The right stripes
They’re summer favourites but stripes can work all year round, says Frances Childs
summeR’S the time for stripes — on beach towels, swimsuits and shirt dresses. They look equally bright, breezy and carefree in our homes and, as we show here, you don’t have to own a Nantucket beach house to embrace them.
COOL CHIC
We ALL have a striped tea towel, but what about a great big candy-stripe fridge? Billed as Fifties retro, the Smeg Candy Stripe Fridge, ( pictured, below right) is unabashedly flamboyant and fun. £1,599, ao.com.
According to Lauren Clark at ao.com, it’s enjoying strong sales. ‘We’ve seen an increasing demand for more vibrant, daring fridges,’ she says.
Jenny hurren, founder of online retailer Out There Interiors, has seen a 50 per cent increase in sales of her brightly striped chest of drawers.
‘People are having more fun with their interiors,’ she says. Arabelle French Stripy Chest of Drawers £1,075, outthereinteriors.com.
MODERN TWIST
IF The Arabelle’s vivid stripes are too flamboyantly fairground for your taste, then opt for a modern twist on a classic favourite by reupholstering an existing piece of furniture.
Seasons fabric from online retailer iLiv is inspired by the traditional Regency stripe.
‘We’ve given it a modern twist by using bolder colours and varying the width of the stripe,’ says Debbie Leigh, design manager at iLiv. From £33 per m, i-liv.co.uk.
Interior designer Amelia Carter advises using stripes sparingly.
‘It’s important that they don’t overwhelm. Try a striped feature wall or a pair of striped curtains, a striped rug or runner but don’t mix and match your stripes,’ she says.
Classic vertical stripes, while elegant, can be a little severe, she says. Soften them by choosing an undulating pattern.
‘A stripe with a little movement in it works well,’ says Carter.
FAIRYTALE LOOK
The designer, Abigail edwards, says she was inspired to create her hand- drawn Rapunzel wallpaper by the romantic fairy tale. The stripes on her wallpaper resemble flowing plaits of hair of different lengths and textures, £75 per 10.05m x 52cm roll, abigailedwards.com.
Ottoline de Vries, the Dutch designer who founded the design house Ottoline in 2010, believes that stripes have always been popular because on walls they create the illusion of space and depth. She says they’ve enjoyed a surge in demand because they are so versatile.
‘Stripes can be used to make bright, bold style statements or they can have a calming effect when used with other busier patterns,’ she says.
her wallpaper Composition No.4 features horizontal stripes within vertical ones, £ 165 per 900cm x 48.7cm roll, ottoline.nl.
FIRM FAVOURITE
JOhN Lewis is seeing strong sales of coastal inspired stripe curtains (Penzance Stripe Curtain £25 per m, johnlewis.com). The blue-and-white stripe is a firm favourite, but according to Siobhan Currie, textile designer at John Lewis, customers are trying new combinations. ‘ We’re seeing a trend for more confident approaches to pattern mixing within a room and stripes complement most other prints, from florals to geometrics,’ she says.
You can still get the benefits of stripes without them being wildly flamboyant.
habitat’s Coates collection, featuring strong bold stripes on rugs and cushions, has been so popular this year that they are introducing the design to bedlinen from early August. (Coates striped duvet set £110, habitat.co.uk).
PARED BACK
BOLD black-and-white stripes might feel overwhelming on a wall but, as a chic accessory, can look sophisticated. Try a striped table lamp such as the hudson table lamp (£165, darlighting.co.uk) or an acrylic chair in black- and- white stripe. The haku Acrylic Glass Dining Chair is £ 595, outthereinteriors.co.uk.
Of course, you can always fall back on that old favourite, a striped cushion. holloways of London has a cheerful yellow calico version for £45, holloways ofludlow.com.