I visited Ireland in 20l2, took photos of the architecture, studied the textiles in the stores, and generally could not get enough of the colorful landscapes. When you are in this business, everything is inspirational, even when you are not expecting it. The textiles in the stores felt like it took you back in time. I bought a linen tablecloth that I have never regretted buying. So beautiful with a damask border, and the hand of the tablecloth is exceptional. I’m not sure what processes they use on their linens, but washing them makes the hand even more soft. Vintage linens ranged from deep reds, soft pinks, greens, and mustard yellows. Blues were a given. You will not go into an Ireland farmhouse that does not have blue and white dishes, blue tea towels, and blue patchwork quilts. You definitely step back in time in Ireland because they treasure their heritage and are proud of their homeland. So much history that is older than America. Even the graves go back to the l300’s that we visited. We toured in a very nice bus and the tour group was Tauck. They took care of everything so all you had to do was enjoy the history that the guide explained to us. Dublin was the only place we visited that was a little more robust. We started on the southern side and stayed in very old bed and breakfast inns. They fed us dinner and breakfast and off we were on another tour.
Getting back to textiles, I do believe that America’s textiles fashioned after the English, French, and Belgium markets. This created relaxing and comfortable interiors, thereby ending up on chairs, curtains, and especially pillows. Pillows are so exciting and fresh new designs are introduced every day. Some of our wallpaper books resemble the English modern look. Some of them are made in England as well. Look at Thibaut, it is a rendition of many archived wallpapers, but with an added brighter color from England. Our clients love wallpaper. Just beautiful. Remember to study your textiles when creating your update or are thinking about changing your interiors.
