Layering a room for autumn

Textile designer Cathy Nordström bought a box at auction without knowing quite what she was buying. Inside was a collection of books, museum archives and craft references. “As I started flicking through the books . . . I quickly realised what an extraordinary treasure I had in front of me” says Cathy. That unexpected discovery became the starting point for her new collection, Trove. Colours Tobacco, Khaki, Harvest and Fudge sit alongside Desher Red, Seafoam and Dusty Blue. The papers are surface-printed in Sweden at Ulricehamns Tapetfabrik, wet-in-wet, allowing the colours to run into one another for a hand-painted effect, beautiful under lamplight.

The Labeaume Collection, recently released by Inchyra, draws inspiration from an archive of antique textiles and documents collected by founder Caroline Inchyra. Printed on pure linen and wool, its colours and designs rework the references with a relaxed, fresh sensibility. “In 100 years I would like to think that Inchyra fabrics will still be here, having become the antique textiles of their day,” says Caroline. The patterns are designed to build on one another, particularly rewarding as the light changes and a room starts to rely more on its layers.

A new design by Amy Kent, made in collaboration with furniture designer Julian Chichester, the Tapa rug brings a bold, graphic pattern to a statement wool flatweave. “My collaboration with Julian – whose creative mind is endlessly inspiring – has been a complete joy,” says Amy. Hand-woven in India, the absence of a pile keeps the pattern even and clear. Available in rich orange and green or softer caramel, it can be made bespoke to any size and colour.

The Specified has recently taken on Copenhagen-based designer Louise Roe, whose collection brings together sculptural forms in glass, ceramic and stone. Each piece is first modelled in wax before being translated into its finished material, giving the collection a considered relationship between shape, colour and surface. She describes the collection – with each piece beginning with a need or a question – as “almost like a balancing act: a small choir.”