I haven’t sewn anything yet… I just draped the fabric over the curtain rod.
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.
I haven’t sewn anything yet… I just draped the fabric over the curtain rod.
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.
Comments
132 responses to “Primrose Fabric: Yay or Nay?”
A big Yay! I love that fabric!
nay
I like the fabric itself, but not sure about it being by that wall.
i love the fabric but i have to say “nay” on using it in that spot.
I say yeah — the green pillow and yellow throw on the chair bring them together. LURVE Amy Butler!!!
i didn’t get the vision from your last post, but now i kind of like it.
What about adding a thick mustard yellow trim on the leading edge of the curtains- or a trim of somekind that ties in the yellow?
YAY! Who cares if there’s no yellow? It all looks good together and isn’t too matchy matchy. I think you have a great eye!
nay. Not the right fabric for that area in my opinion. It looks to dark. Especially since I loved that other fabric you had!
i totally LOVE it.
De-lurking for this very important design decision… :)
I do love the new fabric but I feel it doesn’t have the punch that your other fabric did. The former fabric really made a cohesive statement when you saw the room as a whole. Maybe Mackenzi’s suggestion of adding a trim would tie everything together better? I do think that this fabric has a softer vibe… more calming. I see why you are drawn to it.
And the pooch is the perfect accessory for any library!
love the fabric, but not in that spot. I really like the curtains you already have there.
Love it.
Nay, sorry. I totally understand you wanting to switch out the curtains, but this is kind of a bummer compared to what was there before.
The beauty of the old curtain is the lightness that it brings to the space. The new is too heavy, beautiful but heavy. It creates too much of a separation between inside and out, as well as drawing too much attention to the ceiling height, in a way shrinking the room. You’re definitely going to miss the “airiness” if you replace the old.
p.s.
I didn’t had one ounce of respect for the color pink until I started reading your blog. You have a such a way with color. Go with your first instinct on this. Nay.
I’m going to agree with other posts-I think it’s a beautiful fabric but I prefer the original drapes you have. But…I will temper that comment with the fact that pictures don’t always completely look the same as real life. So I’d have to see it in real life. Shall I drop by? :)
Absolutely love it!
p.s. garble translated:
p.s.
I didn’t have one ounce of respect for the color pink until I started reading your blog. You have such a way with color. Go with your first instinct on this. Nay.
Yay — surprisingly, I rather like this.
I give it a big fat YAY!
Perhaps a thick yellow corded tieback with a yellow/pink tassle to help tie things in?
How about mixing it with a coordinating pattern and/or solid that has some of the yellow in it at the top? Though I’m not even sure if you need to add some yellow but I do think you need to break up the print some. I could also see mustard yellow ball fringe on the edges, yes?
nay
I lo-ooove the new fabric, but not loving it in the library with the colors next to it. Are you maybe thinking this also, hence the “I don’t think it looks bad” comment versus maybe a “I can’t wait to get it on the window”? Of course, you could repaint the stairwell…and still use the fabric.
I agree with some of the other comments. While I love the pattern/color of the primrose fabric, I’m not sure about in that room. Plus, I really like the curtains you had up.
So, if you do go with primrose, I’d love to take those off your hands!
Oh my, your puppy is adorable. He or She looks exactly like my Lacey… You can see a picture of her here : http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/3115554785_67329280c0.jpg
I saved her from the pound about 4 or 5 years ago when she was only 3 months old. We never knew what kind of dog she was so we just called her a “Lace-Dogg” hehe
What bread is yours???
You’re right, it’s alright. I don’t hate it, I don’t love it… I guess that makes it a nay? I think that fabric would look 10 times better in some other situation in your home!
Like the fabric but not for a study. It looks bedroomy to me. I like what you already had up! It varies your color scheme more.
nay! sorry! I love the fabric…I just dont think it goes with the yellow wall. I’m all about colors not being matchy matchy…but something about the sage and the dark yellow doesnt quite flow.
I think I would prefer a stripe of colors, you could sew the colors together.
Like a neopolitan – chocolate, pink, yellow, mint — something zippy like you.
I do like that fabric but just not in that much of a dose. Maybe an accent pillow.
pve
No. I think the mostly white ground in the other fabric was wonderful with the white of the bookcases. I think you love the fabric and are TRYING to make it work, which, in my experience is usually more of a design scheme killer than not. I know you can find somewhere else for it!
Love it!
Love it!
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.
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.
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 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?
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 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!
nay, but if you changed the stairway color i think it would probably work.
I think it clashes pretty badly with the mustard walls.
although the color matches the pillow. :)
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.
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.
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. :)
I don’t think it works —
I thought I loved your old curtains, but I REALLY love the new fabric! It looks fantastic!
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 say yes.
but what do i know about design.
nothing.
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.
YAY, YAY!
Yeah, I think it works.
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.
Love the fabric, but, like it has already been said, not-so-much next to the tan wall.
I actually really like it, even better than the curtains that were there.
I know you’re asking about curtains, but I’m just distracted by your gorgeous pup!!
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 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 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.
Wishful thinking will will NOT make it work!
Make a duvet cover with the fabric.
I have to say I really like it. It looks more finished somehow than the old curtains did.
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?
Yay! for me… add some colors from the fabric as pillows would look awesome. Love that fabric..
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.
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
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!
Definitely works. Make sure you have some other green accent in the room to complement it though.
i like it a lot
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.
Hmmm…consensus seems to say no, but I really like it!
Nope – I love the old fabric. Please keep it
Look at murray – that handsome fella!
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?
From the looks of this photo, I definitely say yay.
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.
I agree with Dewi about the victorian-ness being a big factor.
I like the print but for that spot, I like the curtains you had there before. Love your library in any case.
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 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!
yay…i like it! go for it!
i don’t believe in perfectly matchy matchy. i think this is more sophisticated and modern actually.
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.
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…
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.
YAY, so pretty!
looks good i love it!
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. :)
I say yay but trim the curtains with a yellow a shade or so lighter than the walls. It will help tie everything together.
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.
nay
a definite nay, I love the curtains you already have!! I think that they look perfect as is. :)
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.
not as good as the original. save your money!
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.
Nay, sorry. I really like the fabric but not in that spot
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.
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
Yay! It blends beautifully.
I say nay. I love the fabric, but the old curtains looked better against the wall.
I like it against that wall. It’s something I would do, but I think you need gold accent trim. Maybe…gold tassles?
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?!
With your talent, that fabric will find it’s place and wow us all!
xo
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.
Nay.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
nay, there’s better Amy Butler Fabric to be put in that room.
Yay!!! its beautiful!
I actually really like the fabric. I wasn’t sure about it initially, but seeing it draped, it looks nice!
yay, add much more yellow and the room will be too matchy matchy
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)
Sorry, my answer is “meh.” I like the old curtains better.
love the fabric… but not there. i <3 the current curtains.
Nay, love the old curtains.
Do it. Follow your gut.
It looks great. sometimes its a stronger statement to be in the same color family than match exactly.
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!!!
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 say nay- I love the fabric- perhaps make a pillow or something with it? I just adore the curtains you had in there before- :)
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 :)
eh. i think you can do better.
I’m in love with your dog. Its just like my dog.
Yay! Yay! Yay! Please use that fabric – the combination and surrounding colors blend very well! i love it!
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.
I too so prefer what you showed first in this spot.
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.
very nice, i think the dog makes the room.
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!
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!!!
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