I Love Stripes

People who know me well know I love stripes. The energetic and infinite quality of stripes has appealed to me for quite awhile, and I’ve incorporated them into my interiors throughout my career. I learned something interesting recently from a French historian’s book: in the Middle Ages, stripes were used in clothing as a symbol of the Devil and were worn by outcasts like clowns and prisoners. Slowly, in Western society, stripes evolved and became symbols for keeping things organized and for whimsical fun. For instance, stripes became widely used in military uniforms and are often depicted in Impressionist paintings.

The evolution of stripes is fascinating to me. Today, they are frequently used in interior design and fashion to make a statement with graphic, crisp order. Check out a few photos I took of designers doing just that!

This lounge chair from McKinnon and Harris covered in neutral stripes stopped me dead in my tracks on 59th Street earlier this year. I love the colors and the clean construction of the horizontal stripes.

This is the floor of the recently re-designed Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The black-and-white floor is sexy and sleek.

The entry hallway of the hotel Borgo Scopeto Relais in Tuscany, Italy. This 5-star hotel was once the home of the illustrious Sozzini Sienese family. This cool multi-stripe detail runs along all the walls throughout the hotel and adds that interesting modern touch that the Italians do so well.

This is a new china pattern by Raynaud Limoges called Attraction. The small multi-colored thread-like lines that encircle the pieces are gorgeous.

Fun in the sun! This is the beach at Positano, Italy. The rhythm of the blue-and-white painted fence in the foreground against the orange-and-green striped umbrellas behind is so festive. I want to be there again right now!

When creating the logo for my interior design firm, incorporating stripes seemed a natural fit — and representative of the crisp and dynamic designs of my interiors. I also love the colors vicuna and charcoal!