Vanessa Arbuthnott fabric photos and pictures of Roman blinds
Here are pictures of our most popular fabrics in room layouts, shot in 2020, as well as Roman blinds outside window recesses, all to inspire you.
In 2020, we were able to have two photo shoots; one at my home in Cirencester, and the other where we ventured out and achieved a proper week-long photo shoot in a beautiful old house near Ludlow. Both were done using a skeleton team who all adhered to social distancing and Covid safety rules. Although there were restrictions, it didn’t limit our excitement to see one another and be creative!
My team and I spent four very creative days in Ludlow, decorating, arranging and finally capturing the rooms in these images. It’s amazing how much work goes into constructing these room sets…and then they only exist for an hour or two…once photographed they are disassembled and packed away within minutes. Selecting the location is integral because the home reflects our fabrics as much as the fabrics do themselves. The process starts with a recce to a few houses, looking for the perfect windows, floors and architecture to suit the particular fabrics we are showcasing. Photos of specific angles of rooms are taken, along with measurements being noted of both windows and curtains poles. On our return my stylist and I carefully choose a house and the preparation starts!
The next stages are good old fashioned drawings, coloured in with crayons by my genius stylist. In these drawings all the fabrics and furniture are illustrated and then specified. Our workshops then beaver away, making all the blinds, curtains. sofas, soft furnishings, chairs etc…a few months later when we return to the house the drawings are brought to life and re-created almost exactly as she imagined them. You can see some of them below.
These photos mainly showcase my floral designs from the new Botanical Collection, but also include some fresh images of old favourites too, like Cow Parsley, Up in the Air, and Plain Dotty.
A cosy corner, full of my new designs including Dainty Daisy – Field Green, which can be seen on the pelmet and window seat.
This has got to be my favourite room. This attic room resonates with me because all of our bedrooms at home are in the cosy roof space. Red and blue are a timeless combination and can be used to decorate both children and adults rooms; the Up in the Air eiderdown is now on my grandson’s bed!
This Smoke and Hay room, is centered around Rose’s beautiful still life painting. I gave her my fabrics and she created paintings especially for the photo shoot. This room shows you a Roman blind outside the recess, where the smoke blue in the design matches perfectly with the Gypsy Garland – Smoke, on the Chedworth Sofa.
Doesn’t this Spotty Stripe wall covering in Limestone look perfect with the stone flag floor? A feeling of neutrality and calm is created by teaming it up with the pair of Danish chairs and a pop of colour from the Cube Footstool in Branching Out – Teal. The front cushion is in Pretty Maids – Limestone, Smoke, Winter.
Do you have to work from your spare room? Here is a simple table that doubles up as a desk and offers peace and quiet in a sunny window. These gentle curtains are made from my new Fallow Deer, the eiderdowm from Scandi Stripe – Cool, and chair cover from Up the Garden Path in Dove. The pleated rectangular cushion in made in Pretty Maids, Limestone, Smoke, Winter.
Here we are…which headboard do you like best? My Sculptured headboard shape is so French don’t you think? I love it and feel it creates a very elegant feel in this room. You can see another of Rose’s still lives on the right of the bed with the Sculptured headboard.
I also love this beautiful antique bedroom chair in Fallow Deer in Cornflower, which refers back to my favoutie bedroom shot!
This is a pastel drawing I did on an arty holiday on the west coast of Scotland with my daughters…Rose made me draw and paint every morning and Flora made me try my hand at Shibori!
My turn!
I redecorated two rooms in my house, a sitting room full of books that we grandly call the library and my kitchen…gosh isn’t it hard to make decisions?
I am thrilled to bits with ‘French Grey Dark’ from Little Greene, which I have used to paint all the woodwork and walls in my library room. I have teamed it up with my new Herbaceous Border Detail fabric in Damson, Lily Pink, Field Green and Clay. It has really worked and has the effect I was hoping for of creating a drawing room from a bygone era.
First we are in the middle of replacing the single glazed French windows we bought 25 years ago in Lapeyre in Calais with double glazed modern windows and doors from Scandinavia! Meanwhile I am trying out sample pots of paint around the room. I think I am going towards Farrow and Ball’s Red Earth for the kitchen base cupboards and I am now looking for a gentle off white for the top cupboards and walls…Pointing is too white and Lime White too cream…
I am keen to keep a colour from my hall flowing on into the kitchen. The hall floor and woodwork are painted ‘Powder Blue’…so I think my Smoke or my Powder Blue will be the colours to try.
I have shared the process and outcome of my kitchen renovation with you through Instagram and Facebook.
We sell fabrics exclusively designed by Vanessa Arbuthnott, along side small, bespoke collection of Made to Measure items which includes curtains, blinds, sofas, footstools, chairs, headboards, and quilts, all handmade specially for you by master crafts people.
