The Age of Exploration, A New Home
Decorating Fabric Collection from
Waverly

Whether you favor traditional, romantic or contemporary furnishings, you’ll find appealing patterns to suit your lifestyle in Waverly’s new Williamsburg collection, The Age of Exploration. The designs, which are adapted from the 18th century archives of Colonial Williamsburg, are right at home in a 21st century living room or bedroom, as you can clearly see. Contemporary color combinations such as the rich espresso and coral featured in the living room above, or the bedroom’s lively pairing of raspberry and cream, give these designs an up-to-the-minute feeling.

The collection includes eight print and four woven fabrics. Ashton Peony, the signature print pattern, features a beautiful botanical study of the popular flower meticulously rendered on a cotton jacquard ribbon stripe that adds depth to the design. The pineapple, an exotic New World discovery in colonial days, quickly became a universal symbol of hospitality, and as such it was a popular motif used in architecture and on fabrics. Portsmouth Pineapple features a pineapple motif adapted from an early 19th century wallpaper. Here the fruit is embellished with flowers from several other 18th century fabrics while in a companion print, Petite Pineapple, the fruit stands alone. The interest of 18th century naturalists in all forms of sea life is captured in this collection, as well, with Shell Walks and its depiction of shells and coral, and in Coral Trellis, inspired by coral motifs found on 18th century French textiles.

This was indeed the age of exploration and unusual new materials and methods of production quickly captured the attention of the public. The Far East tradition of warp printing on textiles, called ikat, is one such example that gained popularity and was reproduced in Europe on textiles and in needlework. These designs inspired Peyton Ikat which is printed on a cotton twill.

Stripes and plaids expand the versatility of the collection and you’ll find several elegant examples among the woven fabrics. Ballroom Plaid, for example, is a multi-colored plaid with a satin effect that was adapted from the blue and yellow silk plaid of a gentleman’s waistcoat. Crosby, which takes its inspiration from the intricate trim of that same waistcoat, is a small-scale plaid that will find many applications in today’s home. A woman’s wool petticoat circa 1770-1820 was the source for the contemporary looking Palmer Stripe, a finely constructed multi-colored design.