Getting to Know Different Types of Floral
Floral pattern’s roots (no pun intended) can be traced all the way back to the 11th century in China, where luxurious floral silk fabrics and clothing were worn by the wealthy and became highly profitable and desired trade items across Asia. From there, it slowly spread into India where it merged with India’s preexisting rich fabric and dyeing industries, such as the historical chintz fabric. Many countries, India being one of them, developed their own distinct floral patterns in art independently of China’s influence, but China is believed to have been first to merge florals and fabrics.
From India, floral fabric finally made its way to Europe in the 14th century but became most popular in the 17th- 18th centuries. As the Renaissance came to an end and made its final ripples across Europe, it brought with it the mindset of higher, urbanized living standards and a rejection of the “dark age” that came before it. With this new affluent mindset combined with the abundance of expensive goods coming from the East, 1700s Europe became flush with decadent homes and clothing owned by the upper echelons of society- and floral embroidered fabric was one of the items at the top of the list.
Even 300 years later, floral patterns remain a favorite choice in the interior design world- especially for small accent items like pillows. Centuries worth of creativity, innovation, and societal change have created dozens of different styles of floral that are recognized today- meaning there’s a floral throw pillow out there to suit almost any person’s style. Let’s talk about a few of those!
Ditsy floral is a very modern take on floral pattern and is currently extremely popular in clothing and interior design for Summer 2022. “Ditsy” is most commonly used to describe floral patterns, but it actually just refers to any pattern that is tiny and irregular. Some other patterns that can often be found with ditsy versions are spots, geometrics, and animal prints. Ditsy floral throw pillows are great for adding a dainty and feminine touch to a space without being too bold. Our Leonti Throw Pillow is a fun take on ditsy floral, featuring an allover dandelion print on coral. The Carver Pillow Sham is a great example of a ditsy leopard print.
Paisley is not a purely floral pattern, but it traditionally incorporates floral elements. This intricate pattern is characterized by teardrop shaped motifs with lots of botanical and scroll detailing. Paisley also tends to feature lots of colors in its plentiful detailing. Paisley pattern is believed to be over 2,000 years old and was introduced to European traders alongside other fine fabrics as they made their way West. In modern times, paisley fabric is best associated with its popularity among the hippie scene in the late 1960s- 1970s, a reputation that somewhat persists today. Paisley is also a flexible pattern that can be designed to look elegant and classy or modern and fun, depending on the detailing and colors used in the pattern. Our lively Villette Lumbar Pillow comes in 3 bright colors that pay homage to the paisley of the 70s. The Medfield Pillow Sham, on the other hand, takes a much more muted approach to paisley floral pillows, featuring plenty of negative space and a solid silver or gold paisley pattern.
