I like the first picture with the peony wall paper and that nice black chair. Some of the other patterns are lovely, but I have to say i don’t think they are well combined. Overall I find this place too chaotic and messy.

these are so nice, as if the weekend has been translated into decor. the yellow cupboard is splendid.

these are brill. as if the weekend has been translated into decor. the yellow cupboard is lovely, like a square egg.

these are brill. as if the weekend had been translated into decor. the yellow cupboard is lush too, like a square egg.

Wow! Lovely combinations! Thank you for the link :)

Oof way too many patterns that don’t have anything in common. Usually this style has something that ties them all together.

The top wallpaper would make great fabric for accent pillows. Love it.

Where oh where can I find the peony wallpaper?

I totally agree with you, patterns can be so wonderful! As somebody said : the perceptive pleasure deriving dall’ observation of patterns places in some point between the trouble and confusion
PS! Like your blog a lot!

pattern trainwreck…plain and simple….you have to stare at the gore out of sheer horror and spectacle. I do like the sheer orange pattern curtains in pic two though.

thanks n01uno… I couldn’t agree more!

yeah, i don’t know if i’d say these patterns go together, seems like they just used whatever patterns they liked. That said, i really like it.

those sheer curtains look so modern. Maybe this will be the new “in” length for window dressing in a bit.

I tend toward a little more pattern-harmony as well. Like this bedroom: http://www.livingetc.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=4411 Loads of pattern, but the color selection brings it together for me.

Wow. I agree with no1uno. I don’t like this at ALL. It looks old and dingy and haphazard. I would find it hard to believe that anyone put this all together on purpose.

blek.

i love spaces that are decorated according to the owner’s distinct taste instead of following a trend. these photos look very personal and comfy to me. i might not put all those elements together in my own house, but I can appreciate it… especially that bold poppy wallpaper! excellent choice.

I’m in awe of people with the gift to mix patterns beautifully. I know it’s right when I see it but when I start to do it I lose confidence and feel confused. These are interesting examples you posted. thanks.

adore the peony wallpaper. the black wallpaper by the bed looks too much like snakes! bad dreams. i think the idea that the patterns don’t “go” together is the whole point. bold. and it’s supposed to look old and dingy. this is refreshingly not trendy…yet.

I love it, but more in a normal people living kind of way than a brilliant patterns kind of way. I don’t think anyone put it together on purpose. I think someone is making do with what they have and making do nicely.

o.m.g. I am so happy right now…this is like candy for my soul.

ew. really? ew.

love this! mixed patterns never gets old! :[)

I LOVE IT!!!! Gimme that Poppy Wall paper, please. I think it’s at the very least interesting, and I really like the vintage aesthetic. Reminds me of a summer home and all the wondrous things that come with it. And seriously, where can I get that wall paper?

@RB: Seriously? It’s SUPPOSED to look old and dingy? That is a design trend these days? Oh, OK.

You know, when we moved into our first house twenty years ago, the wallpaper in all the rooms was equally as ugly as these. Actually, it was even worse, if possible. It WAS old and dingy, and even on the ceilings. It was a house built in 1909 (woo! 100 years old now!) and had not been updated since the 60s, I’d guess. There was old…oh, excuse me…’vintage MCM’ indoor/outdoor carpet all over the kitchen floor, too.

Sorry kids, but contrary to what y’all may think, not everything MCM was all good or even acceptable. A lot of it was just crappy and cheap, and still is crappy and cheap. Not all ‘nostalgia’ is worth hanging on to.

Wow, I feel better getting that out of my system.

I hate wallpaper in general, so I’m certainly biased, but this stuff reminds me of bedsheets my grandmother would buy. No, thank you!

wow, i am surprised at the lack of love for this. i adore these photos. it looks lived in, comfortable, cosy, inspiring. and real.

i’m going to link on my blog if that’s ok. it’s too gorgeous not to! and i will credit you of course, D*S :) love your work!

i love the bold pattern choices here – reminds me of summer/farm homes in scandinavia (where i am from). i think this is an excellent representation of a real space with personality and charm. this is a a great example of creating a beautiful space without following design “by the book”. one of the main reasons why i love d*s, is that for every sneak peek/feature that shows us current and classic trends in design, we get these very real gems oozing with character and life! well done for embracing the diversity!

I immediately figured this must be a summerhouse in Sweden, and it is! In Sweden the summers are short and most people ue their summerhouses for a maximum of four weeks per year and therefore I think, the focus of the stay is on relaxing and enjoying life rather than redecorating and renovating. Because of that, you often end up with a mish-mash of styles and patterns and stuff from different decades! For me, this “style” is so tightly connected to summer that it almost relaxes me just to look at them! This summerhouse is somehow a bit similar and I love it for the same reason:
http://50kvadrat.blogspot.com/2009/01/perfect-summerhouse.html

I’m with the “ew, really ?” comments.
It’s even worse than what I can see at my grand-parent’s.

Even though the house decor as a whole is a bit overwhelming, I do love the individual patterns, especially the poppy wallpaper! It’s beautiful.

