Primrose Fabric: Yay or Nay?

I haven’t sewn anything yet… I just draped the fabric over the curtain rod.

Possible New Curtains

I don’t think it looks bad. True, there is no yellow in the fabric, but I think it looks fine next to the stairway color.

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132 comments

  • Where is this white chair and ottoman from!? I love it and totally want to buy it for my front room! I just popped over from a link on This Young House ~ I think you have super fun style!!!

  • I realize you posted this a while ago, and have probably made up your mind already, but I wanted to throw my hat in the “I love this look” ring! Why does everything have to be so matchy matchy?

    PS Love your blog!

  • very nice, i think the dog makes the room.

  • ellis

    YAY. Pull it together- if anyone can do it, you can. I actually think it pulls in with the rest of your house better than the previous look.

  • pamela

    I too so prefer what you showed first in this spot.

  • Paula

    I vote nay on the fabric. If I were shopping for some fabric for that space, I’d consider a colour to contrast with the mustardy yellow – something like teal or powder blue, perhaps with rectangles in the pattern to echo the doorway shape and the bookshelf gemetry, or maybe a simple pattern from nature like cow parsley shapes or willow.

    Love your blog.

  • Yay! Yay! Yay! Please use that fabric – the combination and surrounding colors blend very well! i love it!

  • Lulazan

    I’m in love with your dog. Its just like my dog.

  • eh. i think you can do better.

  • I love the fabric and think it works quite well there even though it doesn’t match your yellow wall color…you know, they don’t have to match. It does compliment your dogs coloring quite nicely :)

  • Rachel H.

    I say nay- I love the fabric- perhaps make a pillow or something with it? I just adore the curtains you had in there before- :)

  • Christina

    After over a hundred comments you might not really need another opinion…but I vote “nay”. The fabric is beautiful, but I don’t think it works next to the wall color and the wall texture. A pillow or a piece of it in a frame somewhere near by seems better to me.

    Your house is so pretty! I love all the pink!

  • I love the fabric but not in the space, I would leave it there a few days and feel it out. By the way your dog has grown quite a bit, he’s very cute!!!

  • Emily

    Do it. Follow your gut.
    It looks great. sometimes its a stronger statement to be in the same color family than match exactly.

  • Nay, love the old curtains.

  • creative*type

    love the fabric… but not there. i <3 the current curtains.

  • Sorry, my answer is “meh.” I like the old curtains better.

  • rachel in Cali.

    Um… how ’bout making another throw pillow for the chair with it? Or recovering a bulliten board? I’m leaning more towards the original curtains fitting the area better. :0)

  • Ann Ever

    yay, add much more yellow and the room will be too matchy matchy

  • I actually really like the fabric. I wasn’t sure about it initially, but seeing it draped, it looks nice!

  • Yay!!! its beautiful!

  • nay, there’s better Amy Butler Fabric to be put in that room.

  • Colleen

    I have to say – I loved the old fabric so much more in that space. The new fabric just doesn’t add anything exciting and feels a bit disjointed.

  • anh-minh

    I think the original curtains looked so good in that room, they might be hard to beat. So I’m in the “nay” camp.

  • I think it looks great. Green and yellow go together like peanut butter and jelly. Plus with the right accessories it will be perfect! That green pillow already ties in nicely.

  • Brandi H.

    I like your original curtains better.

    However, I do think the fabric looks good with the hall color. Just not as dramatic as the first set.

  • lyngweeny

    No, no, a thousand times no. If you first response isn’t “Gotta hang it immediately because it’s so awesome I can’t stand waiting another minute” then it isn’t right.

  • Nay. I loved the dramatic punch of your old curtains and the breeziness they added to the room. I love the fabric, but it feels too heavy as a curtain.

  • Nay.

  • Yay yay yay! Looks great against the dark color and works great with the yellow. go for it. don’t listen to those nay sayers.

  • kim de montreal

    With your talent, that fabric will find it’s place and wow us all!
    xo

  • It’s a huge YAY from me. It is gorgeous, and the room looks ‘done’ with it there. The green has a definite yellowish hue to it. Plus it’s by one of my favorite quilt fabric designers, so that automatically makes me want to say yes!! Love it, love it, LOVE it! But having said that, just do what you love. Who cares what we think?!

  • I like it against that wall. It’s something I would do, but I think you need gold accent trim. Maybe…gold tassles?

  • I say nay. I love the fabric, but the old curtains looked better against the wall.

  • Yay! It blends beautifully.

  • It’s funny how invested I feel that you have the “right” look and pattern.

    I think you should design your own fabric for $18.a yard at spoonflower. You have such fantastic design skills, create your own.
    http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome

  • Some have wrote they like it because the fabric is “ethnic”, it’s not an ethnic pattern, unless you think white Anglo Saxon Victorian is ethnic.
    (that’s a joke!)

    The fabric is a common Victorian pattern and colorway.

  • montseta

    Nay, sorry. I really like the fabric but not in that spot

  • nay, sorry. I like the fabric, too. but in this arrangement it looks very busy. something simpler like what you had before is better in this place in my opinion.

