FRENCH WITHOUT TEARS

Stool cover by Peta Smyth. Antique Toile by Christopher Moore

   There are two problems with decorating a room with old toile - you could call it bedroom logistics. First, French beds were much narrower than the average English one, and secondly, some of the cloth is usually worn and faded (after all, the best is 18th Century and does wear a bit over time and you won't find much that is perfect all the way). I have found these good pictures of solutions created by Diane Berger, a decorator and textile academic. In the picture of her lovely four-poster bed she has inserted a band of white hemp (Pierre Frey) but it could have as easily been one of my hemp sheets (!) to extend a too -narrow bed cover. The pretty French chairs have toile on the seats but are backed with the checked Toile de Vichy which was often used for lining pelmets, and for extra curtains. The pinky red is a true Rose Madder shade and gives a little relief to the busy all -over toile pictorial designs. The curtains are in a repro. rosy design but have period pelmets. You will notice the dome of the shower has been decorated to match, as well as the luscious blooms and pinky satin bows for the pictures. This is an interesting example of classic decoration in the 90s - a far cry from the minimalistic fashions that followed.