Have you seen the April issue of House Beautiful yet? I love the Southampton home on the cover. As you all know, my love of chintz stems from Schumacher’s Pyne Hollyhock chintz, but Colefax & Fowler’s Bowood Chintz is a close second. What struck me the most about the house, was the designer Justine Cushing’s use of the fabric throughout. Other than white duck, the Bowood Chintz is the only pattern in the house. Cushing painted the walls Linen White and  re-used the homeowners furniture, and reupholstered pieces in Bowood Chintz when they needed an update.Typically when we see a fabric repeated, it is repeated within a single room and one more than one surface. The use of a single fabric in the design of a room is a very traditional decorating technique that has come back into popularity of late, as seen in this popular photo of Tory Burch’s NYC kitchen.Daniel Romualdez, the architect/designer who has helped Burch with her homes, also likes to employ a singular fabric in his decorating schemes, as shown by the bedroom in his Connecticut home. Like I said, the use of a single fabric or pattern is a very traditional decorating technique that is regaining popularity. There are some very famous rooms that employ the singular pattern technique … case in point, Diana Vreeland’s “Garden in Hell,” designed for her by Billy Baldwin. A favorite of mine is Babe and William Paley’s apartment at 820 Fifth Avenue. These photos, taken in the 1980s, show the dining room, decorated by Sister Parish & Albert Hadley. This room, other than being absolutely fabulous, is where the dinner took place prior to Truman Capote’s Black & White ball. Wish I could have been there.
I think my next project might have to include a room with some repeating patterns … don’t you think?

Photos via The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, House Beautiful, & Elle Decor