22 June 2009

Reader Survey: What do you think?

I have been encouraged by a new friend to be more regular in my postings - even if they are short and half-baked.

So with my brain working in slo-mo, this is my obsession of the day: "Del Rio" linen as a shower curtain in a deep teal bathroom. What do you think?

18 comments:

Name said...

Two things: one, fewer posts and well thought-out as usual and two, are you obsessing over this fabric because you love or you hate it? And, how big is the bathroom and how teal is teal?

I like your posts, as I have said before, so if I can count as a new friend let me oppose the suggestion made by the other new friend. You're a historian so half-baked don't cut it - if you don't mind a mangled metaphor.

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

I appreciate the honesty. Well-done - not medium rare - it is.

But since you asked, I sort of love the print, and sort of don't. It reminds me of MC's penchant for banana leaves and by whom I'm heavily influenced at the moment. The combination of blue and green is very MC as well. Teal as in deep turquoise - Benjamin Moore Thunderbird 675; and teeny tiny guest bathroom. I guess the question is do other people find it hideous as it will be in the guest powder room.

Mrs. Blandings said...

I love it, but I have a thing for big patterned chintz.

Blue said...

Ok, if MC liked it and you're under the influence it's still a matter of scale - is the fabric a block- or screen print. If block, then use the reverse as that will give you MC crossed with Monet. Otherwise, go full-tilt for the Second Empire. BTW first comment was mine.

Anonymous said...

It looks like Beverly Hills Hotel 2.0....I'm not digging it and am sure you can find a splendid MC alternative.

However, if YOU love it then go for it...it will make you very happy

Rose C'est La Vie said...

Emily, your fabric/teal combo is elusive. I just can't picture it. I want to like the banana leaves but somehow find the tones lower my spirits. You did ask!

As for the blogging, I think your half-baked will always be good. I've got writers block and wonder if it's from trying too hard. I might persuade myself right now to go off half-cock ... (that's a moreorless respectable expression where I come from.)

home before dark said...

We don't look to you for trends, half-baked etc. etc. etc. Don't post anything you wouldn't want someone else to use in publicity about you.

Regarding this print, if you sort of don't love this, I definitely think you should wait until you love love something. Maybe all decorating decisions should be on hold until MC is put to bed!

My personal view about the fabric is I'm not sure I'd like to trundle down the hall in the wee morning hours to the tiny guest bath that looks like a machete might be needed to claim the shower!

Anonymous said...

Hi there Miss EEE - I am finally posting a comment!! So... I really think (know?) that all the great decorators I have worked with would think this is beautiful. The deep colour of the walls with that chic fabric (a little retro if you will) will be very atmospheric and pretty!! Mr. B had the fern linen (yes, the one you love) which seems to be a similar scale as the above fabric that you want to use as a shower curtain in a teeny tiny bathroom and the walls were a deep caramel and my oh my it was so beautiful....Mrs. P would have loved it too!! (I just confirmed this one in a phone call)!! So the legends seem to agree and so do I. Do you need a shower curtain fabricator and a painter?? Signed - Your Paris friend xoxo

Toby Worthington said...

I think that "Blue"s reservations about daily posts were based on a desire to avoid having EEEs blog turn into Decorno. You know~"discuss among yourselves" sort of approach. Having said that, I guess I'm always up for a cozy hypothetical chat about decorating; and if that boldly printed fabric isn't one of many that confront the eye in adjacent rooms, then go for it.
A powder room usually allows for high drama. And, one more thing, I'd edge the curtain in dark red.

The Peak of Chic said...

I want to weigh in! What I'm most intrigued by is your choice of deep teal. Love that color and I think it's an excellent choice for a small powder room- so dramatic! I'm on the fence about the fabric, but the only reason I say that is b/c I'm usually not drawn to prints like this. If you like it, though, I say go for it. I certainly don't think it would look tacky or anything.

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Thank you all for the feedback. My obsession with Del Rio reached such a fever pitch last night that I ended up ordering it. It may very well end up languishing in my fabric closet, but, if not, I will definitely be edging it in red (Mr. Worthington, that was what I was thinking exactly!)

And Home After Dark (I just adore your comments), even though I have very much drunk the MC Kool-aid, I promise to steer clear of wig shops.

Jennifer, Mrs. Blandings, and Miss Beth, you have reassured me that the print is not reminiscent of a Beach Boys shirt - thank you!

Rose, the color combination is peverse - I think that's why I like it. and your comment about letting it flow even though it may be half-cock is so canny. This was an interesting experiment and it's been fascinating to see that people come here for a hit of history rather than - as Mr. Worthington says - a Decorno-like roundtable discussion.

So an order of design history, hold the shower curtains?

home before dark said...

Just wondering: are there MC fabrics available? If not, why not? A wonderful tie in to your book?

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Home before Dark, MC's fabrics are manufactured by Edmond Petit. In the States, they are distributed exclusively through Clarence House. We haven't started the layout of the book yet, but I'd love to incorporate the Lola Montez palmette somehow.... and maybe Coppelia for shower curtain in the other bathroom, although there is a Lulu dk I'm contemplating or a Sister Parish fabric....

balsamfir said...

I almost bought that on your fabric fabric website last week, but decided to restrain myself, since I've been trying to work with the 1820's in the rooms I'm shopping for now. I love deep teal rooms, although I don't know if that will or will not go with the fabric. But since you've already ordered it, you can see it in person and then get the paint. The fabric reminds me of the Jungle Book film, one of my early childhood favorites. Regular postings are nice, but if they make you crazy, announce breaks. Everyone else does.

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Oh Balsamfir, thank you for sitting on your hands - I think I would have been devastated if Del Rio had disappeared, but for $15 a yard, how could I blame you! (And this is why I have yards and yards of fabric taking up valuable space!)

soodie :: said...

What about glossy white walls to match the ground of this fabric and have the boldness of the print make the statement? Add a large fanciful, unique mirror over the sink. And some sort of small saucy chandelier or sconces flanking the mirror.

option 2: the Ben Moore teal/turquoise-y color with another maybe more muted pattern for the shower curtain.

Am I off?

HOWEVER! I'm a big believer in following your gut and doing what you love. You can always repaint if it doesn't suit you.

Emily Evans Eerdmans said...

Soodie, that sounds very fresh and chic. The walls and ceiling are already teal/deep turquoise so I might as well give that a try first. And, alas, I live in a rental which already has a huge mirror - very 60s - embedded in the wall which I'd have to sledgehammer to get out. To be honest, the whole thing would have to be gutted to make it swelligant, which is why I painted it a dark color, so that it would be more cave-like.

Anonymous said...

boring...white...walls...