r a c h e l b a u e r d e s i g n

Primavera

Published on April 11, 2013 by Rachel Bauer in Blog, Inspiration, Uncategorized

Spring has finally arrived. Two weeks ago it was snowing here in Northern Virginia, but now the cherry blossoms are blooming and everything’s in bud. (Never mind that the temperature was in the nineties yesterday.)

In honor of spring, I thought I’d create a spring inspired room. I’ve always wanted to design a room around the painting Primavera by Sandro Botticelli. Painted in 1482, it is bursting with beautiful fabrics, great textures, and rich colors that would translate to a gorgeous bedroom.

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy

The background of the painting is a grove of citrus trees with a pale blue sky behind. For the walls of my Primavera bedroom, I’d use this beautiful de Gournay hand-painted wallpaper.

Jardinieres Citrus Trees by de Gournay

Jardinieres Citrus Trees detail by de Gournay

The figures in the painting are standing on a lush field of an amazing variety of flowers. I’d use this area rug from Stark Carpet to create a similar look.

Stark

The central figure, Venus, is draped in rich silks of blue and rust, both of which appear to have a diamond pattern. I would design a window treatment for this bedroom based on these fabrics and with an unstructured draping design in the fabrics below.

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli detail

Kravet 20485-5, Lee Jofa TL10086, & Kravet 8771-12

The Three Graces in the painting are draped in a light diaphanous fabric.

The Three Graces Sandro Botticelli

I’d do a similar draping of lightweight linen sheers on Niermann Weeks’ Loire canopy bed, like in this room by Gary McBournie.

Gary McBournie

For the bedding, I’d use the figures to the right in the painting for inspiration. I’d use the silk fabric with floral bouquets for the coverlet and add pillows in the Fortuny fabric. (Fortuny was a must for this space!)