January 31, 2010

LATTICE | TREILLAGE | CHINOISERIE


Late 19th century garden room with treillage effects [The French Archive of Design and Decoration by Stafford Cliff]

Whether it's to bring the garden indoors or to create walls of airy chic, I love the lattice pattern in design and interiors. Ancient lattice looked like fisherman's net and was used in warm Middle Eastern countries to keep the sun out and allow the air to flow freely—much like the modern day screen block, that was used in Palm Springs in the 1950s and 60s. Treillage can be traced back to the 12th century when used to support the vines growing on simple French farms, and on to the 17th century where it appeared in the formal gardens of Versailles. From the royal palaces of Europe, treillage made its way to cities where architects and designers embraced its use from building facades to elegant interiors. At the turn of the century, it was first introduced to America by decorator Elsie de Wolfe in her Trellis Room at the Colony Club. In the 1930s, the use of chinoiserie bamboo and lattice found a glamorous spot in the houses of the Hollywood Regency Style. And, today the trellis motif is still a favorite of the country's best decorators. To follow are some of my dog-eared pages of trellis/lattice inspiration.


Elsie de Wolfe's Trellis Room at the Colony Club
[original 120 Madison Avenue location]
photo courtesy of gutenberg


Trellis Room photo from British House and Garden magazine


Also from The French Archive of Design and Decoration, David Herbert's Tangier veranda with trompe l'oeil lattice painted by Lawrence Mynott


Sculptor, Daniel Chester French [1850-19310] house Chesterwood in Stockbridge, Masschusetts
photo, my dog-eared pages


Trellis on my grandfather's house [architect Alfred A. Scheffer] Amagansett, Long Island house
photo courtesy of Newsday, Ike Eichorn


Trellis panels on Dominick and Lenny Dunne's Walden Drive house in Beverly Hills, 1960
photo from The Way We Lived Then


Sarah Jessica Parker in a chic pale blue trellised room, Vogue


Anne Harwell's [annechovie] Chinoiserie and Orange It's Complicated chair silhouettes


Meg Braff Interiors, yellow Chinese Lattice fabric headboards and bedskirts


Meg Braff Interiors, Bob Collins Chinese Lattice wallpaper from Todd Romano


Tom Scheerer's Lyford Trellis wallpaper for Quadrille at Lyford Cay Club


Yellow Lattice Lamps from Pieces


Dek Tillett Lattice in Rosemary from Todd Romano, House of KWID's Imperial Trellis from F. Schumacher



11 comments:

  1. Love all the trellis fabric! And that Elsie de Wolfe room, amazing!

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  2. A really beautiful post! So inspiring on a chilly, grey February day too.

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  3. The chairs in the Colony Club room are divine, too! And, I'm extremely interested in the trellis panels mounted to the second floor of the former Dunne house. They work so well with the subtle arch of the windows below. ;)

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  4. Viv, I can see many of your marvelous characters in the former Dunne house in Beverly Hills! oxo

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  5. This is the post I have been meaning to write for ages. I don't have to do it now! Wonderful, I absolutely love trellis and what I call the Chinese Chippendale motif. Thank you for adding me to your blog roll. I will put you on mine! Rosie

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  6. Thank you Rosie... I'm so happy you enjoyed the post!! ;) Barbara

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  7. Tres charmant, all are inspiring and uplifting to me, I love trellis motifs!

    thanks!

    Kit

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  8. A lovely comprehensive romp
    through the world or lattice & trellis!

    Jjj

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  9. Enchanting - a personal favorite. A sunny start to a grey day here.

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  10. I'm sending you a photo of my friend's trellised dining room. I love it!
    Best,
    Liz

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I love reading your comments. And, I thank you so much for visiting!