Snow has been our muse this winter. And a sunny day reminds us that sun on snow can be dazzling!
Metallics provide a similar glitter and as we’ve seen in fashion, metallics are ubiquitous in both day and evening attire. Sparkle has spread to the world of interiors. Fabrics, wallpapers, even carpets are using metallic threads to give a little bounce to embroidery, patterns and surfaces that are usually thought of as matte.
Take a look at these new fabrics and wallpapers, they provide glitter and shine. Some are a little tongue in cheek and others simply drop dead gorgeous. Stark Carpet has given new life to some traditional, well known patterns by weaving metallics in with wool and nylon.
If you have metallic threads dancing through your window treatments be they sheers, draperies or even solar shades the light will be intensified as daylight shines through. So think through how much reflection you want. Metallics on a South facing window might be blinding but it might be just what you need to softly amplify daylight for a North window.
We’ve just seen two trends collide in a wallpaper by Thibault. Ceriman on Raffia is a large scale, all over leafy pattern, printed in gold metallic on Grasscloth. Grasscloth is really back in vogue and provides a variety of organic textures as background for printed patterns. The patterns can be printed in colors or now, in metallics. The metallics when printed on this surface provide a good juxtaposition, organic feel, metallic glam. Another source for metallics on Grasscloth is Phillip Jefferies.
(pls. use the Thibault, Ceriman on Raffia wallpaper visual here.)
Metallics in rugs or carpet is really unexpected and a very new trend. Traditionally rugs were woven with wool or cotton. In the last 20 years, silk has been used, particularly in Tibetan rugs, to give a carpet sheen. Metallic threads add glimmer, highlighting or outlining a pattern without adding much color. Depending how the light plays on the surface of the carpet the pattern will shine. An ordinary trellis pattern now looks like a ladder to “the promised land”! And metallics wear, well, like iron!
If you would like to try a bit of sheen in your home without a big investment check out the Benjamin Moore Studio Finishes. They have a variety of paints and glazes to play with. Check out the options at Kawer’s in Tuckahoe on Columbus Ave.
So when the snow sparkles, imagine how nice it would be to have a little sparkle throughout your house all year long!
