My TV room ottoman has a new life and a bright look thanks to a repurposed vintage tablecloth. I repurposed a vintage tablecloth — natural linen with royal blue cross stitch embroidery — to recover an ottoman and I love the stunning result. The tablecloth was embroidered by my step-aunt Jeannie and my mom may have passed it along to me. While clearing out things in my basement … [Read more...]
Suzani Season
Renamed “artisan-made finds,” centuries-old suzani textiles are launched as “new” for fall. See the lovely flowered textile draped over the back of the velvet-covered Chesterfield sofa in the foreground of this living room? That's a large suzani textile and if you look carefully you can see a pillow in a similar pattern on a chair to the left (just behind the lamp). Back in … [Read more...]
Suzani Textiles
Handmade suzani textiles from Asia bring history into our homes. I first noticed Suzani textiles in magazines three years ago, and purchased a pair of pillow covers on eBay. A month later they arrived wrapped in handmade brown paper. The rolled customs form traveled safely tucked under twine held by a brown wax seal nearly 7,000 miles to reach my doorstep. Intrigued, I was … [Read more...]