Autumn Fabric Palettes
Written By Frances Healy •
I adore autumn – as the days get shorter and cooler the plants take on new personas – the deep greens of the late summer begin to fade and new colours bounce life into our gardens and hedgerows, ripening into warm gold, russet and amber tones, our skies become a disordered fusion of blue and sepia.
Colefax & Fowler Autumn 2019
I often find with this seasonal transition people being to consider their homes again, maybe it’s because we find ourselves spending more time inside sheltering from the elements, perhaps with the kids back at school we get a bit more head space or maybe feeling refreshed after a couple of weeks exploring quaint villages in the Mediterranean we are ready to embark on a new challenge – whatever the reason – autumn brings a yearning to revive.
Even after 30 years as an Interior Designer, I still feel the thrill and excitement of a new project, a new build or a new room revamp – the new people and families I get to meet, the new personalities, the new ideas. In preparation I eagerly wait for the fabric houses to launch their autumn collections, ready to help my clients bring new life into their homes.
This year, I travelled to London to attend Focus, one of the most exquisite interior design events of the year – an opportunity to soak up the creative excellence of the fabric trade and take a sneak peek at the product launches about to hit my doorstep. Fabric is the paint palette to our business and what better way to find design inspiration for the months ahead.
Autumn clearly isn’t lost on the fabric designers either – the burnished red of this beautiful linen is warm and dramatic - the expressively coloured and classic designs from Colefax & Fowler are complimented by soft and tactile textures within the fabrics, perfect for warming up a room in the cooler months.
I stumbled across this vibrant embroidery, the combinations of oranges, yellows, pinks and deep reds in this striking fabric from Baker Lifestyle is a fiesta of colour – living up to its name – set on a deeply coloured backcloth, it reminds me of fireworks, the perfect fabric to brighten up a bedroom chair or headboard.
I fell in love with this stunning fabric, its big and bold and would make a striking headboard, over-scaled cushions or dramatic curtains on a long drop. The gorgeous use of burnt orange in the chevron detail brings so much opportunity to work with the other autumnal shades.
I saw so many enticing fabrics in this season’s collections, inviting colours and tones perfect for brightening up a home through the winter months ahead – I can’t wait to get stuck in!
Frances
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Frances Healy
Interior Design Director
Frances Healy Interiors Ltd
About the Author: Frances Healy, Interior Design Director, Frances Healy Interiors Ltd
Frances has spent her entire career working in premium luxury residential properties across the whole of the UK and also into mainland Europe, the United States and Caribbean. Having completed Art School, Frances joined Charles Hammond Ltd on Sloane Street in London where she carried out her apprenticeship working as a junior member of one of the Design Teams. Her experience in classic period houses and riverside apartments during the 1980’s and 90’s within London and the luxurious country estates of the home counties, gave her a training, knowledge and address book, which is still with her today.
Returning to her home in the South West 20 years ago, Frances now heads up her own Interior Design business where she can still be found in prestige properties in the exquisite seaside towns of Salcombe, Fowey, St Mawes and Rock or high on the moors of Bodmin and Dartmoor still working her magic, still loving her trade and making many, many old and new clients very, very, happy.
Frances lives in the Southern Tamar valley right on the border between Devon and Cornwall with her husband and their beloved spaniel Barney. Weekends will be spent boating, walking the beaches (come rain or shine) or pottering in her greenhouse.