As promised, here’s a sneak peek of Siona’s Space….her crib!  In other words for me the   Pièce de résistance of the space. (Note how the colors really pop against the Silver Crest Benjamin Moore painted walls (per the last blog)).

Pattern, Pattern, Pattern!  I knew I wanted lots of pattern in Siona’s space.  For me, pattern makes a space feel more ‘lived in’, eclectic…you know, a room that has evolved over time.  Often times pattern shows the personality of a space!

Having said this and thinking about Siona’s space’s design story, Eclectic, Modern, Sophisticated, Smart with a bit of free-spirited spunk, I knew I had a lot riding on the fabric choices for Siona’s crib bedding. Yes, the chevron rug was the first big step in the right direction, but that was just the start to something I hope would be great and special.  So, off I was searching for the perfect fabric.

Think about one of your favorite things to do and then times that by 10.  That’s me when it comes to looking at fabric.  I’m like a kid in a candy store!  Yes, it can get overwhelming, takes a lot of time and certainly one can get off track especially if you love fabric, color and design like I do, but keeping the end goal in sight is key.  For me, the goal was to find a fabric that addressed the free-spirited spunk and modern part of the design story.  (See, this is where a design story helps so much.  It helps you stay on track.)

In general, I use two guidelines helpful for combining patterns in a room’s decor. (In this case, it’s a helpful tip when looking at fabrics)

1. Use patterns that share a common color. It’s hard to go wrong if all the patterns in the mix share the same color, or a variation on that color

2.  Vary the scale of the patterns. Using a mix of different sizes of pattern motifs (floral with stripes or geometric shapes) adds interest, balance and variety to the mix

With that in mind, a guiding element for me was ‘the’ vase the inspiration piece.  The vase gave me the colors I wanted to focus on which were tangerine/coral and blue/green/turquoise.

Another guiding element was that I knew I wanted some kind of modern floral (free-spirited piece) mixed in with some geometric shapes (the modern part).

Here are three fabrics that won out and I’ll tell you why.   Firstly, it wasn’t an easy task (fun, but not easy) narrowing it all down.   I had approximately 18 fabrics in the mix at one point and narrowed it down to 10.

I knew right away I wanted the floral fabric noted here because to me it captured the free-spirited spunk of the design story, but with some sophistication.  I knew that this floral fabric was going to be the crib bumper.  Also, I knew I wanted to pair this up with some kind of geometric shape for two reasons 1) to offset the floral and 2) add the element of refined sophistication.  Ultimately, I landed on turquoise ikat fabric for the fitted sheet and the coral/yellow Moroccan  print for the crib skirt both of which pick up colors from the floral fabric, yet complimented each other.   The coral/yellow Moroccan print as the crib skirt was perfect because it contrasted, yet complimented the rug both in pattern and in color.

Voilà!  The crib bedding was born!  Tip:  I had a few pillows made with the extra fabric for the glider and also, because I love the floral print so much I had two standard pillow cases made for when we transition into a big girl bed.

Here’s a brief display of the 10 fabrics that I had in play at one time with some of the steps it took to get to the final product.   Great things take some time.  Design is a process, but one that should be fun.

Stayed tuned to Siona’s blog Series for the dresser and window treatment decisions!

xo

~ M