Friday, February 28, 2014

collecting....Toile de Jouy

As with most classic French decorating styles & arts, using toile seems to always be in style...to find an antique copper plated toile textile is a true joy, the colors are very intense and the scene or pattern is rarely seen in today's toile...I love toile, especially the antique & vintage pieces. When I can't find an older piece, I use tea or coffee to create the aged feel of an antique textile...just a couple hours of soaking the fabric usually works well..
"Toile de Jouy", sometimes abbreviated to simply "toile", is a type of decorating pattern consisting of a white or off-white background on which a repeated pattern depicting a fairly complex scene, generally of a pastoral theme such as a couple having a picnic by a lake or an arrangement of flowers. The pattern portion consists of a single color, most often black, dark red, or blue. Greens, greys, browns, and magenta toile patterns are less common, but not unheard of. Dark backgrounds with a single color, usually whites or cream is also considered toile. Toile is most associated with fabrics though toile wallpaper is also popular. Toile can also be used on teapots, beddings, clothing, plates, tote bags..etc. In upper-class northern European society, toile is often seen on dresses or aprons used at such events as country-themed garden parties or tea parties.

Toiles were originally produced in Ireland in the mid-18th Century and quickly became popular in Britain and France. The term, Toile de Jouy, originated in France in the late 18th century. In  the French language, the phrase literally means "cloth from Jouy-de- Josas", a town of north-central France. Sharing with you some of my fave ways to use toile...

love the toile in this dining room from Dominique Vorillon

purple tulips grace this toile flower stand at Rue 27 Maison this week...
brown toile is perfect for this natural burlap bergere...
New Orleans toile from hazelnut...
love the large blue & white toile pillows...
beautifully detailed toile...
red toile from....This Joy House
simply perfect french grey toile...from stinemos uk
love the toile chairs in the garden for afternoon tea...
antique French copper plate purple toile...

Cheers....until next time

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE toile! Thanks for the post LInda. J

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  2. Hi, Jenny, thank you for stopping by...always love your comments! Linda xx

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