Two Ways: Patchwork Rug

Oh, folks.

You know, sometimes I just get hold of an idea and I can't let go.  Did you ever have a worry stone?  It's like that: I just keep rubbing away at it, but for all the rubbing the thing stays whole.

After obsessing about the use of patchwork in Kathryn Ireland's work, I did a little round up of patchwork products.  And maybe it would have stopped there, except I saw this room in the portfolio of designer Brooke Wagner.

See what she did with that patchwork rug?  Well, I just had to give it a try.

Haven't done a "two ways" post in a while, so here we are.

I like the idea of letting even a neutral patchwork rug stand out by keeping the palette simple and the shapes sculptural.  In the above, the black is a nice contrast to the softer greys, and every shape is interesting without adding too much busyness or competition, and the wood tables warm things up.

Then again....

sometimes the more the merrier, right?  Here a rug patched from overdyed vintage kilims is accent-sized to keep the color in check.  The furniture shapes are interesting (and fairly traditional), but the palette is consistently quiet.  All the better to shout with accessories, no?  Each and every fabric relates to the colors in the rug, keeping things just this side of cuckoo.

I never would have thought about a patchwork rug for myself....but now I'm kind of digging it.

What do you think:  tight palette with high contrast, or full on color?

Get the Look: Patchwork

It's always interesting to see the way elements that have been around forever come in and out of favor, and get re-interpreted, whether in the way they are made or the way they are used.

While perusing my new Kathryn Ireland book from my birthday wish list, I noticed her use of patchwork, a trend I had been noticing sort of out of the corner of my eye.

When I went looking for it, I was amazes at how many patchwork products are available right now.

Get the look:

Chair: Anthropologie, Quilt: ebay, Chandelier: Urban Outfitters

Mirror: Pier 1, Pillow: Shop Latitude, Screen: Pier 1

Pillow: Kathryn Ireland, Chair: nuLoom, Pouf: Pier 1

Rug: kilim.com, Chair: rugs usa

Chair, Chandelier: West Elm

Pouf: anthropologie, Rug: ABC Carpet

Chair: Zinc Door, artwork: Urban Outfitters, Chair: vive decor

Rug: Pier 1, Armoire: West Elm, bedding: Crate and Barrel, pouf: World Market

In addition to the straight-up patchwork offerings, I like the application of the patchwork concept to furniture like the armoire shown from West Elm, where each drawer and cabinet is treated to a different wood tone, or the colorful chandelier from Urban Outfitters, where the color is applied by area. 

I also came across these chairs from anthropologie, which take the concept of patchwork but abstract it.  Rather than pieces actually patched together, they created a screenprint of layered or patched pieces--in this case, photographs and drawings.

What do you think: would you use patchwork in a room?  Would you go old-fashioned or new-fangled?

Trending

My aunt sent me Kathryn M. Ireland's latest book for my birthday.

("What does the M stand for," my 5 year old wants to know.)

Of course I have been tearing into it like the crazed disciple I have become, and I've noticed something that Kathryn M. Ireland uses a lot, and often in different ways.

Do you see it?  (Did I make it too obvious?)  I can't find my favorite example on line and, quite frankly, I'm feeling too spent to bother with the scanner.

Maybe I'm just tuning into it because it's something I'm seeing everywhere lately.  More on that tomorrow.