The Spice of Life
Established in 1886, Thibaut is the one of US’s oldest continuously running decorating firms, available from Jacaranda Carpets & Rugs at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour. Its latest collection, Ceylon, is just the kind of fresh, hopeful design that’s needed right now, with bold colour and a lively approach to pattern.
These charming fabrics and wallcoverings take the traditions of India, Thailand and other South Asian destinations as their starting point, with many inspired by original archive documents. ‘Indian Panel’ fabric (above left) was influenced by an early-19th-century Indian design, depicting block-printed flowers bound by a grid of delicate pattern. Available in six colourways, it has a companion wallcovering, ‘Indian Flower’ (just seen) that simply depicts the central motif on a plain background.
‘Mulberry Tree’ (above centre) is a stylised tree design available as both a fabric and wallcovering; the mulberry tree is considered sacred in India, recognised as a symbol of nature, faith and growth – perfect, then, for injecting an optimistic feel to a scheme. ‘Kingdom Parade’ (above right), meanwhile, has a more folk-art look: taken from an an antique ikat from Thailand, it depicts parading horses and elephants amid traditional temples.
Pretty small-scale prints complement these bolder designs, including a delicate leaf silhouette, ‘Ferndale’, and ‘Piermont’, a hand-printed basket weave,
Tim Burles, Thibaut’s managing director, Europe, introduced the collection as part of Focus/20’s virtual programme: view the presentation here.
