yea or nay: chintz

for anyone who remembers the eighties, chintz may be a dirty word. I remember wearing a Laura Ashley dress and pearls as my sister's maid of honour, and my mother fretting because my hair was black, and half shaved, and I refused to remove my nose ring :) It was a moment. I despised the sweetness of those oversized florals back then, and never thought there would be a day where I would be embracing them. But lately, in clean hues, when used with restraint, a floral chintz is looking rather fresh. It started a few month's back, with Anna Spiro's pink curtains, (shown below), then  I saw a fabulous post last week over at I Suwannee featuring Carleton Varney, and began wandering around the house, looking for a spot to tuck some in!

If you'd like to bask in this vibe, a room wrapped in large florals is a brave leap into pattern and colour. Love the idea of using this as an alternative to tile for a backsplash in the kitchen - so pretty!

Not quite ready for wallpaper? Curtains require less of a commitment....

and pillows are simpler again.

(these aren't all chintz, exactly, but you get the idea :)

A patterned chair is a perfect exclamation point to a space.

and if a chair isn't quite enough, then perhaps something larger?

Small bits of chintz can be layered in with smaller pieces.....fabric on a frame? Do that all the time!

Although this is a little over-the-top, I do like the idea of an upholstered/wallpapered lack table...hmmm...

I think the key is to to avoid pairing chintz with country/shabby anything, because it is already such a "sweet" look.  It's the juxtaposition of chintz against clean lined-furnishings and hard surfaces such as mirror, metal and glass that make it modern. 

What do you think of chintz? Could you see any of this in your own space?

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