Pattern master class.

If you haven't already coveted Ilse Crawford's work in a magazine shoot, hotel, home or store, then you must have missed her name in the credits! Ilse is an amazing designer from England, that started her career as the launch editor for Elle Decoration UK many moons ago. These days she is called an interiors guru, and her business called Studio Ilse creates a brand of designing that is clean, modern and nostalgic in feeling....
This sense of style can be gleaned from her mood board that surrounds her in this image above, taken from UK decoration January 2005 { hence this article coming from the tiny archives!!} Her inspiring images come from travel, nature, and past memories...
And speak of the past... a lovely example of Ilses' love of nostalgia can be seen in a remodelling project that Ilse completed a few years back for Ye Olde Bell Coaching Inn - in collaboration with 6a architects in Berkshire England - that was featured in Australian Vogue Living August/September 2008.

Ilse said that she 'wanted to create a warm and welcoming 'home away from home' for travellers passing through...To make it feel like a place that they belong to'.
Interesting approach don't you think?

Why I was drawn to this particular story and wanted to share it with you was use of patterned fabric in the interior spaces of the inn, a theme that I seem to be featuring A LOT this month!

It's unusual to see such bold use of pattern in a public dining room..{seen in this image above}. Slinging large pieces of fabric over these big, dark, wooden booths is ingenious...

It creates texture and life in an area of the pub/inn that can be dull, uniform and heavy. Many pubs try to appeal to what they think a man would be comfortable relaxing in. But this room is bright and modern while still using many traditional materials and details, that you would usually associate with a masculine space.

LOVE the image in the box on the top right of the page.

It is a small detail shot of one of the inn's bedrooms.

The warm textures on the bed look so inviting, and i love the use of red in the radio sitting on the old stool. Its spartan but not cold or unfriendly.

You can see more images of this space, along with many other projects from this amazing designer, on the studioilse website that is well worth a tiny browse.

..........

And if you need just ONE MORE FIX of ingenious use of pattern play...

.... look below ...

.... at the beautiful detail from the Marni Fall 2011/2 collection that was shown in Milan just a few days ago...

I love fashion designer but rarely talk with you about it on this tiny blog!

But today I could not help myself as i fell in love with this collection and the use of the Octagon print in all manner of ways! From clothing, accessories, wallpaper and flooring, it was wall to wall pattern madness by Marni head designer Consuelo Castiglioni...

Beautiful and inspiring...

Images courtesy of Elle Decoration UK, Australian Vogue Living + Style.com