Saltaire was built during the Victorian period, and this was my first point of research when it came to looking for suitable ‘colour pops’ to add to the foundation design of my textile piece.
According to period specialist www.victorianemporium.com, the Victorians loved to decorate their homes with bold pattern including damask, florals and animals; and after researching trends from this period it is clear that rich shades such as plum, burgundy, ruby and emerald were popular colours (Vaijayanti, 2022). Similarly, paint and paper specialist, Little Greene’s Heritage collection of Victorian paints includes dramatic names such as ‘Ashes of Roses’, ‘Dark Brunswick Green’ and ‘Pompeian Ash’.
Above: Using a colour wheel to help me choose a colour palette.
While my first visit to Saltaire made me think of a child’s play mat – possibly due to the model village, structured, grid-like streets and Salt’s paternal characteristics – I decided deeper shades of a simple red, green and blue palette would work well: crimson, forest green and peacock blue would be a nod to Victorian England, and the era in which Saltaire was built.
Above: This stunning Sanderson 'Tally Ho' fabric uses crimson and green together really well to deliver an eye catching Toile de Jouy.
Since my project is leading me to explore the home and interior textiles, I was particularly interested in current market trends for soft furnishings. Interestingly, many current designs are inspired by the Victorian era. Look at this fabulous House of Hackney chair, below, with colours not dissimilar to that of my chosen colour palette.
Above: Saber Andastra fabric from House of Hackney. It even has tassels, which I will look into in one of my future blog posts.
And I wondered about a more abstract take on the buildings of Saltaire using architectural lines over a core colour palette, below left. I love this Missoni Home fabric, for example, below right.
However, I am still drawn to graphic designs such as this monochrome wallpaper, 'Hampstead' by Little Greene. It is the wrong era, but I love the splash of houses in black print on white background.
Above: Little Greene's 'Hampstead' wallpaper is the monochrome look I think will look good in my fabric design.
I also considered a different colour for the buildings, since Saltaire was built using Yorkshire stone. I explored achieving this sandy shade using tea, which you can read about in my previous post on printing and staining.
Above: sketchbook study of Renaissance-style arch with sandy stone wall on a Saltaire building.
The sandy shade works well with the colour palette but I had to consider how it would look in Saltaire’s Wash House Garden, during the month of May: I decided black and white would have a greater impact than a shade of brown in a garden in full bloom.
After many attempts, see below, I also decided upon my final design for the textile background. This included adding grey sash windows to add depth to the graphic design.
Bibliography
Vaijayanti,
P M (2022) Victorian Fabrics and Colours. Available from https://victorian-era.org.
Accessed 2nd March 2023.
The
Victorian Emporium (2012) Various tips on Victorian-style interiors for the
modern world. Available from https://www.thevictorianemporium.com.
Accessed 2nd March 2023.
Illustrations
‘Tally Ho’ Toile de Jouy fabric. [Online image] Available on: https://sanderson.sandersondesigngroup.com.
Saber Andastra Love Seat fabric. [Online image] Available on: https://www.houseofhackney.com/uk/saber-andastra-velvet-rajasthan-love-seat.html
Missoni Home fabric. [Online photo]. Available from: https://www.missoni.com/gb
‘Hampstead’ wallpaper by Little Greene. [Online photo]. Available from https://www.littlegreene.com
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