  • joan vignocchi

    not as good as the original. save your money!

  • Just in case you have the energy to read another post here… I love the new fabric, but not with the wall color. The one you had before was really vibrant and the white in it looked so fresh and inviting. I don’t know if you’ve seen this lady’s fabrics http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/?Click=25, but if you wanted a change she has some beautiful designs with yellows.

  • a definite nay, I love the curtains you already have!! I think that they look perfect as is. :)

  • nay

  • Michele

    Sorry, I’m with most others on here and I say “nay”. I think you should change the curtains if you don’t like the ones you had but definitely not to this. Maybe something that has yellow in it already. The fabric just doesn’t look right with that wall color.

  • I say yay but trim the curtains with a yellow a shade or so lighter than the walls. It will help tie everything together.

  • Hard nay on this one as a curtain. If it were a treatment that lays/lies flat (like some kind of shade), then I might like it. I just don’t think it’s a pattern that adds anything when it’s bunched or gathered.

    Your doggie looks swell, however!!!!!! Hope you’re feeling well, too. :)

  • looks good i love it!

  • YAY, so pretty!

  • What about using it in the living area instead? I love the curtains you have there already but maybe for something a little different? The pink in the fabric might work in that room.

  • clare

    it was nay at first… but I keep coming back to it, and liking it more each time. go with your instincts on this one…

  • debbie k

    one more thing…with this pattern you can go more “ethnic” in the room and give it more gravitas….it brings out the wood and carved ethnic shape to that new side table.

  • debbie k

    yay…i like it! go for it!

    i don’t believe in perfectly matchy matchy. i think this is more sophisticated and modern actually.

  • valentine

    I have to vote Nay as well! The fabric is nice, but not good for the library. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing it, but i do love the others curtains more!

  • Julie Anne

    Sorry to be so late to the party…

    But I vote “Nay” as well.

    I originally thought I would be a “Yea”, as I love the Amy Butler fabric, especially in that design and colorway.

    But, surprisingly, looking at the whole – especially in light of the fact that you are happy with the hallway color right now and the mustard works with the living room as well as the library…I’ve gotta vote nay to the Amy Butler in that particular location.

    What about something in the nursery, the kitchen, or the downstairs bath?

  • I like the print but for that spot, I like the curtains you had there before. Love your library in any case.

  • I agree with Dewi about the victorian-ness being a big factor.

  • Okay, here is my opinion, which after 71 comments should be of UTMOST importance. (I say NAY, in case you don’t feel like reading my missive.)

    My first thought was how mild the yellow looks in this picture. I actually prefer it over the mustard/overly saturated picture the professional took. The fabric looks okay next to it, and not the stark contrast I was expecting. BUT, with the bead board, the buttery yellow, soft green, Amy Butler fabric et al…it looks really country to me.

    Plus, I stand by my comment in the last post. If you’re asking for opinions, then you are trying to sell yourself on it and you won’t love it in the end. You’ll like it, but you won’t love it.

    p.s. I’ve seen those Pier 1 curtains, and they photograph really well. I agree with you, Nicole, in that they are just okay in real life.

    p.s.s. For those who were wondering, you can bid for those curtains on eBay.

  • From the looks of this photo, I definitely say yay.

  • laura

    nay, but it is a great fabric. the old curtains really married the brown and yellow walls with the white bookcases and chair. you do need a bit of yellow in the curtains, otherwise that yellow wall can seem disconnected, perhaps there is another amy butler print that would work?

  • Look at murray – that handsome fella!

  • Laura

    Nope – I love the old fabric. Please keep it

  • Hmmm…consensus seems to say no, but I really like it!

  • I like the fabric but I have to say Nay! It’s like what I’ve been doing in my bedroom (going to make a padded headboard) and why it’s taking me so long to complete. In fact I just spent the last hour in my bedroom trying to make this fabric I have work (draping it, adding other trims to it) and came to the conclusion I just need to buy new fabric!

    I think that’s how you’re going to end up —-trying to make that fabric work instead of really loving it in that particular space.

    May I make a suggestion: I love your old curtains but have you thought of lining them? I think it would make them look a bit weightier for the window which may be what you need there plus the pattern wouldn’t allow light through like it does now.

  • Riley

    i like it a lot

  • Definitely works. Make sure you have some other green accent in the room to complement it though.

  • LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

  • http://www.romofabrics.com/2008_manderley2a.htm

    Now I’m being a pain in the ass! ;-)
    Are you familiar with Romo fabrics and wall coverings?
    They have some really perfect mid century patterns that are in the colors you like.
    mustard/rose pinkish/brown

  • jbhat

    Chiming in late with another nay. For lots of reasons that other commenter have already said. Maybe a pretty pillow or two in the nursery? Or somewhere else, but not in the library.

    My two cents.

  • Yay! for me… add some colors from the fabric as pillows would look awesome. Love that fabric..

  • Looking at the fabric again I now understand why it does not work. It’s not so much the colors.

