Stripes have always been an obsession of mine. There are photos of me as a chubby, blond toddler on the steps of my grandparents’ house in an epic, brightly striped sweater and jumbo cords, living my best Seventies life. Perhaps it started then.
Regimented columns, bands and broad strokes are a centuries-old decorating trope, used throughout history to delineate and make things look, well… taller, wider, narrower, shorter, thinner. They’re one of the most versatile graphic devices in the hands of anyone tackling an interiors scheme. Timeless, too; they can pivot from feeling classical to contemporary as needed, and work perfectly in a variety of settings.
They appear numerous times throughout this, our annual spring decorating issue, from being a key motif used by the Expressionists that fuels our moodboard inspiration via a vibrant Naples apartment and as a subtle detail used by artist Daniel Buren in the Maltese home of designer Francis Sultana. They are also a recurring element in the first furnishing-fabric and wallpaper collection from couturier Giles Deacon, who I was lucky enough to interview recently.
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Giles’s designs are heady, fabulously theatrical mixtures of classical florals, bold graphics and unexpected details, all united with the skill and pace of someone used to creating a show. He is eloquent about the transportative power of colour and pattern, and this idea of the intrinsic escapism of our world stayed with me long after our chat. It’s a sentiment that resonates in the creative examples found in Volume 9 of ELLE Decoration Kitchens, the special magazine bound onto this issue, where you’ll also find vibrant shades and decorative exuberance used to boost the heart of the home.
I’m not going to sugar-coat reality and, in a time of wars, political turmoil and economic uncertainty, you may think it frivolous of me to bang on about stripes, but all of this still serves a purpose.
Like scent, specific colours, patterns and materials can transport us from the gloominess of the here and now to happier times real or imagined, whether that’s to a grand stately home, an Oliver Messel-designed stage set, a gallery taking in a Kandinsky or even a sunny step in the Midlands in 1979. So go on, decorate. It will help, I promise.
