Chintz Bedroom

Chintz Bedroom

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How to decorate with chintz

Chintz is back (as if it ever went away) and looking better than ever. Here are some classic ways to use it from our archive

There is something unashamedly old fashioned about a good chintz. One look at the cover of the current issue with a chintz-covered living room by Nicky Haslam will show just how good it can look. Indian chintz fabrics first hit our shores in the 17^th century and their increasingly florid successors were highly favoured by the Victorians for their practical attributes - chintz is a glazed fabric, easily wiped down and dusted. These days the Oxford Dictionary gives two markedly different definitions of 'chintzy' - on one hand it can mean "of, like or decorated with chintz" but it is also used as a term to describe something "brightly colourful but gaudy and tasteless."

Why has chintz been so maligned? Perhaps it was over-exposure in the 1980s - every single issue of House & Garden within the decade is replete with glorious swags of the stuff draping windows and covering unashamedly frilly sofas. There are some rooms in which chintz looks instantly at home - traditional and otherwise stern sitting rooms can be softened by a touch of floral fabric, country bedrooms instantly prettified. We think it's time to fly the flag for chintz again!

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  In one of Nicky Haslam's latest projects – featured in the May issue, available on newsstands now or to download – walls, curtains and chairs in Rose Tarlow's 'Bloomsbury' chintz provide a floral backdrop for antique pieces including family portraits, a Chinese lacquered table, an Indian carpet and an Italian neoclassical 18th-century mirror. 'I had always wanted to do pillars in chintz,' says Nicky. The same floral glazed cotton was used to cover chairs too.

• Davide Lovatti

  A longstanding love affair with Mallorca led the owner of Bennison Fabrics and her husband to make a home there, and their translation of a classic English aesthetic to this new setting is a masterclass in pattern and placement. An armchair in the library is upholstered in Bennison Fabrics' 'Roses' linen.

• Simon Upton

  One of the guest bedroom at Bowood House in Wiltshire has walls covered in Colefax & Fowler's 'Bowood' design - a pattern named after this house with interiors by John Fowler. The same pattern features on the bed valance, headboard, curtains and chair upholstery*.*

• Jake Curtis

  This country-style living room styled by Gabby Deeming has panelled walls painted Farrow & Ball's 'Breakfast Room Green', a soft olive. An antique sofa has been covered with a loose cover in Colefax & Fowler's legendary 'Bowood' chintz. A trestle table displays an interesting collection of antiques including a vintage tole flower lamp and bust of Napoleon.

• Joakim Blockstrom

  Inspired by fabrics with floral motifs House & Garden decoration editors Gabby Deeming and Ruth Sleightholme created this pretty yet sophisticated bathroom. Farrow & Ball's 'James White' looks almost blue next to Soane's elegant maroon 'Paw Print' cloth, which is battened to the walls of the nook behind the Nineteenth-Century ebonized wood cabinet from Original House. The shelves are filled with cardboard bobbin reels - £8 each from Puckhaber Decorative Antiques.

  The homemade MDF pelmet is hung with curtains in 'Lady Mountbatten' by Hill brown at Turnell & Gigon, trimmed with 'Dolce Pom Poms' from Samuel & Son. The chairs are Robert Kime, while the Nineteenth-Century bath from The Watermanopoly is painted in 'Skylight' from Farrow & Ball. The lovely scallop-edged bath towels are from Balineum.

• Simon Brown

  At Ballintubbert in County Kildare, the main bedroom has been expertly dressed in gorgeous chintz - 'Le Grand Genois' by Braquenie, available from Pierre Frey. The intricate fabric looks well against the dark wooden bed frame, the crisp white sheets keep the look fresh.

• Sharyn Cairns

  The spare bedroom of Ben Pentreath's home in Dorset is painted in a soft blue. The full curtains are in Jean Monro's classic 'Bowness' design.

• Andrew Montgomery

  The wood-panelled library at Wardington Manor in Oxfordshire features a chintz sofa. Floral fabrics and motifs appear throughout the house, reflecting the passion of owner Bridget Elworthy, one half of garden design duo The Land Gardeners, whose new business venture into cut flowers is based at the manor.

• Mel Yates

  This bathroom in a West Country house uses chintz throughout. In the bathroom, the windows have been dressed in 'Geranium' by Colefax & Fowler.

• Lucas Allen

  Textured fabrics and vibrant rugs make this spare bedroom at Mount Aldigus enveloping and welcoming. The richly patterened curtains were made from a Manuel Canovas fabric while the quilted, embroidered bed cover from Chelsea Textiles.

• Simon Upton

  White bedding provides a crisp contrast to the chintz in the Lake Room of Bowood house; the curtain pelmet is in a traditional swagged style. In 1987, Fiona undertook the task of redecorating much of the house. Having trained at Colefax and Fowler, she brought with her the influence of its quintessential English country-house style.

• Simon Brown

  At Holker Hall in Cumbria, the bathroom overlooks the private garden. Notice the bathroom table; topped with glass, it has been dressed with 'Roses and Pansies' by Colefax & Fowler. Table skirting is an easy and inexpensive way to introduce pattern into a room.

• Mel Yates

  In this formal drawing, the walls have been lined with MDF panelling before being painted in a delicate shade of blue. Symmetry has been introduced through pairs of sofas, chairs and mirrors. The chintz sofa fabric is 'Maryport' by Warner Fabrics (now discontinued).

• Simon Upton

  This bedroom in Dorset has been painted in the owner's favourite dusky blue. The bed is upholstered in 'Christine' from Bernard Thorp. The clashing patterns are combined with different shades of blue, and the result is a real visual feast.

• Tim Beddow

  The bed seen here was given to the owner's father by his godfather, the legendary Edwin Lutyens. Curtains made from 'Fuschia' by Colefax & Fowler are the perfect complement to this stunning design perfectly.

• Tim Beddow

  At Shilstone House in Devon, the bed has been generously hung in 'Roses & Pansies' by Colefax and Fowler. This bold print sits well in an otherwise pared-down decoration scheme.

• Simon Brown

  The main bedroom in Diane Nutting's manor house in Wiltshire features a Colefax and Fowler chintz fabric from the 1970s, since discontinued. The sister-in-law of Diane's first husband was Nancy Lancaster, the owner of the company.

  Taken from the June 2013 issue of House & Garden. Additional text: Virginia Fraser.

• Lucas Allen

  Mount Aldigus is an estate on the gorgeous South Island in New Zealand. Numerous intricate patterns work well against bold red walls in this library-cum-sitting room, while a rug gives a cosy feel to the reading area. For a similar feel at home, use Colefax and Fowler's 'Casimir' for your curtains.

• Simon Brown

  On the four-poster bed in her 'mix and match' West Sussex manor house, Sophie Conran has an antique quilt from Garden House Antiques in Petworth, which specialises in English and American patchwork quilts from 1800 to 1920, and antique English and French textiles. Sophie has dressed her bed to perfection: beyond the bedding, the curtains are stylish and luxurious - try Manuel Canovas' 'Pavillion de Bidaine', available from Colefax and Fowler, for a similar look. The period print is paired with neutral paint colours from Farrow & Ball - 'Slipper Satin' for the walls, and 'Lamp Room Grey' on the woodwork.

Chintz Bedroom

Source: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/chintz