New York, New York part 2-D & D Shopping

A big part of each trip to New York is a day spent at the D & D Building shopping for fabrics, trimmings, and wallcoverings for client projects. Although I now live primarily in Atlanta where there is a to the trade design center (ADAC), with the exception of Travis & Company at ADAC, I still prefer to shop at the D & D since I know the building like the back of my hand. I worked in the building for several years and know all of the showrooms and the staff in the showrooms. I shop the building for a day and get all of the samples shipped to me.

Waiting on them to arrive is like waiting on Christmas to get here! And yesterday saw the arrival of a few of many u.p.s. packages that will appear on my doorstep over the next week. Here are some of my favorite collections I discovered on this trip to NYC:

F. Schumacher never disappoints with the collaborations they do with leading designers. I found to die for fabrics by Lulu DK, Trina Turk, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Celerie Kemble, and Matthew Patrick Smyth including these:

Lulu DK (Lulu de Kwiatkowski) is an artist first and foremost so her fabric collections always have a painterly quality. Although this collection is billed as "Lulu DK Child", many of the fabrics are so perfect for non-childlike room. The fabric shown above in 2 color ways is called "Cha Cha". You can see that it is essentially a painters brush strokes design. I would love to do curtains in this fabric in a beach house bedroom or den. The white fabric with two shades of blue dots is basically an updated version of the Hinson & Company classic "Spatter-Blue/White". Lulu reinvented it in blue and navy embroidered dots on white cotton/viscose ground. It is called "Skittles-Blueberry and Sky". And the FAB tape trim/curtain border is called "Twixt". I have proposed the middle color way as the border on white curtain panels for a bedroom in a Michigan lake house project I am working on.

California fashion designer Trina Turk designs my favorite outdoor fabrics. Always chic and graphic and with a modern twist, the collection at F. Schumacher is fantastic. The above trio is being presented to New Orleans clients for their new screened porch and patio furniture. Shown above left to right are "Trellis Print" in dune, "Zebra Print" in dune, and "Arches Print" in orange.

One of my favorite patterns to come out in the last year is Martyn Lawrence-Bullard's "Adras Ikat" in color way Caravan. I think it is one of the chicest patterns to appear on the fabric scene in a long time. I have proposed it for curtains in the den and kitchen of a Lafayette project. I hope she goes for it! If nothing else, maybe we will do pillows like this one available on Etsy for $ 95 for 20 x 20 pillow

here is the link to purchase the pillow:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/99741822/20sq-schumacher-adras-ikat-pillow-cover?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_includes%5B0%5D=tags&ga_search_query=ikat+pillow&ga_page=1&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery

I am always on the hunt for great geometrics for pillows and seat cushions. Designs by Celerie Kemble and Matthew Patrick Smyth, both New York City interior designers,  fit that bill perfectly.

Here is Celerie Kemble's "Betwixt" in six color ways:

and Matthew Patrick Smyth's design "Durance Embroidery" in Limestone, Mineral, and Greige samples are on their way to me:

oh, ROMO, how I love thee!

Although I have done many interiors with a primarily neutral canvas, color is what I love. I can't stand an all neutral room so even if a client prefers mainly neutral, I always sneak pops of color. The design team at the UK based brand are brilliant colorists. Here are a few of my favorite designs that I scouted for client projects at the D & D Romo Showroom:

I am in love with this design called "Picus". From top to bottom, colorways Zinnia, Nougat, and Rocoto would add great pop of color in a room. Pillows and/or curtains in this fabric would be tres chic!

I need a traditional print for a pair of chairs and dressing table chair in the master bedroom of a project in Michigan. For me the design needs to be traditional but with an updated color palate, not Grandma's chintz. I am presenting the above four fabrics to select from. Clockwise from top left corner: "Floriane-Cerise", "Marguerite-Cinder", "Mikado-Porcelain", and "Mirabel-Cerise". I personally hope they go for the "Mirabel-Cerise"! I really like the chartreuse birds on natural linen grounds with the pop of Cerise color.

For a New Jersey client's living room, I only need one more fabric to make pillows for a pair of chairs. I am presenting these three fabrics by Romo as options for client to decide. The Chinoiserie print is called "Samsara Vintage" and the FAB geometric is called "Haring". If you know art, then you will know that the design is based on Keith Haring's paintings.

To say that I was thrilled with the Spring Collections I saw in New York last week is an understatement. I saw so much happy color. Enough of all neutral and black and white!

For more information on any of the above items, contact me.
FYI, in the South you can find F. Schumacher and Romo fabrics at to-the-trade design centers in Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas or through a design professional.