I went fabric hunting the other day for the dining banquette that I have been dreaming about. I am totally sold on the idea of indoor/outdoor fabric. I love the idea that someone could spill red wine on it and that it won’t be a complete disaster. While searching, I fell in love with this black and cream La Perouse fabric from the Beacon Hill, Atmosphere II collection. Black and white, go figure! I actually preferred it in the navy colorway, but I don’t think that navy is the right color to bring into the dining room.I think that this fabric is totally fun, and (amazingly) it looks a lot like this, doesn’t it? Thinking it though, the dining banquette is my one color moment for the kitchen and dining room. I should use the opportunity for serious “Wow-ze-wow-wow, the color of that banquette is something else!” kind of comments when guests come round the corner from the main entrance.Our kitchen is an extra wide galley style room that opens into the dining area through a double wide doorway. As you’re well aware, we’ve got black-white bliss happening in the kitchen. You can see the dining room from the library area, which is charcoal, white, cream, brown, and beige. That room also has hits of orange, and pale blue too – as we repurposed the carpet and the orange sofa from the entrance area in the Soho apartment.Okay, back to the dining banquette! Below, we’re looking at Plum Blossom, a Plushy velvet by Perennials Outdoor Fabric. I love the color. It looks fantastic with everything else that is happening in the room. It even looks great with the green of the backyard behind it. I’ve always been fond of purple and green together!There are a few things I don’t like about it 1) Plum. We did plum accents in 2009 when we rented the apartment on Wall Street. Every time I look at plum it reminds me of those very nomadic few years. Not that they were all bad, but they certainly weren’t great. 2) Plum looks yummy with that hot orange sofa, but I am not loving it in combination with the blues in the library rug. I want all the rooms to visually tie into one another. 3) You can see the warp and weft lines in the weave of this fabric.You don’t see them in Plushy Noir, but for some reason you see it in the other colors they offer. It must have to do with the dyeing process – I seem to remember from school that black dye adheres differently to fibers. Or perhaps it is just how short the velvet pile is cut? Dunno. I love the Plushy Lime Punch color the best, but to me, this issue makes it look a wee bit shoddy in comparison to the Holly Hunt Great Outdoors fabric you see below.Oh my, this peacock color is pretty darn amazing, don’t you think? It picks up on the darkest color in the library carpet, and looks pretty hot next to the orange sofa. It talks to the painting that is hanging in the kitchen, and I even like the way it looks with the colors that I have the walls painted in the kitchen and dining room. I’m headed to the Holly Hunt Showroom later today to look at their other offerings. Perhaps I’ll find just the right green. And if not, I may have found a winner in this turquoise-blue!Images: My own, New York Times House and Garden

Posted by Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo / Dream Decorating and The Country House and Uncategorized