I am glad I tracked back to the comments about this post from yesterday. I don’t like the combinations here at all and feel they have no place in a design blog – they are in fact the antithesis of design – forethought, functionality, beauty, flow, cohesion, intention. I am REALLY glad that Loora and .v. above spoke out about the context of this place, and now it all makes sense. The photographer documented someones personal, and I feel private, space where they go to relax. That being said, why is this space on a design blog – Flikr or a vacation blog maybe. Or better yet, design*sponge could do another wonderful guide on summer homes in Sweden…and their carefree use of found patterns and materials from across decades.

sorry Loora, I meant Emma. But I agree with Loora for sure.

I feel that inspiration (this is what this blog is for, right?) Can come from all types of interiors, even the ones that are not “designed” Maybe someone will get the idea of painting their kitchen in a bright yellow from this post or go out searching for poppy wallpapers. What I mean is that sometimes a scene or an interior can be really inspiering (by reading the above posts alot of people got inspiered by this one) despite, or just because of, it’s imperfections. I also think that interior photograpy sometimes is more about communicating a feeling than showing off good and functional design.

While I can appreciate that this is a much older European home that hasn’t been “done” in a while, these pictures remind me of a “Before” and I’m still waiting for the “After”

not to be sexist but I LOVE these, but there’s no way my husband would ever go for them. darn!
very, very pretty stuff.

oooh. patterny contrast love.

I agree with PJ… this looks like a photo session in some old trailer park from the 50’s after it was condemned. I suppose I see the kitsch value, but holy cow… don’t like this one bit!

Looks like an Anthropologie catalog.

no1uno – that’s crazy talk! ‘design’ is so broad and just because this is not your idea of beauty, doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong here. many of us DO find it beautiful.
besides, it’s jam packed full of pattern and colour and textiles, which definitely all belong on D*S.

and as for saying it lacks flow, cohesion, functionality… i think you need to broaden your understanding of design. have you not heard of baroque? Fluxism? postmodernism and deconstruction? not all design involves careful colour stories and white space.

Love it, a refreshing break from all those folks who have latched on to the trend of painting everything in sight white, including gorgeous antique dressers!

gotta add to my previous comment after reading all the disses this post is getting. I am a Senior at Parsons School of Design right now studying fashion…and sooooooo much of my inspirations come from interior spaces, whether they be tacky to some or elegant to others… I am now giving myself a challenge for my next homework assignment in my concept class and will use these images as inspiration. for a spring/summer 2010 collection..I think those of you who are disgusted by what has been posted, should be interested to see what I come up with…This will be very interesting!!! :[)

Why do these interiors this belong in a design blog? Simple: Because it’s GRACE’s design blog. She finds these rooms inspiring and she’s sharing them with us. (Thanks Grace!)

I have to say, in reading the comments one word comes to mind: bourgeois.

My guess is that those who are concerned about the lack of respectability in these interiors (described by one commenter as “trailer park”) would be much happier browsing through Pottery Barn’s website or the L.L.Bean catalogue.

There’s a long tradition in Europe of mixing and matching disparate patterns, particularly in English country houses.

But really, is nobody here familiar with the work of Peter Dunham or Marc Jacobs or Duro Olowu or Henri Matisse? I mean, really, these comments are just remarkable considering the sophistication of Grace’s posts.

This is effortless design and artistic expression. Beautiful. As a designer myself, I appreciate a lived-in design spread much more than a sterile, too-thoughtfully planned one.

I lived through this “style” in the 50’s and 60’s….it wasnt that great first time around! Sorry, but it looks like they are trying too hard to be “hip” (Do people still use that word???) Check out Jane Sassamans web-site and also her blog :http://www.janesassaman.com/homepage.html for beautiful combinations of contemporary fabrics. Scroll through old posts too

The top floral is gorgeous. It’s traditional, but has a really free flow. Love it!

Actually, I think I like the second blue and white pattern more–it looks like tentacles!

Well, what a hullabaloo! I think the images are absolutely beautiful, the context provided by Emma makes them more so. I have looked at them again and it’s the layers of pattern, colour and light that make them really inspiring and covetable. The poppy wallpaper is very lovely. I’d be willing to spend my summers there, no question!

Roxy- just cause we dont like the space doesnt mean we don’t appreciate different types of spaces :) I am excited to see what you’re up to- Please don’t feel like we wont be open to anything new just cause we didnt like this- There is a lot on this site that I love and hate- that just goes to show that we all have different opinions (thank god for that!)!

I think CLF is too sophisticated for all of us L.L. Bean fans… How about instead of insulting my opinion, you find a more dignified blog to name drop on? PRETENTIOUS!

How about if y’all just comment on the blog post rather than on other people’s opinions?! Thanks!

Personally, the last two photos remind me of the Laura Ashley phase I went through in middle school – not so appealing. But I find the first room with the wallpaper combined with all that natural wood just lovely!

This is my summerhouse, a 300 years old farm in a rural aerea of Sweden. My father has made most of the decoarations, we all considerd him to be colourblind. He was brought up under poor conditions unable to afford any luxery. So when he became a rich man he always wanted to overdocorate all the rooms in his farm. I have planned to delete most of his extravagances because I want to create a more relaxed atmomsphere, my Father was always “too much”