There is a bit of a 30s thing going on, not just because of Kenneth Branagh’s new film adaptation of Murder On the Orient Express. My green theme blog last year was about the trend for dark forest greens in fashion and home. Eighteen months on, it has now morphed into what I can only describe as 20s and 30s in hue – more moss than forest green. This flatter green is being showcased in both sophisticated Art Deco schemes (such as at Turnell & Gigon’s pop-up showroom at Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour) as well as in its more homely and organic roots from the interwar years.
This hunch was fully cemented when I received Mimi Pickard’s most recent ‘moss’ fabric and wallpaper colourways. I felt like I had been taken down a swirling rabbit hole and on a journey back in time! Made more intense perhaps because we live in a ’30s house and I often wonder how it must have looked (this isn’t my home but these images show the ethos of the era).
Swatch Watch goes evergreen
As the year moves towards the evergreens of The Winter Solstice (21 December), there seems to me to be no better time to celebrate the work of exciting new textile and wallpaper designer Mimi Pickard. When I first visited Mimi’s studio in August and saw the designs from her debut collection – the borders in her Surrey garden were as full of colour as her designs.
A time for everything
Mimi’s journey is an inspiring one. After happily devoting her earlier years to bringing up her three children (now all in their 20s), Mimi decided in her late 40s to do a textile degree as a mature student. Very shortly after graduating, Mimi has impressively launched and is successfully selling her debut collection both here and in the States.
Bloomsbury Group
One of the main influences for Mimi’s dissertation and her latest designs (Small Lace Lily in Mink Moss and Naked Angelica Moss) were from the artists and designs at The Charleston Farm House in Sussex. Mimi’s designs instantly struck a chord with me (see my blog on Cressida Bell and her forebears).
Through this exploration, Mimi has found her own design voice and is producing some very covetable textile and wallpaper designs. The strength of these designs are the colourways, and the mix of traditional motifs with more contemporary geometric angles. The weighty English 100% linen hangs well, creating the right amount of drama when used as curtain drops.
Green shoots
Here are two of Mimi’s latest designs. Naked Angelica comes in a wallpaper and a fabric whilst Small Lace Lily comes as a fabric only. Small Lace Lily particularly has echoes of Charleston Farmhouse. The moss green is so evocative of the early 20th Century and the bonus element is the added dash of contemporary Indigo.
Hold the front page
Mimi launched her collection in the summer of 2017 and has already gathered a loyal following amongst interior designers and press. There have been some very nice mentions in The World of Interiors, House & Garden as well as Homes & Gardens and Elle Decoration magazines too. It can only be a matter of time before we see Mimi’s designs being used for main decorating stories.
Interior designer
You know you have hit the right note when an interior designer chooses your fabric for her own desk. Jessica Buckley says “Mimi’s designs are a total breath of fresh air. Her bold use of colour and pattern aligns with my own aesthetic for interior design so I jumped at the chance to use her fabrics for my own desk. We have also used them in a couple of client projects and I have no doubt that the designs will hold lasting appeal.”
P.S. A little green screen inspiration from New Zealand
I love this ‘autochrome’ image taken by New Zealand photographer/architect/furniture designer James Chapman Taylor for the styling and just for the saturated greenness of it all! (Autochrome was a colour process patented in France by the Lumiere brothers in 1907 before subtracted colour film came in 1930).
Ring, ring
Thank you very much for reading. I can’t wait to find out what Mimi does next. If in the meantime, if you would like to find out how to incorporate a ‘Green Room’ into your home or any other styling conundrum such as choosing colours – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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Charis White Interiors 
Another really special blog! I love the green! Just had the bathroom of my new cottage painted in a shade. Fascinating look back in history as well.
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Thank you so much Rachel! So glad that you painted your bathroom green, I think it is one of the most soothing colours and like greys it act as a great foil for contrasting pink, coral, orange and red.
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