• Home and Introduction
  • A day in the life of an interior designer design journal
  • Faux Fortuny Pleats
  • Florence Broadhurst Cushions
Design Digest Journal
Contact me at:

A day in the life of an interior designer

Musings from the desk of an interior designer and design educator. How do I spend my time and  what do I find interesting? This is a photo of my design studio which is set in the garden of our Californian Bungalow. It gets plenty of natural light and has lovely views of our garden. It is also the repository of many of my books on design. Yes that is an old Imac that I am very attached to. I still do much of my graphic layout work, for projects on this machine, but internet and auto cad  I do on my MacBook Pro that I take everywhere with me.

go to Design Digest

The Essentials: Calico

15/6/2015

 
Picture
Calico curtains feature in my 'kitchen library' in our country house. The cream colour reflects lots of light and suits the pale coloured furniture. A greek key border adds definition.
Picture
The cushions on our garden seat are screen printed calico. Doris finds them very pleasing.
There are many essentials to my life, but I thought I would talk about one in particular : calico. This is such a versatile and affordable fabric. Honest and practical, it adds a noble note to a room. It has many  uses not only for furnishings including  making toiles or patterns when creating clothes. Christian Dior used it as interlining to stabilise and add structure to his costumes,  and of course it makes great dust covers for protecting furniture. I like to use it for curtains and blinds and also as curtain linings. It drapes well and you can use generous quantities without feeling guilty about blowing your budget. Many years ago a client asked me to stencil a Greek key border onto some calico curtains to dress the windows in her antique shop. They were very successful. Stylish yet affordable. When I was creating the kitchen library in our country house I thought I would repeat the idea. Calico works with both modern and traditional furniture. I also like to have a few meters put aside in case I am feeling creative. You can print, dye or stencil calico to create sumptuous fabrics as well.
Picture
The cushion and seat of this stool is dyed and stencilled calico.
Picture
Calico as an anti animal device, well not very effective but it does help keep the blankets clean.

    Author

    Hi I am Elizabeth  an interior designer who lives in Melbourne, Australia in a little Californian Bungalow cottage with my partner, Max, who is also an Interior Designer, and our beloved furry children, Doris & Ernest. I believe that design can make our lives more rewarding and productive. I love, architecture and design theory but my everyday passion is fabrics and decoration, as I don't think we should get too serious but have fun with our homes and enjoy the process of creating our own environments.   I am interested in classic cars, and collect Georgian and Mid Century furniture.

    Archives

    July 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    November 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    Affordable Fabric
    Afternoon Tea
    Afternoon Tea Set
    Antiques
    Architecture
    Art Deco
    Ashley Hicks
    Auction Room Finds
    Bathroom Makeover
    Blue And White
    Blue And White Tea Set
    Blue And White Toile
    Braid Details
    Buffalo Check
    Cashmere
    Chinoiserie
    Chinoiserie Plates
    Chinoiserie Printed Linen
    Chinoiserie Toile
    Chintz
    Classic Rooms
    Colefax And Fowler
    Convex Mirror
    Cushions
    David Hicks
    David Hicks Fabric
    Design Classics
    Design History
    Dining Room
    Fan Edge Braid
    Favourite Room
    Fler Day And Night Sofa
    Fler Furniture
    Fortuny Fabric
    Georgian Mirror
    Gilt Mirror
    Glass Topped Table
    Glazed Walls
    GP & J Baker Linen
    Grand Tour
    Greek Key Border
    Green Colour Scheme
    Hand Printed Silk
    House For An Art Lover
    Ikea
    Ikea Billy
    Ikea Cupboards
    Imari Plates
    Interesting Bathroom
    Laundry Renovation
    Leather Bound Books
    Leonard Joel Auctions
    Liberty Of London
    Linen Fabric
    Martha Stewart Ribbon
    Mid Century Furniture
    Modernism
    Morris & Co
    Morris & Co Wallpaper
    Paint
    Painted Floor
    Paris
    Parker Furniture
    Pierre Frey Fabric
    Pink And White Toile
    Pleated Silk
    Porters Paints
    Pussy Cat Raft Extruder
    Quadrille Fabric
    Redecorate Living Room
    Red Sitting Room
    Red Walls
    Roman Blind
    Rosenthal Tea Set
    Sitting Room
    Stencilled Border
    Stencilled Screen
    Striped Cotton
    Sunburst Mirror
    Teak Furniture
    Textile Archive
    Tortoiseshell Handle
    Umbrellas
    Updated Antique Chair
    Victor Hugo
    Victorian Chairs
    Warner Fabrics
    Warner Textile Archive
    Willow Pattern China
    Winter
    Winter Sitting Room

    RSS Feed

About Us

Design-Digest is created by the design team at Crichton Interiors. All images used in this site are photographed by the author unless referenced.

Company

Crichton Interiors was established in 1958, in Melbourne. 

Our Services

Working in both traditional and contemporary interiors, we specialise in designing and producing hand made soft furnishings as well as offering a full design service from documentation of concepts to schematic and working drawings. Incorporating antiques and artwork is our speciality.
Contact us at: crichtondesign@bigpond.com

Picture
contrast lined contemporary styled curtains
Picture
Werribee Park Mansion drawing room featuring specially commissioned silk damask