Dallas Blog | Material Girls | Dallas Interior Design

Last weekend I saw She’s Out of My League- which was a pretty hilarious rom-com, I must say!

How could you forget the infamous scene where Kirk meets Molly’s dog and family for the first time? (oy, oy oy- poor Kirk)

While the whole crowd was roaring in laughter at this encounter, I was busy gazing at the paint color and wallpaper in Molly’s apartment.  (oh, the visual distractions that come with being an interior designer!)

I couldn’t get enough of her large scale floral wallpaper that was used as an accent wall and I also fell in love with the taupey-gray paint color on the surrounding walls.

Her paint color got me thinking about some of my current projects, in which I’ve been specifying this color a lot lately (as a paint color and in upholstery/pillow fabrics)

This color is quite amazing in that it doesn’t go completely warm/brown, but it also doesn’t go completely gray, which can come across as cold and uninviting.  It really is the perfect happy medium and can be used in any type of space- more contemporary or more traditional.  It all depends on what you pair it with!

Right now I’m working on a residential office/guest room project that will primarily be used by a male.  We wanted to stay pretty masculine and modern with the fabrics in this room and decided to incorporate charcoal, white, icy blue, and that good ole taupey gray in his color scheme.

As luck would have it, Duralee had the perfect fabric to tie my whole color scheme together.  I’m using this Cobalt Sapphire fabric on large pillows on a charcoal sofa.

{Duralee- Cobalt- Sapphire}

Today my mission was to pick out the perfect taupey-gray upholstery fabric for the coordinating side chair.  I returned with about twenty fabrics (but immediately eliminated half of them).  Just like most neutrals, taupey-gray fabrics can be difficult to select since they can have all sorts of undertones  (and can look either more pink, gray, brown, or green) so it’s really important that you select the best match for the space.

{My taupey-gray fabric options- this is only the half of them!}

After much deliberation, the winner of my taupey gray challenge was Pindler and Pindler’s Marlow-Greystone!  (one of their new fabrics)  It really was the best match to the taupey-gray in the Duralee fabric.

Moral of the story- don’t get distressed.  The right fabric with the right undertone is out there somewhere!  As they always say, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince…I guess the same philosophy can apply to neutral fabrics! (just don’t experiment with too many frogs, or you’ll end up like me with a million fabrics to return to the design district!)

Today’s mission was to find an inexpensive solid green fabric to coordinate with this Pindler and Pindler print.

This vivid, multi-colored fabric is going to be made into a duvet cover for a child’s bedroom.  The client didn’t want to go too matchy matchy and do shams out of the same print, so my mission was to find a coordinating green solid print that we could use for the shams.  I was hoping to find something retail and readily available so that I could get the shams produced relatively quickly and inexpensively.

First stop of the day- Childress!

If you live anywhere near its three locations (Dallas, Addison, or Frisco) you must visit Childress when in need for  economical and readily available fabrics.  I am partial to the Addison location as it is newer and has more up-to-date fabrics than the downtown store.

Most of their fabrics range from $5-30/yard and they have a huge selection.  So needless to say, I always have good luck here.  And not to mention, if you are into trim, they have a huge department of anything from tassels to tape.

Come and take a virtual peek!

The Greek key is everywhere at Childress- on tape trim, on fabrics, on furniture pieces- you name it!

But why spend hundreds of dollars on a greek key fabric from the design district that could be obsolete in a couple of years?  This hot trend of the moment is everywhere and I’d rather spend $12/yard on tape trim or $15/yard on greek key fabric than breaking the bank for something that I might want to sell on Craig’s List in a few years.  Just my opinion!

They also have a bunch of graphic geometrics.  Black and white as well as brown and white- lots of contrast here!

My favorite Childress print of the moment has to be this brown and cream, brown and green, or brown and blue (comes in lots of colorways!) soft geometric.  I can see this on a chair, as drapes, or as an accent pillow.  Don’t even get me started. I am going to have dreams about this fabric tonight!

I thought this fabric below was nice and different- you don’t seem magenta, orange, green, and brown together a lot.  It’s so refreshing to see something wild and different than the run of the mill overdone blue and brown combo.

Oh gray, how I love thee.  Is it just me or has gray not made it to the retail stores just yet?  I mostly see it down at the decorative center.  A few weeks ago I had to find a really inexpensive gray sofa fabric for a client and it was near to impossible!  I was very surprised Childress had this gray and white fabric in such an updated print.

