home and even a new structure will achieve a feeling of permanence and history, a comforting sense that belongings have been acquired over years, passed through a family, well-loved and lived in, says Susan North, design director for Greeff. By extension, along with creating a gracious, soothing ambiance, classic patterns also symbolize survival. “I work from antique wallpapersand textiles to create many of the decorative products we introduce to interior designers, architects and fine retailers,” says North. “Document wallpapers such as Althorp Floral from the Arboretum collection, are printed just like the originals, 18-inches wide, rather than in today’s standard 20- or 27-inch rolls. The elegant flowers look the way they did in the mid-19th century. Like Viburnum, designed from a late 19th century pattern of blossoms that resemble hydrangea, both enchanting garden-inspired motifs come in soft antique colorations and have the subtle painterly texture of surface printing.” Adds North, “Colors, such as rich red and brown, also feel comforting.” Regardingcolor, Leatrice Eiseman, author of Colors for Your Every Mood, (Capital Books, 2000) observes that the events on September 11th caused people to take stock of what came before. “American influence on design is not just aboutcolonial traditions,” says the Bainbridge Island, Washingtonbased color consultant. “Other parts of the U.S. carry their own brand of nostalgia, such as the palettes of Palm Springsin its heyday which, at the close of the 90s, I predicted would influence design. Document prints give a comforting sense of permanence and history. Graceful bouquets in Althorp Floral from the Greeff Arboretum collection, combine with scroll-shaped vines in a wall- paper printed like the mid-19" century pattern that inspiredit. “The trend focuses on the desert, dotted with glamorous motels dressed in dusted palettes, during Hollywood’s golden days.” “As we grow older,” notes interior designer Susan Gulick of Susan Gulick Interiors, Herndon, Virginia, “we find out that life is about memories. Many of the things we made fun of in our youth become meaningful because we associate them with fond recollections. While the design work we do is contemporary, there are classic elements, such as the Greek key, that even if modified, are familiar, provid- ing a sense of stability, security and comfort.” For more information about Greeff, a brand of F. Schumacher & Co., call 1-800-523-1200.
