DESIGN DUO TILTON FENWICK LAUNCH CAPTIVATING AND COLORFUL FABRICS WITH DURALEE

Photo courtesy of Traditional Home/Francesco Lagnese

Suysel dePedro Cunningham and Anne Maxwell sit in Suysel's bedroom, recently featured in the February issue of Traditional Home. Taking inspiration from their frequent travels, friends and family, the duo capture an upbeat sensibility in their exuberant designs. I feel so lucky to have gotten to know these outstanding women whose energy and enthusiasm light up any room they enter.

Photos courtesy of Duralee

Their ad to launch the collection features the detailed leafy floral, Cecilia

Naming fabrics after family, pets, favorite destinations and design industry friends, the design duo of Tilton Fenwick recently debuted their colorful line of textiles with Duralee.  Captivating and colorful, their prints have an old school sensibility, call it early-Pierre Deux-and-Pierre Frey-meets-Porthault. These "Curators of Chic" ( a tag line they named their blog),  hung out their designer shingle in 2010, naming their firm after the dorms they lived in at Boston College and Tufts, adding to the throwback charm of their stylish sensibility. Their innate color sense and pattern mixing confidence comes from working for color masters. Anne Maxwell worked for the charming traditionalist Ashley Whittaker and classically-minded Brockschmidt and Coleman; Suysel dePedro Cunningham for the elegantly sublime designer Markham Roberts. Being tapped as one of the top 20 New Trads by Trad Home/Lonny Magazine in 2011 helped get them noticed. That same year they received the IFDA Rising Star award.  

 If you think it is unusual for a design firm to get a fabric collection after being in business for a little over three years, you'd be right. It is an incredibly honor to get the chance to design an entire fabric collection for a major fabric house, no matter how seasoned the firm. Yet the energetic designing women did not disappoint-- their collection is filled with incredibly detailed prints, knock out color pairings and a sensational artistic flair. 

Photo courtesy of Tilton Fenwick

Their green and blue interior at the Hampton Designer Showhouse in 2011 put their young traditional style and talent on a bigger stage. Known for their love of original color combinations, their playful custom upholstery details make their interiors truly one of a kind.

Photos by Trevor Tondo/NY Times courtesy of Tilton Fenwick

Devotees of social medial, the gals have done everything right to connect with the design community, as well as drive a design dialog through twitter, Facebook and real life interactions.  Supporting charities like DIFFA's Dining by Design,  Housing Works Design on a Dime, and The Ronald McDonald House, they got involved early on and remain actively involved, attending industry events and lectures that support their fellow designers. Last February, their talents were captured by a major newspaper- giving them an even larger following than they could have ever hoped for, when Foster's gut-renovated Brooklyn home was featured in the New York Times. Her living room features a bright melange of gray blue and pink with touches of black and gold. 

Photo courtesy of Patrick Cline

A cozy bedroom designed by the duo in Cunningham's upstate New York home. You might notice the walls in their peacock motif.

Photo courtesy of Traditional Home/Francesco Lagnese
Showing how to engage with their vibrant mix of scale and pattern, Cunningham's New York City apartment bedroom is done up in a wonderful melange of their prints, recently seen in Traditional Home and on her Instagram at @TiltonFenwick. It shows how prints and patterns can be mixed to create something totally fresh and unique.

One of the first things Tilton Fenwick did before launching their firm was come up with a logo that spoke to their brand and was personal to them. Created by artist Victoria Molinelli, their two-toned watercolor rendering of a peacock is a signature moment with playful appeal.

Chilvers in Mint and Red is a wild and exotic garden scene

Gibbie in Coral. J'adore this all-over climbing floral in soft colors paired with blues

From top: Olsen, Paboreal and Tally in the coral color story

Cecilia in Coral

The Prussian and Spruce color story with Geniesse, Lenox, Scout and Cecilia

Sissy, one of my favorite prints, in Cactus. I'm already eyeing the coral and teal color way for pillows to go on my teal velvet sofa

Eze Stripe, Cecilia and Parboreal, named after their company logo, a circular Peacock

Jax, Rocat and Paullu

Rocat in Multi can be used in a multitude of creative applications

My namesake! Maris, an oversized radiant paisley

Maris in Currant

Jax, a playful all-over print in Bordeaux

Geniesse, a ditzy floral stripe in Sea

Maine in Mint and Red

Miraval, named after the duo's favorite spa, in Coral

Soskin, an animal-inspired spot print of cut and uncut velvet.  The color palette  fills a need in the market with its appealing off color combos.

