What we are reading this week about decorating and renovating old houses:

 
Elle Decor photographs the New York City apartment of John Robshaw, famous for his prints and home textiles. His pillows, sheets, napkins and curtains are produced with traditional block printing in countries such as India. That’s one of his printed fabrics upholstering the couch in his living room. Interesting to see how he mixes the patterns in his own home.
Home and Abroad: John Robshaw’s New York City Home [Elle Decor]

 


As regular readers of this blog know, we have a slight obsession with wallpaper. For two of the rooms in our house, we know what we want, but either it isn’t produced any more or is unique. Here are the options: We could have Carter & Co. make up an existing design in new colors, which isn’t all that expensive, or we could have any of the historic wallpaper makers create a new paper, which is very expensive indeed. Now there’s a third possibility: Spoonflower, the digital printer of crowdsourced textiles based in North Carolina, has added wallpaper to its repertoire. Anyone can submit a print design online and have it digitally printed as wallpaper. Apparently Timorous Beasties uses digital printing as well, while the historic printers screen print every design by hand. But Spoonflower is very inexpensive, especially to create a sample. We figure we have nothing to lose by trying it. Above, a dollhouse decorated with custom wallpaper from the company.
Doll’s House Wallpaper Makeover [Spoonflower]
Photo by Emma Jeffery

 

 

We collect old interiors books, and find the American ones, at least, tend to split into two groups: Those that cover the client work of society decorators and those that are the product of manufacturers of such things as wallpaper and appliances. Last week architect and shop owner Ben Pentreath blogged about a book that sort of falls into the first category, but not quite: “Living in Vogue,” published in 1984. There are some really interesting English houses here, and glimpses of the personal homes of now-renowned interiors designers back when they were young and just starting out. Above, a collection of opaline glass lamps and vases assembled by photographer Angus McBean at his Tudor manor house Flemings Hall in Suffolk.
You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover [Inspiration]
Photo by Ben Pentreath


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