Beautiful chintz ideas for every kind of house
There is something unashamedly old fashioned about a good chintz. Indian chintz fabrics first hit our shores in the 17th century and their increasingly florid successors were highly favoured by the Victorians for their practical attributes - chintz in its true form is a glazed fabric, easily wiped down and dusted. These days the Oxford Dictionary gives two markedly different definitions of 'chintzy' - on one hand it can mean "of, like or decorated with chintz" but it is also used as a term to describe something "brightly colourful but gaudy and tasteless."
Why has chintz been so maligned? Perhaps it was over-exposure in the 1980s - pretty much every issue of House & Garden in that decade is replete with glorious swags of the stuff draping windows and covering unashamedly frilly sofas. Despite this chintz saturation, some fabrics have remained classics. Look to Jean Monro's collections, including ‘Hollyhock’ and ‘Hydrangeas and Roses’; to Colefax & Fowler, whose ‘Bowood’ and ‘Fuchsia’ have been longstanding country house favourites; and to Flora Soames for modern iterations of classic patterns. There are some rooms in which chintz looks instantly at home - traditional and otherwise stern sitting rooms can be softened by a touch of floral fabric, country bedrooms instantly prettified.
Christopher Horwood1/15Our editor Hatta Byng has chosen the classic Colefax & Fowler chintz ‘Bowood’ for the walls, curtains and valance of the nursery bedroom at her house in Yorkshire, creating an enveloping effect and complementing a brass bed, which was created by joining two c1880 singles together.
Paul Massey2/15Flora Soames has been instrumental in making chintz feel modern again with her fabric collections. Her ‘Dahlias’ print, used here on the walls, blind and chair in the dressing room of her cousin's house, is deeply traditional yet fresh and vibrant. Contrasting it with a Swedish flatweave runner and crisp joinery helps the room retain a youthful feel.
Yuki Sugiura3/15In the larder of her London home, the designer Matilda Goad, has used a curtain in the classic Jean Monro 'Hollyhock' chintz from Turnell & Gigon. It makes a perfect foil to the simple square tiles with their contemporary-feeling coloured grout.
Paul Massey4/15If you needed any further convincing to employ Jean Monro's ‘Hollyhock’ pattern in a pantry, take a look at this Jacobean house by Nicola Harding., where it is paired with a blue striped fabric on the walls and pinkish-red woodwork.
Mike Garlick5/15In a spare room in the attic of this gloriously restored house in the Cotswolds, the white floral headboard is upholstered “Bowness” by Jean Monro. The lamp on the bedside table is a stoneware lamp from Max Rollitt Antiques and covered by a custom shade made using Claremont's “Nathalie”.
6/15In one of Nicky Haslam's latest projects, walls, curtains and chairs in Rose Tarlow’s ‘Bloomsbury’ chintz provide a floral backdrop for antique pieces including family portraits, a Chinese lacquered table, an Indian carpet and an Italian neoclassical 18th-century mirror. ‘I had always wanted to do pillars in chintz,’ says Nicky. The same floral glazed cotton was used to cover chairs too.
Tom Griffiths7/15Interior designer Victoria Barker of Studio Faeger was lucky enough to find a vintage armchair and ottoman, both covered in their original chintzes. Set against the pale pink paint of the sitting room in her tiny Oxfordshire cottage, they feel fresh and pretty, rather than staid and fusty.
Owen Gale8/15At the top of Joanna Plant's west London house is her glorious haven of a bedroom, wallpapered in a beautiful Laura Ashley chintz matched to similar but ever so slightly different ‘Chinese Paper’ hanging fabric from Bennison, which she trimmed in red to better define its edges. The pale background to these designs and the crisp red trim help the room to feel light and bright.
Paul Massey9/15A decidedly modern floral wallpaper, ‘Diamond Tulip’ by Polly Fern, takes centre stage in this Cotswold cottage by Decurate, but the chaise longue is upholstered in the traditional ‘Alicia Chintz’ by Colefax & Fowler. Together with the blind in 'Checkerboard' by Susie Atkinson, it makes for a lively and modern scheme.
Davide Lovatti10/15A longstanding love affair with Mallorca led the owner of Bennison Fabrics and her husband to make a home there, and their translation of a classic English aesthetic to this new setting is a masterclass in pattern and placement. An armchair in the library is upholstered in Bennison Fabrics’ ‘Roses’ linen, lending a traditional touch to the airy Mediterranean room.
Jonathan Bond11/15A chintz sofa is the perfect anchor for a blue and pink scheme that neatly blends traditional and modern in Elizabeth Hay's Devon cottage. Woodwork in Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s ‘Aquatic’ complements the sofa upholstered in Le Manach’s ‘Mortefontaine’ cotton in bleu vert from Pierre Frey.
Rachael Smith12/15Chintz can be equally at home in a modern living room, as it is here in interior designer Natalie Tredgett's Victorian terraced house, where a clever mix of patterned fabrics enlivens this seating area. The armchair in the foreground is upholstered in Pierre Frey's ‘Palmyre’, but there is nothing else that feels particularly traditional in the space.
Michael Sinclair13/15In the Twickenham home of Lady Wakefield, at one end of the drawing room, three tall Georgian windows frame the greenery of the garden. The full-length floral-print curtains in ‘Fuchsia’ from Colefax and Fowler add to the effect.
Simon Upton14/15One of the guest bedroom at Bowood House in Wiltshire has walls covered in Colefax & Fowler's 'Bowood' design - a pattern named after this house with interiors by John Fowler. The same pattern features on the bed valance, headboard, curtains and chair upholstery.
Simon Brown15/15The main bedroom in Diane Nutting's 18th-century manor house in Wiltshire features a Colefax and Fowler chintz fabric from the 1970s, since discontinued. The sister-in-law of Diane's first husband was Nancy Lancaster, the owner of the company.
