Inspired By: Soft Color, Old Details + A Little Pattern

Photo via Pillar and Peacock

Lately, I keep coming back to rooms and details that feel collected rather than decorated.

Soft, slightly dusty colors. Materials that show their age. Woven textures, old stone, warm brass and pattern used in small, unexpected ways.

None of the things I’ve been saving lately are particularly loud on their own, but together they’ve started to form a very specific mood.

Photo via Haddy House Interiors

Soft color

I’m especially drawn to blues right now—the kind that are a little gray, a little faded and difficult to give an exact name.

I love them even more when they’re paired with something warm or imperfect: aged brass against blue-gray cabinetry, for example, or a soft blue pattern alongside natural woven texture.

It’s also showing up in my own work. I’ve been playing with small checks, dots and other simple patterns in these quieter shades, and I love how easily they can live alongside more traditional materials.

Photo via Gunter & Co

Things that get better with age

Old stone. Weathered wood. Brass that has lost its shine. A stack of firewood that becomes part of the room.

I think what I love about these details is the imperfection. They make a space feel as though it has existed for a while and will continue to change.

Even something as simple as woven hats or baskets hanging together can add that feeling. Useful things become beautiful simply by being left out and lived with.

Photo via Sean Symington Interior Design

A little pattern

And then, of course, there is pattern.

I’m always drawn to it, but lately I especially love seeing it used as one layer among many rather than as the entire story of a room.

A patterned bathroom surrounded by otherwise simple finishes. A tiny check mixed with something woven. Florals against old stone.

It’s that tension I keep coming back to: something refined next to something weathered, something patterned next to something quiet, something new alongside something that feels as though it has always been there.

Photo via florist Larry Walshe

Even the white flowers spilling around Villa Cimbrone felt connected to all of this when I saw them—the softness and abundance against all of that old stone.

Maybe that’s the common thread in everything I’m saving right now: soft color, old details and a little pattern.

A few things inspiring me lately, and inevitably finding their way into what I’m making.

From my studio: wallpaper (Sea Garden which is coming soon) and textiles Archie and Corraline

Shop the Inspiration
A few pieces I found that capture some of the same things I’m drawn to right now—soft blues, woven texture, aged brass and a little pattern. Note: all links are affiliate links.

Antique Brass Frame - brings in the old brass detail + Small Woven Rattan Baskets for the collected, natural-texture feeling.

This handpainted porcelain vase feels collected and slightly traditional. These Antique Brass cast Iron Candle Holders look a lot more expensive than they really are.