Toile

Do you like toile? I do and from what I can tell I’m in the minority because whenever I ask that question I get either a ”huh?” or a “eww”. Everyone's tastes are different and I think a toile pattern used in the right application is beautiful. Toile patterns remind me of one of my favorite paintings, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by artist Georges Seurat. 

I remember seeing years ago a Steven Sondheim play on TV called Sunday in the Park with George starring Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin. The play was a fictional telling of the lives of the people depicted in vignettes throughout the park as the artist painted his masterpiece. I enjoyed seeing their stories brought to life and it made me look less at the pointillism technique he used and more at the people within the painting. That is basically what toile prints are. They are stories told in little vignettes like in this cheerful Covington fabric called Lickety Split. 

Lickety Split

Toile fabric typically has a more traditional feel but in recent years it's become much more contemporary using non-traditional colors like this orange toile from Manual Canovas,

Manual Canovas

or this gray and yellow toile at House of Fabrics, 

Conservatory Charcoal

or this lovely aqua blue toile from Duralee.

Shanghai


My favorite by far is this toile print called Harlem Toile De Jouy by Shelia Bridges. Miss Bridges is an African American interior designer in New York who took the traditional french toile pattern and combined it with what she calls stereotypical African American life. It's a beautiful pattern and unlike anything I've seen before.

Harlem Toile De Jouy

If you still think you don't like toile I hope you can give it a second look. It's come a long way from  the pastoral scenes found on traditional toile prints. Today it's available in many vibrant non traditional patterns and colors like orange, purple, aqua, gray and chocolate brown. If wallpaper or a sofa is too much consider adding toile curtains, a couple of pillows or a lamp. They would add a nice touch to your room and a little can go a long way.