    The fabric pattern is very 1800’s Victorian period looking, and does not work with the chair/rug/cleanness of your design aesthetic in the rest of the house.
    Does that somehow make more sense?

  • I have to say I really like it. It looks more finished somehow than the old curtains did.

  • Wishful thinking will will NOT make it work!

    Make a duvet cover with the fabric.

  • I like the fabric with the yellow okay. What I don’t like it with is that dark brown on the walls of the study. I think you could make it work if you choose a different color instead of the dark brown. But that would be a big pain. I’d say stick with the curtains you have now.

  • I have to agree with the nay-sayers’ although I too love the fabric! I just don’t think it fits in with the gorgeousness of the brown and mustard together…if the fabric had some brown in it, I might feel differently. Can you use this in your nursery?? It could be cute in a baby’s bedroom :)

  • I think they look okay, but not great. They might work better if you had something (artwork?) in the hall that directly picked up on the pink or green. But really, I think it would always be a bit of a struggle and you’ll enjoy the fabric more when you find the Right place for it. Bedroom maybe?

  • I know you’re asking about curtains, but I’m just distracted by your gorgeous pup!!

  • I actually really like it, even better than the curtains that were there.

  • Love the fabric, but, like it has already been said, not-so-much next to the tan wall.

  • Marti

    I truly enjoy your blog.

    I’d say nay for that fabric as curtains in that location. I actually like the current curtains much much more in that area.

  • Whitney

    Yeah, I think it works.

  • Tabea

    YAY, YAY!

  • Erika

    Nay – I love the fabric itself, but it doesn’t seem to suit the space as well as the original curtains.
    BTW, your house is absolutely beautiful.

  • i say yes.
    but what do i know about design.
    nothing.

  • Nay! While I like this fabric as curtains for the library nook, I don’t LOVE it. I prefer the old curtains. The fabric is fab though – just in another spot. Maybe make a duvet out of it for when your baby is older?

  • I thought I loved your old curtains, but I REALLY love the new fabric! It looks fantastic!

  • I don’t think it works —

  • I’m on the ‘nay’ side too. I think it’s the light pink in the curtains that just don’t go with the yellow. And who wants to change the colour of the stairway when you’re 31 weeks pregnant?? There’s nesting and then there’s crazy. :)

  • A

    The ceiling is a soft green, by the way (I know it’s hard to tell). That’s why I always had that green pillow in there.

  • A

    OK, I must admit I’m leaning toward ‘nay’. I LOVE the fabric, but maybe not for the library after all. Plus Brandon said that he’s not a big fan, so that counts for a lot.

    I will say though, that the other curtains look better in the photo from that last post than they do in real life. Behold the power of a professional photographer for a glossy magazine! The colors were more saturated (the hallway is actually more accurate in my photo above), and the curtains looked lighter and airier than they actually are. Those curtains have a beige/tan background, not as white as they seem.

    Oh, and I don’t want to paint the stairway. It’s already had a coat of primer, a coat of pale purple (very briefly — I didn’t like it at all), and two coats of the yellow it has now. We have to use our bendy adjustable ladder to reach all of the awkward ceiling angles and it’s just a TERRIBLE pain to paint! Plus the yellow looks good with the yellow in the living room downstairs, and I can’t think of another color that I would like better.

  • although the color matches the pillow. :)

  • I think it clashes pretty badly with the mustard walls.

  • nay, but if you changed the stairway color i think it would probably work.

  • jessica

    I love Amy Butler fabric, and am all for putting it everywhere, but I feel it is not the right fabric for that space-loved the before photo as it was!

  • What does the fabric look like with a liner behind it? i,e, what will it look like when there’s no light coming in from the windows?
    Also, the wall color in this picture looks was different form the one in your previous post. Which is more accurate?

  • I think if you have ask, then you know deep down that it doesn’t work. I love the fabric, I love the room and color scheme, but I don’t love them together.

    I think that fabric would look great as an accent pillow, but not curtains.

    If it doesn’t find a home up there, it might look cute in your nursery?

  • Strong nay. It’s lovely fabric, but I’d find another use for it. It has a heaviness that I just don’t think works there, and the color issues only make the problem worse. I agree that matchy-matchy is bad, but things should flow and I don’t think this does.

    I thought the curtains you had before were absolutely perfect for that space.

  • I’m going to have to go with the nay vote as well, though that fabric is to die for. Just not next to that wall. I would personally paint the wall as opposed to not using the fabric there. But the way you had everything tied together with the other curtains was fabulous.

  • I love everything in your house and the way it all flows together. I am not loving this fabric or at least not loving it in this room. Primarily because it just looked so perfect before. The other curtains were gorgeous, they looked beautiful in that room and it was very cohesive with the rest of your house. This fabric pattern is not the same look as everything else you have. Not that all the rooms have to go together perfectly, but I just don’t like this fabric as much as others and I especially don’t like it in this room. Why mess with perfection even though I know what its like to be compelled to change things. Your whole house looks perfect now. Why not just enjoy it and relax a bit. You will be tired once the baby comes.

  • Love it!

  • Lindsay

    Love it!

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