Best Fabric Store in Boston

Well, technically it's not in Boston. It's in Arlington. But close enough. They have both sewing and home decor fabrics. I was most impressed with the sewing/quilting fabrics. They are the only shop I've seen in this area that carries my fave, Amy Butler. Fabric Corner. There is a coupon on their website. Does this first photo make anyone else's heart skip a beat?

Have a great weekend!

Three Cups of Tea

I am in the front row, upper deck of the Megabus right now, headed to NYC for the ICFF. I can't decide if my seat of choice is exciting or terrifying. This is my 5th trip on the ole' Megabus and I just have to say, for $9 and unlimited WiFi...you cannot beat it.

I just finished Three Cups of Tea and wanted to share with you what an amazing book I found it to be. I will admit, I have been reading this book off and on for a year. The first 100 pages were not quite gripping for me. But once I got into the meat of the book, I could not put it down. Greg's Mortenson's life was saved by a Balti porter after nearly freezing to death during an unsuccessful attempt to summit K2. After recovering in their village, and being catered to in a way that most locals had never experienced, Greg promised to return the following year and bring with him the means to provide something that the Balti people had never had...a school. That one school, turned into hundreds,which are now lead by the Central Asia Institute. Greg is a truly inspiring individual.

Along with the schools, the Central Asia Institute has also established several Women's Vocational Centers, where women in remote villages can gather to sew and chat. Sounds like my kind of place right? And I know all of you design lovers out there have seen a lot of this lately...

The women in these villages weave ikat and you will see on the Centrail Asia Institute website that this fabric, which is high on the trend radar here in the States, has come to symbolize strength, beauty, and resilience of the Central Asia communities they serve. I will never look at ikat the same.

I may have a guest blogger or two lined up this week while I am busy bathing myself in modern furniture, stay tuned!

and p.s. this is super last minute, obvioulsy, but if any nyc blogger friends would be interested in meeting for dinner tuesday night, shoot me an email: stephanie.sabbe (at) gmail.com

Fabric Steals

Mr. Sabbe is trying to make me watch a documentary on the Smokey Mountains. I am pretending to watch while I swoon over these great deals {multi-tasking}...


$9.95/yard


$14.95/yard


$8.95/yard


$6.95/yard


$17.95/yard...I'm pondering whether this would be a good companion to this? It's so hard to tell on the monitor.


$9.95/yard


$9.95/yard


$15.95/yard


$15.95/yard...a 1/2 of yard of this is so mine and if that half of yard does not include the deer, I am going to be one unhappy customer.

Go check out http://www.buyfabric.com/ and while you're there tell them to iron their swatches before they put them on the internet.

Blue is the New Black

And I mean a deep, dark, luscious Blue. It is showing up in walls, fabrics, carpets and accessories. It is a blue that doesn't have green or red in it. It is almost black and is warmer than lighter blues and has more life and depth than Black. It is the deepest shade of Indigo as seen in Ikat Textiles. It is the color of the sky on a moonlit night. It is mysterious, moody, classic, timeless, calming, and refreshing. It can have a glossy finish or be totally matt. It is beautiful when contrasted with pure white. My favorite Benjamin Moore paint colors are Polo Blue, Blackberry Punch, Kensington Blue, Blue Gaspe, Hale Navy, and Old Navy. Some deep blue colors are: sapphire, azure, beryl, cerulean, cobalt, indigo, navy, royal, midnight blue, slate, steel blue, Prussian blue.

The high gloss finish on this wall has a subtle reflectivity to it that changes at different times of the day and literally sparkles at night. Design by Tom Scheerer

I love how the walls, bookshelves and fabric of the banquette seat and sofa are all the same color
Design by Robert Burke and Todd Romano

A beautiful color of blue to set off the antique prints and porcelains in this Dining Room
House Beautiful March 2008

This room by Victoria Hagan is destined to be a classic with her crisp and geometric use of color and pattern

Alberto Pinto has used a deep blue in the bold geometric carpet as his only color in this wonderful Master Bedroom

A deep and refreshing Mediterranean blue has been used on the walls at JK Capri Hotel in Italy

The Inkiest color of blue used for the walls in this room are a great backdrop for colorful artwork

A deep "French Blue"

The deepest of blue used in an updated traditional paisley pattern
Windsor Smith

Deepest Indigo blue as used in traditional Ikat textiles

Madeline Weinrib cushion Thibaut Ikat Fabric

The company Sea Cloth is reinventing and putting a modern twist on Indigo dyed fabrics

This is a classic Wallpaper pattern in a classic deep blue that will never date

Let me know if these deep luscious shades of blue are slated to become one of your new favorite colors?

I am in the process of designing my own guest bedroom and I have chosen a deep blue silk for the curtains called Moonlight. I am putting a natural woven raffia roman shade on the window behind the curtains for some textural interest. The walls will be painted the same shade as the silk curtains: Benjamin Moore "Blue Gaspe".The Headboard is a heavy white Belgium linen. The bedding is white Egyptian cotton with an Hermes cashmere blanket in a deep charcoal color on the end of the bed. The carpet is wool and is the color of white coral. I will hang black and white "ocean"photographs that I have taken on my travels on the blue walls to finish it off. So you can now see where the inspiration for this post has come from. My friends and family are very anxiously awaiting the unveiling of this room.

Michael Devine

Michael Devine has just launched his new 2008 fabric collection at the prestigious Maison & Objet Editeurs, which is held in Paris twice a year (in January and September).   Michael has been getting quite allot of press in Domino, Elle Decor, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful & Veranda to name just few for his striking hand screened fabrics.  This master bedroom of Aerin Lauder's in her Long Island master bedroom featured in House and Garden 2007 features
Michael's fabric.

  

Domino

House Beautiful

Patricia Gray writes about Interior Design inspirations, emerging trends, and the world of Design. 
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© 2007-2009 Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog

Brunschwig & Fils

I just got my Brunschwig & Fils Fall Advertising package in the mail today and it is, as always, gorgeously illustrated. I was quite interested to see 3 themes running through the images:
1. Birds
2. Fashion
3. Dogs

Take you pick and tell me what your favourite is. Scroll to the end to see my favourite.
PS The fabrics are beautiful too.

The Winner!!

Raoul Textiles

Raoul Textiles is an exclusive fabric line that is carried at the Chicago Merchandise Mart in the George Smith showroom. I want to bring it to everyone's attention because it is a very beautifully designed fabric line.

It is hand-printed on a very fine Belgian linen in Santa Barbara, California. I wish you could touch these fabrics and feel the beautiful hand they have. I love the freshness of the colors and the movement in the designs, and the fact that it is printed by hand and made locally rather than abroad. I am all for supporting local artisans. My motto is that I always try to source my products locally to begin with, then I will go further afield if necessary.

Emma Jane Pilkington House and Garden
above fabric on chair backs

I love the colors in this fabric - soft teal blue with chocolate. It is something you would never tire of.

This is their current advertisement showing 3 different fabrics



This fabric reminds me of my favourite Auntie Anne and something she would have worn in clothing in the 70's. And this fabric also reminds me of something Florence Broadhurst could have designed in that era.

Drapery fabric Raoul "Miranda" Domino Magazine Oct 2006