In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

I was recently texting with my New York sisters, helping one decide what to wear to a fundraiser that evening, the weather had been sunny and warm during the day, but the forecast for the evening was “just a little spring snow.” I laughed because that sounded to me like the perfect title of my future memoir, at least the one for my Sweden years. This is our fifth spring in Sweden, and it generally snows all of March, and usually all of April too. That being said, this year we have been blessed with mild, sunny weather almost the entire month. And while I don’t pretend to think there won’t be more snow for us this season, I spent last weekend weeding the garden beds, cleaning all the outdoor furniture and measuring for new custom outdoor cushions so I’ll be ready to soak up every minute of sunshine in the coming months. I also still have 5 year old twin boys, and am in the process of finishing their bedroom and moving them up to big beds. Researching loads of wallpaper and fabric options for their room (saving that for another post!) I realized that the beds should probably be covered in performance fabric. Ditto almost every upholstered surface in the waterfront, modern glass home I am currently designing for a big family in Shelter Island. I have been on a deep dive into hard-wearing fabrics and am sharing my favorites, old and new, so you too can live and lounge without worry.

First up, performance fabrics by Sister Parish. I used their Mahalo ikat in summer blue to upholster the 11 foot long reading nook in the Cobble Hill, Brooklyn brownstone designed by Ingui Architecture and built by R. Sutton & Co. seen above. The nook is the central hub of the kid’s floor and needed to be able to withstand a lot of rough and tumble times. Woven from 100% polyester, using high energy UV dyes, the fabric collection is designed to repel water, resist mold, mildew and staining. They are made in the USA and are great for homes with kids and pets as they are incredibly soft and don’t feel to tech-y. I also love the reversible Bimini and Albert jacquards.

Next up, the brilliant collaboration between Sunbrella, the be-all-end-all of outdoor fabric producers and our favorite sunny California design house Block Shop. Sunbrella fabrics are renowned for being fade, stain and weather resistant, suitable for all heavy-use indoor and outdoor upholstery projects. Some of the collaboration designs are very on-the-nose, with beach-pool water and wave designs, like the undulating Jetty in wave and the 80s-tennis inspired Juggle in navy and the iconic, re-imagined Greek Key pattern in cardinal. But I particularly love the ones that don’t scream outdoors at all. Like the perfect, versatile floral of the Posey pattern and the elevated, geometric plaid Agnes pattern inspired by the mathematical beauty of Agnes Martin’s 1968 painting Little Sister. But the front runner for my outdoor bench cushions is the Crescent fabric in juniper. It’s a joyful Art Deco-meets-80s design featuring a zig zag stripe with their crescent moon motif, taken from the famous Raj Mandir movie palace in Jaipur where their textiles are printed by hand. Plus, Sunbrella fabrics are PFAS-free, as well as certified for low chemical emissions and harmful substances. They are produced using zero-waste to landfill best practices in plants using at least 50% renewable energy.

Christopher Farr Cloth is another go-to brand that collaborates with some of my very favorite designers and artists. From Commune Design and Kit Kemp to Japanese cult-ceramacist Makato Kagoshima they produce some of the best wallpapers and textiles, and they make many of them in indoor-outdoor qualities produced in the renowned Perennials weave factory in Mexico. The superior durability of the Perennials textiles make them resistant to stains, fading and wear. Cactus Flower designed by Los Angeles uber-designers Commune Design is a favorite that I come back to again and again and is also a front runner for our Swedish outdoor cushions. My way of injecting a bit of southern California color and energy into my Swedish moss forest life. I used it in Bird LA which will forever be some of my favorite dressing rooms. And I am about to install the wine colorway in a sitting room-bedroom renovation in Chicago. The outdoor version is a bit more flat and stiff than the non-performance version, but I still love it. Lost and Found by Kit Kemp is a dynamic check and stripe pattern, I am partial to the verde colorway. You can play with the direction of the stripe and really change how it feels. But it is a runner-up to my other favorite check-stripe from Christopher Farr Cloth. I used La Paz Perennials woven check designed by Cloth Studio in the turchese colorway for an entry mud room bench in a beach house in Shelter Island designed with Studio Modh. And while it is technically not a performance fabric, I want to give a shout out to the Kit Kemp Chubby Check in Green. Especially on the sofa in the ever-inspiring Miami home by Jennifer Bunsa.

Stripes are always a good idea for good times, classic for inside and out. So many great design houses are making perfect performance stripes. I love everything that northern Italian family-run Dedar produces and their two-color Stranger Loves stripes are some of my favorites. They are classic, small in scale, but with color combinations that are just off enough to be exceptionally interesting. I especially like carrot stick and blu mojito. They are resistant to molds and weather conditions, are washable and water-repellant. The classic cabana-stripe Lido from New York designer Zak & Fox perfectly captures the essence of summertime. But I am more intrigued by the subtler colors combinations of Pharos and Moray. For something even more subtle, I like the neutral Gradient Stripe performance fabric in pink island from Eskayel. Bringing major Harbor Island vibes. New York artist and textile designer Rebecca Atwood makes gorgeous, more neutral woven performance textiles. I am partial to the Crescent Plaid fabric that combines moon shapes, plaid and stripes, but still manages not to be overwhelming. You can also buy her performance fabrics ready made as pillows to instantly upgrade your outdoor space.

But for the greatest variety and selection of designer performance fabrics, I go to Schumacher. They have hundreds of options, and a lot of amazing prints designed by artists I love including Josef Frank’s Citrus Garden and Exotic Butterfly, New York designer Happy Menocal’s magical Beasts and a perfect medium Evan stripe inspired by artists Agnes Martin and Louise Bourgeois from Caroline Z Hurley. For a quick fix you can also buy the Citrus Garden or Beast prints as a pre-made pillows. They also have a big assortment of animal prints which I consider a print neutral. Some favorites include the Iconic Leopard in green and navy, the slightly preppy cheetah and bamboo print Fancy Beast and the beautiful Safari Épinglé which is not technically an outdoor fabric, but it is stain-resistant and high-performance perfect for a hard wearing indoor sofa or arm chair. Another more neutral, textural performance fabric I love from Schumacher is Promenade which walks the line between an all over texture and a mini stripe. I have used this to make cushions, pillows and a headboard.

Lastly, here are a few hacks I have used over the years. When we had the twins we had to quickly rearrange our furniture in Brooklyn. We had an old love seat from ABC in a boring grey that I decided to reupholster in a print, but wanted it to be somewhat neutral and impervious to breast milk and spit-up. I have used Outdoor Fabrics for several projects including our couch in the indigo Agra animal print from Sunbrella and our outdoor couch cushions in Shelter Island seen below. They have a huge selection of in-stock performance fabrics and you can often get them on sale. Cheap and cheerful and fast, my favorite combination.

Another work around for your favorite non-performance fabric is finding a local fabric workroom that can back it, coat it, or treat it so it can be used in a higher performance capacity. Jessie Parris Lamb brilliantly did this with Josef Frank’s Mirakel in brown designed in the 1920s for Svenskt Tenn for a breakfast nook in their recent Prospect Heights brownstone renovation. I have used Decorator’s Laminating Service in Los Angeles to make a gorgeous ivy Hemp from Rose Uniake more stable for a Brooklyn sofa. I also found a GreenGuard Certified fabric protection service called Fiber Seal servicing NY, NJ, PA and LA that seems promising. At this point I am ready to fiber seal my entire life. Bring on the spring sunshine, rain and messy twins!

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading, I am glad you are here.

Onwards!

Jen