Childress wouldn’t be Childress without a faux Imperial Trellis fabric!  Kelly W. would be so proud! They are really on top of things there.  Too bad this wasn’t there about a year ago.

They even have ready-made drapes in 96″ and 120″ lengths.  I love how they have the really long panels- you often don’t see that in retail.  You mainly see the 84″ and the 96″ lengths- but not here!  I actually have some of these panels in my own bedroom.  All you need to do is add blackout liner to them, perhaps some inverted pleats and sew a little tape trim to the edges to add interest and voila! Drapery panels that start at $49 each- what a bargain!

I purchased this fabric to make drapes for my sister’s dining room at a store (that will remain nameless) and it was twice the price there.  Childress had it for half that.  They also have this fabric currently at Ballard Designs.  Small world!

Can you tell that I love houndstooth?  Wouldn’t this bright pink one be adorable in a little girl’s room?

I can imagine these colorful zebra prints in a child’s room also.

Bolts and bolts and rows and rows of fabric.  You need to plan for at least an hour here! Don’t worry, I came back twice today.

Below is my second favorite print at Childress (that I have actually seen at the design district before).  It’s so nice that you can just take this fabric home with you the very same day you see it- instead of having to wait for it to ship to you from a warehouse halfway across the US.

Whimsical circles print…

My third favorite print from Childress. (I know, I certainly do have a lot of favorites here!) This suzani inspired red, brown, cream and grayed out turquoise is such a steal! $12/yard!

Another colorway and its coordinates…I think I like the red version (above) better.

They even have furniture that they can upholster in any fabric.  This chair on display reminded me a lot of Designer’s Guild.  (However, I think it would look sharper stained an espresso!)

Ok, back to work.  Wait, what am I even here for again?  Oh yes, mission: green fabric to go with the Pindler print.  This green proved difficult to find- I did find one candidate but it was a little more muted than I would have liked so I held off on it.  But for $14/yard, who can complain!

Childress

15201 Midway

Addison, TX 75001

Studio bon, based in Dallas, is a collection of hand-printed, personally designed textiles by former interior designer, Bonnee Sharp. 

 

{Bang}

I first heard about Bonnee’s fabrics from an article in The Dallas Morning News and most recently learned that her fresh and fun fabrics are coming to Schumacher (what was once only available online, will now be available in each MG city)!

{Knit}

 

{Grass}

 

{Ellen}

{Fuzz}

 

{London Bridge}

Take a tour of her fabulous home here, where you can see a bunch of her textiles in action!

Quatrine in Dallas recently got a makeover!  The exterior couldn’t be more perfect- a simple lantern, beige and white wide stripes, and a gray and white awning makes for a classy storefront.

As you can see, Quatrine tends to be on the more feminine side (which is of course why I love it so much!)

Slipcovers and skirted tables galore…

What I loved about their recent makeover is how they put different wallcoverings and paint on each wall- highlighting each vignette.  As you can see on the wall in the background here, they covered it in a map print.  (and how could we overlook that gorgeous bold red pillow in the foreground!)

So enamored with this piece!  Individual silver frames were put together to create one large map.  Maps are such a great alternative to the traditional piece of art.  They are definitely very hot right now!

Their artwork is one of my favorite things about Quatrine.  So unique and so pretty.

You know I can’t resist a beautiful tufted piece!

I spy the twig table! I love this sectional trimmed in a contrast welt- everything works so well here.

Quatrine has drawers and drawers of fabrics that you can pull out and choose from (kind of like being at Victoria Secret but so much  more fun!)

Even their desk area is adorable! Everything is so soft and calming in this showroom- I could definitely live here!

More inventive artwork…but this time, they used leaves

Now can you see why I love Quatrine!  If you are in Dallas, be sure to go take a peek at their new renovation at

3120 Knox St.

(excuse the awkward spacing in my post- technical difficulties!)

I tend to frequent the Kravet showroom in Dallas at least once a week!  I always seem to have such good luck there in finding the perfect fabric for a client.

While on a memo sample shopping spree the other day, I came across the most beautiful fabric- it consisted of a soft turquoise and brown leaf print embroidered upon a crisp white linen background.

{Herbarium- Mineral: 30352/1635)

And what do you know, it is a fabric by the distinguished interior designer, Barclay Butera!  I could not get this fabric out of my head all week.  It became the jumping off point for an entire room design for that client.