ALESSANDRA BRANCA FOR SCHUMACHER: REINVENTING THE CLASSICS FOR TODAY WITH A DOSE OF THE UNEXPECTED

A fuschia and grey palette

Sensational red and blue

Acid green and taupe

Alessandra Branca  sitting on a velvet upholstered banquette

Reinventing the lexicon of historical, classic design fabrics, Alessandra Branca's debut collection for Schumacher takes the iconic damask, toile and chintz to new heights. Exploring the boundaries of vibrant color, dramatic scale and classical techniques, her collection centers around her particular brand of inspired chic.  Her affection for daring pattern, as seen in her floral not-your-grandmother's-chintz, bold chinoiserie, and signature red and white thick and thin stripes, are now available for any designer's vision--  the application and interpretation is up to you.  

After speaking with Branca, the Chicago/Rome/New York-based interior designer, about the creation of her Schumacher collection, I got the sense this was a labor of love from the start. As in her interiors, no detail is overlooked.  The designing process involved copious amounts of research into the history of toiles and damasks, and a creative back and forth to arrive at the final assortment;  the fabrics arose from a desire to create what every room needs--a stripe, a damask, a fabulous print. "The most fun part of the process, Branca noted,  "is to have an idea in your mind's eye and then see it come to life." 

Never one to shy away from color, the Rome-raised designer has become known for using red and it has become a signature in her layered, antique-infused interiors. Channeling her worldly travels  (which she shares on her wildly popular Instagram and Pinterest pages), she has one foot rooted in tradition, while the other pushes forward into modern living with comfort and color.  When asked about the inspiration behind the designs, she shared, "I wanted to bring joy and quality and create classics with a twist. That is the principle behind everything I do. In a world of taupe, I wanted to put something out there that you can have fun with. It puts a smile on your face. It tips it's hat to the past but takes charge in the present. " These re-worked fabrics with a modern sensibility would be equally at home on an antique Louis XVI bergere or a modern Italian clean minimalist piece. After I wrote this,  I spoke to her about it, and she said she just upholstered an Egg Chair in the floral chintz.  The decidedly robust color stories are "a play on masculine and feminine colors together, they just feel different, these color pairings."

Photos courtesy of Schumacher
The yin yang of bold prints with strong stripes in a seating area

The collection standout is this oversized toile. The pattern is then embroidered over in a contrasting color. It can be used in fun ways- from cut out pillows, to headboards. "I looked at all the toiles out there," she said, "and created something modern that incorporated wonderful hand-work, doing the outline embroidery adds some kick. "

Continenti, a Linen/Viscose blend  in Rouge and Noir 

Continenti in rouge and grey 

Continenti in Rouge 

Dudley Chintz in Rouge with Andrea Velvet Strie in Rouge and Branca Stripe in Rouge

Branca Stripe, of cotton in Rouge

Branca Stripe in Fuschia 

Branca Stripe in Noir 

Branca Stripe in Prussian Blue 

 

Dudley Chintz in Rouge 

Dudley in Prussian Blue

"Four years ago I started to research chintz. I could not find anything I liked. I wanted to create a clear color palette- and reinvent it. It is fresh, like a breath of fresh air."

Coromandel, a Toile Chintz in a Glazed Satteen in Prissian Blue and Rouge. The color combination feels new.

Coromandel in Rouge and Noir

Coromandel in Fuschia and Grey 

L'Indienne, a linen print next to Dudley Chintz, Coromandel Chintz and over- embroidered  toile, Continenti

L'Indienne, printed on linen,  in Rouge and Prussian Blue 

L'Indienne in Rouge and Noir 

L'Indienne in Fuschia and Grey 

Corallina, made of a Linen and Viscose blend, in Rouge 

Melograno, a robust printed Linen in Greige and Rouge 

A serene corner amped up with red, white and blue

Sophia Diamond, a Linen and Cotton Weave in Rouge 

Melograno in Rouge and Blue 

A vivid mix of stripes and prints in blue and red, Branca Stripe, Coromandel, Dudley Chintz and Elizabeth Chintz

Elizabeth in Rouge. If you are a fan of psychedelic color, this print is for you

More pattern play, featuring Alexander Tartan, Anna Linen Damask, Strie Silk Velvet and Elizabeth Chintz

Melograno in Rouge

Elizabeth in Rouge and Grey 

 

The acid green is one of my favorite colorways. Unexpected and vivacious, the color is cheeky on a chintz

Acid Green invigorates the adapted classics further. Corallina, Elizabeth and Anna

Elizabeth in Acid Green 

Corallina in Acid Green 

 Anna, a Linen Damask in Acid Green