Home & Garden
Page 36
Female Focus
Love it or hate it, Chintz is back!!
Chintz fabrics often come under a lot of ridicule, but as so often happens in fashion, what goes around comes around and now these fabulously colourful fabrics are very much back in vogue with designers all over the world introducing them into their interior schemes.
When we think of Chintz these days, its often gaudy over patterned floral fabric that come to mind, but Chintz actually has a very interesting history and at one time was so popular it was even banned!
The original wood block printed Chintz patterns made their way from India in the early 1600s courtesy of the British Raj and European explorers and were extremely expensive and rare. By 1680, the designs were so popular that over a million pieces of Indian Chintz were being imported into England per year, with a similar quantity arriving in France and the Dutch Republic.
With imported chintz becoming so popular with Europeans during the late 17th century, French and English mills grew concerned as they were unable to make it and in 1686 the French declared a ban on all chintz imports. In 1720 England’s Parliament enacted a law that forbade “the Use and Warings in Apparel of imported chintz, and also its use or wear in or about any bed, chair, cushion or other household furniture”, pretty incredible!
But legislation couldn’t prevent the fabric from becoming even more popular, and legal loopholes helped make chintz the fabric darling of aristocratic home decor. The ban also helped to spur innovations in textile dyeing, printing, blocking, and glazing techniques in Europe.
Original Indian chintz was often coated with a waxy glaze to preserve the fabric and design. In England, textile manufacturers developed a wax resin process to replicate the shiny finish found in the imported fabrics, and to this day, English glazed chintzes are considered the finest in the world.
By 1759, English and French textile mills were producing their own gorgeous chintzes, and so the ban on imports was lifted. For the next one hundred years, chintz enjoyed a boom in popularity so overwhelming that the term “chintzy” became synonymous with anything common or overly abundant.
We have 100s of examples of chintz designs at our studio, ranging from beautiful traditional florals to modern versions featuring bright and lively patterns and both work really well in traditional and modern villas alike.
So maybe it´s time to change your preconceived ideas of this much maligned fabric and bring your home bang up to date by introducing some chintz! You might be pleasantly surprised!
Lotus Homestyling Studio, Ctra. Moraira 16, Benitachell. Call 966 493 232.
Tammi
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