I  must say that all of Barclay’s fabrics and rugs for Kravet are so completely stunning…and the fact that he has also selected a forty color palette of paint from Benjamin Moore that will complement all these textiles, makes them that much more appealing!

His paint colors are organized into four divisions-

Beach (i.e.: Ben Moore’s Blue Toile 748), City (i.e.: Indian River 985), Mountain (i.e.: Great Plains Gold 1077), and Town & Country (i.e.: Krisp Khaki 234).

To learn more about these fabric divisions and get further Barclay inspiration, be sure to read his book, Living in Style.

Here are a few additional photos of Barclay’s Kravet fabrics to get your creative juices flowing-

These to me are such calming fabrics.  They aren’t loud or overdone in the least bit.  Fourth from the left, is my fabric crush- Herbarium.

Now let’s just hope that my client selects the color scheme that had Barclay’s Herbarium fabric in it! (fingers crossed!)

And one more photo for the road…Barclay’s Tufts for Kravet Carpet.  How great would this look with a bit of chocolate brown?

{Photos via Kravet, Inc.}

I just found out that my favorite Duralee ads were styled by Eileen Kathryn Boyd herself! No wonder I liked them so much.  Eileen has a great eye for color and all of her designs are very vivid and full of life.  I can definitely now see the connection between her work and these ads.

Bravo Eileen! Keep the colorful ads coming- they liven up the pages of some of my favorite magazines.

Seacloth fabrics are at Lee Jofa! These bright, colorful, and whimsical fabrics seem to represent every outdoor motif “under the sun”.  There’s no mistaking that with these textiles, your house will radiate summer cheer year round!

Who needs vacation when we have fabrics?

For all of you designers out there who frequently use Robert Allen as a fabric resource, this post is for you! I recently discovered some new info about a collaboration between RA and Sherwin Williams!

How did I come to know about this? Well, it all began the other day when I was at their showroom selecting green fabrics for a client.  I said to Judy (who works there)…”I wish I had brought my paint samples with me- then I would know exactly what green to look for!”

{since I had such a specific green that I needed to match…almost an army green….it would have been very helpful to have had the paint swatch to match to their fabrics}

I know what you are thinking- a designer not bringing paint samples to match the fabric? Well I was technically matching the fabric to a patterned Cole and Son wallpaper but wanted the green paint swatch from the adjoining den for reference since it was a larger swatch…anyway Judy looked at me and said “you know we have collaborated with Sherwin and now have a library of paint colors here!”

So there you have it- a perfect example of how this new addition to their showroom could have really come in handy in this situation (too bad the swatch I was needing was a Ben Moore paint) however,  I use Sherwin just as much so their new resource will really be nice to have! (especially those days when I’ve run out the door without grabbing my paint samples!)

So, in a nutshell- the Robert Allen fabrics are meant to coordinate with Sherwin’s paints.

For instance, their Hydrangea collection is set to match a few different paint colors (one of which is SW6961 Blue Beyond)

Their Leaf Collection goes with SW6710 Melange Green

Their Terrain collection matches SW6076 Turkish Coffee

And their Tulip collection matches Cherries Jubilee- SW6862

I’m sure you get the picture by now!

On another note, Robert Allen has also partnered up with The Shade Store! More info on this exciting new partnership here.

I recently came across Mally Skok, a very talented interior designer in Lincoln, MA.  Not only does she practice design, but she also designs fabric! (a favorite topic of MG)

Her fabrics are unique and colorful…prints that could certainly make for a happy and comfortable home.

Mally is no stranger to fabrics- she had a mother and grandmother who knew how to sew, knit, AND crochet!  Mally learned their techniques and eventually began making her own clothes as a teenager.

Her favorite kinds of fabrics are those that are antique and tribal.  A trip to India inspired her first collection.  Right when she got home from her trip, she pulled out her watercolors and let her imagination and inspiration take over! The rest is history as they say.

I love the colors she uses in her designs- very fresh and up to date! Can you believe these fabrics were all produced from watercolor paintings? Mally must be one talented artist!

This linen is GORGEOUS- the pink adds in an unexpected, fun element.  I am loving all that texture!

All fabrics available by the yard.

Next up for Mally is an African collection (which is drawn from the country of her birth and childhood years).  Can’t WAIT to see!

Introducing Heidi Pierce Fabrics for Bradley Hughes…

Drumroll please!

{Heidi Madison Chair Greek key White Blue}

They are 100% heavy cotten sateens available in shades of gray, blue, green, and brown.

So lovely!