Kaleidoscope Bow Border: Luxury Lilac Passementerie | Featured in Homes & Gardens

Featured in Homes & Gardens: Kaleidoscope Bow Border in 'Angelica'

I am delighted to share that my Kaleidoscope Bow Border, crafted in collaboration with the luxury Passementerie house Samuel & Sons, has been featured in this month's Homes & Gardens 'Ultra Violet' feature. This exquisite trim in the captivating 'Angelica' colourway represents the perfect combination of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design sensibility.

Lilac, along with its enchanting colour cousins lavender, periwinkle, and wisteria, represents one of nature's most beguiling colour families. Positioned gracefully between blue and pink on the colour wheel, lilac embodies tranquillity and elegance. This delicate hue first entered English colour terminology in the early 18th century, quickly establishing itself as a symbol of refinement. Throughout the Victorian era, lilac became synonymous with femininity, grace, romance, and beauty, making it a coveted choice for fashionable clothing and accessories.

Lilac holds a special place in my heart as a colour that manages to be both gentle and captivating, possessing an extraordinary ability to harmonise beautifully with countless other hues, especially green. This enchanting quality inspired 'Angelica' - my stunning lilac and green colour way within my passementerie collaboration with Samuel & Sons. Spanning seven distinct designs, the Angelica colourway breathes life into an entire collection of cords, braids, fringes and trims, each piece radiating its own unique character.

Luxury Lilac passementerie

A stunning array of elaborate handmade passementerie was created by Declerq Passementerie during the restoration of Marie Antoinette’s private petits appartements at Versailles. Image from the Versailles Palace Magazine.

Lilac has held a cherished place in the world of luxury Passementerie for centuries, prized for its associations with nobility, refinement, and artistic sensibility. Perhaps no space better exemplifies this than Marie Antoinette's private petits appartements at Versailles, where lilac-hued rosettes, tassels and braids create an atmosphere of unprecedented luxury and femininity.

Parma violet silk radiates next to spring greens, gold and white. An exceptional handmade tassel and rosette adorns a bolster cushion, creating a resplendent effect.

During Marie Antoinette's reign, her petits appartements underwent several decorative transformations - evolving from an initial white palette to a striking blue scheme before she ultimately chose an exquisite combination of lilac and green. This final colour story proved to be her most enduring choice, reflecting her refined taste and love of sophisticated harmony. In recent years, the petits appartements have been meticulously restored to this lilac and green period, with every detail of the original passementerie faithfully recreated by Declerq Passementerie, allowing modern visitors to experience the same luxurious atmosphere that once surrounded the ill-fated queen.

Combining couture colour & craft

My Angelica colourway for Samuel & Sons is available in 7 distinct passementerie designs - including the Kaleidoscope Pom Pom fringe, Kaleidoscope Crete and the Kaleidoscope Fringe, all pictured here.

My inspiration for the Kaleidoscope Bow Border emerged from an intriguing mixture of inspirations, each element contributing to a unique design alchemy. The initial spark came from a wonderful 1920s hat ribbon that possessed such spirit that it simply demanded to be reimagined in a playful manner suitable for contemporary interior design. This initial inspiration was enriched by serendipitous discoveries - delicate yarn cuttings scattered across my desk, fragments of vintage embroideries that caught my eye, and intuitive sketches captured in my sketchbook. Together, these diverse influences wove themselves into something entirely new, each contributing its own voice to the final design.

A close-up of My Kaleidoscope Bow Border for Samuel & Sons. Each petite bow is delicately woven through a ribbed border by hand.

The Angelica colourway presents an unusual yet elegant combination that is both sophisticated yet playful. Multi-tonal lilac forms the foundation of this beautiful design, moving through shades of soft lavender to deeper French lavender. A joyful spring green provides an unexpected yet harmonious counterpoint, bringing fresh vitality to the composition, while ivory threads weave throughout, lending luminosity and refinement to the overall effect.

Intriguing and unexpected colour and cord placements creates a striking figure of 8 Crete design in the Kaleidoscope Crete design.

The Kaleidoscope Bow Border in 'Angelica' would look delightful when adorning cushions, creating a softly whimsical detail. Imagine the Kaleidoscope Pom Pom Fringe dancing along the leading edge of curtains, where its playful, multi-tonal poms would create the most delightful surprise - a charming, unexpected detail that catches the light and brings movement to the room with every gentle breeze.

The Kaleidoscope Pom Pom Fringe in ‘Angelica’. A delightful array of handmade pom poms dangles gently from a braided header. The colour placement on each pom pom is slightly different from its neighbour, creating a subtle, yet unexpected effect.

To explore the full range of our Samuel & Sons collaboration, including cords, braids, fringes, and specialty trims in the enchanting 'Angelica' colourway, visit the Samuel & Sons website. Their expert team can provide detailed specifications, ordering information, and professional guidance to help you incorporate these exceptional pieces into your next luxury interior project.

Whether you're designing a romantic bedroom scheme reminiscent of Versailles' grandeur or adding sophisticated finishing touches to contemporary furnishings, the marriage of traditional craftsmanship and innovative design awaits your discovery.

For trade inquiries and to view the complete collection, visit Samuel & Sons or contact their design consultants directly. If you are not a trade customer, please visit Jane Clayton for ordering information.

Image sources:

Close up of the passementerie created by Declerq for the restoration of Marie Antoinette’s petits appartements, please click here.