1970s sofa chair fabric pattern

I created a new pattern for the fabric shown on the 1970s sofa and chair and this pattern is displayed in the images above in a little more detail.

The 1970s period was full of innovation in patterns, much of which reflected the forward-looking artwork of the day. However, in my view, the patterning on furniture remained less innovative and drew more on classic, mid-century styling. For that reason, I created a pattern which is a simple, mid-century floral.

Have I make the pattern larger, and perhaps bolder than would have been appropriate in the early 1970s? Perhaps I have because I also had an eye to making this product look more appealing to a modern-day audience. Does that mean that it would have been less interesting if it were being offered for sale at that time? In my view, purchasers would be just as excited by the look created by the pattern and the way it emphasises the dimensions of the sofa and the chair. However, perhaps you might say that I would say that wouldn’t I!

If you wish, you can also see larger versions of this and, of course, my other designs and patterns for interiors on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

1970s Sofa And Chair

Although I create and show here patterns, I am also interested in mid-century interior design and in the look and feel that was generated in the United Kingdom during that period of time from the 1950s until the early 1980s. Looking through some old catalogues recently, I came upon this design for a sofa and chair which looked so mid-century that I just had to create it.

The furniture was available in either teak or white wood and the illustrations above show both examples. But not only was this so mid-century, my immediate thought was that both the furniture and the small units would look perfect in a modern living room.

As you will probably know, I am not a fan of wooden floors and so I created a small room which is fully carpeted and I have, of course, used my own patterns for the carpet, the upholstery, the wallpaper and the curtains. These patterns were designed to look mid-century but they were also designed with an eye to the present day and I believe that a room decorated like this could exist in a modern house. I will, perhaps, show the patterns that I have used in a little more detail later.

If you wish, you can also see larger versions of this and, of course, my other designs and patterns for interiors on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

Floral Wallpaper Aff600

The mid-century years in the UK generated some exciting patterns that were both new and very different to the patterns that had gone before. This was largely due to the emerging pool of young talent would go on to change the way patterns are produced for the next several decades. However, it would be wrong to think that this was a time of great general change because the patterns that had been developed from the previous decades were still there and still very much in demand.

This design is a simple floral wallpaper pattern which would still have been popular mid-century and for many householders it was the type of pattern that they would have preferred on their walls.

The design is, I suppose, mid-century but equally looks back to turn-of-the-century ideas although the colouring places it very much in the United Kingdom in the 1950s or 1960s. I have to be honest, I never was a great fan of floral design although, to be fair, I have enjoyed creating this and in order to balance my output of work I will try and create some similar designs in the future.

If you wish, you can also see larger versions of this and, of course, my other designs and patterns for interiors on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

West Avenue Stairs

West Avenue is a project that I did some time back for the 1966 house but here we have the house more up-to-date and decorated in a much more modern style. I wanted to keep the walls looking plain but without using a flat and uninteresting painted surface and I therefore designed this pattern specifically for the walls of the room.

The purpose of the design is to give the walls an interesting and textured look which would work with modern ideas and modern designs but which also would create a little life and interest to the wall by creating this dimpled effect. The carpet, which is also the main feature of the room, is a pattern that I created some time back and which I felt would go well with the walls and would give the staircase and the interior a rich and inviting look. I have used the carpet pattern both on the carpet downstairs and also on the carpet on the stairs and it would, of course, run across the upper landing.

I have not created these patterns as fabric or as objects but if anyone would like to use them please send me an e-mail to miket (at) midcenturystyles.com and we will see what can be done.

These images are necessarily quite small but you can see much larger images of this, and my other designs and patterns for interiors, on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

Sur La Beach en bleu

The last room was quite personal and various people suggested that perhaps I should, as I normally would, simply choose a theme for the room and redo it again. Blue is a colour that I like and which, for no particular reason, I tend not to use to any great extent so I thought I would create a blue room and see if my use of patterns found more favour.

The wallpaper and the sofa fabric are both Belle Epoque 2 patterns and, whilst the sofa fabric is designed to be very regular, the wallpaper was created with a slight jink in the pattern which takes the eye and relieves the monotony. Both the curtains and the carpet are variations of old patterns that I have done before and serve to provide pleasing decorative features to the room.

In this design the walls and carpet are light while the sofa and curtains are dark and the furniture in the room is painted white. An interesting alternative is to colour the furniture, perhaps a midnight blue to match the sofa, although this does create a rather sombre look to the room.

I have not created these patterns as fabric or as objects but if anyone would like to use them please send me an e-mail to miket (at) midcenturystyles.com and we will see what can be done.

These images are necessarily quite small but you can see much larger images of this, and my other designs and patterns for interiors, on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

Sur La Beach Part 2 – The Finished Room

I thought, as I had done this with the previous room, that I would show you the finished room showcasing the wallpaper, designs for the curtain fabric and sofa, as well as the carpet.

The final result is very different from the look of the previous three images which showed plain walls and then similar, walls but where the plain surface was broken up by a surface pattern in order to provide decoration and relief from the unbroken, solid, plain surface. The decoration that I have created is very personal and reflects the way that I would like the room to be presented. The walls, curtain and window provide a sweeping mid-height surface which is light while the floor, carpet, sofa and furniture provide both light and dark areas with interesting colours and designs.

I have not shown the ceiling in this view but I would have intended that it was finished in a simple white paint although it would be quite possible to experiment with a painted ceiling.

The view outside is from an area near Nice in the South of France where the colouring is light and subtle and the days long, pleasant and warm and these have influenced the way that I have chosen to finish this room.

I have not created these patterns as fabric or as objects but if anyone would like to use them please send me an e-mail to miket (at) midcenturystyles.com and we will see what can be done.

These images are necessarily quite small but you can see much larger images of this, and my other designs and patterns for interiors, on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.

Sur La Beach Part 1 Easy Wall Covering

This is a project to look at a way to create a wallpaper that mimics the look of a painted wall but which takes that look further by giving the wall an identity and feel that make it much more interesting and which help to bring the room to life. So many modern rooms have single, neutral walls which create that now standard boring, clinical and somewhat drab look as though they were rooms on a university campus.

These images show an upmarket apartment living room with the walls painted in a bright, light neutral colour and then the same room with wallpaper in two different Belle Epoque 2 influenced patterns but which echo the colouring so that the overall look of the room is not changed. What is changed, however, is the feel and ambience as well as the character of the room both for the homeowner and the visitor.

Both of the two images where wallpaper is used in the room seem to have a much more decorated and planned look and both of these images, to me, look more homely and make the room seem more inviting. It is not often that comparisons like this are made and it is very interesting to compare the three different images and see how one feels about each one. Perhaps then you can choose which one is the one that creates the room in which you think you would feel most at home

These images are necessarily quite small but you can see much larger images of this, and my other designs and patterns for interiors, on my Flickr page, a link to which is here.