely at the way the pattern is upholstered {laid (layed?)} on the settee in the 2009 Hadley project and then look at it on the left wall in the 60’s Hadley application, it honestly looks like the exact same settee in the exact same fabric the way the pattern lines up identically….especially if you compare the newer version of the fabric from the settee in the first photo…the pattern is slightly different than in the Hadley pics…or else I’m just up way too late to be coherent! Really do enjoy your entries…do tell what vitamin you take exactly that enables your 20 hours days of productivity!
This gives me a whole new meaning when I say that something looks “Chintzy”. I love the one with hints of yellow. GORGEOUS. Thanks for the bit of history in there as well. I love to learn ; ) Congrats on all of your success Coco. Things really seem to be moving for you.
Beautiful pictures and Lauren is a great young talent, but I’ll pass on chintz in my own home.
health is first coco, watch carefully how your body is reacting to 2.5 jobs! coco cozy blog and shop are just great.. the other one kind of stands out of the picture.. I know its not that easy but take care!
Such a great post! Love the history and the different photos from decades past… beautiful print!
Love it! Love the drapes so much! They are the perfect color.