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Double Vision | Double Vision:
Interview with Nan Whitney Interior designer Nan Whitney of Boston,
Massachusetts created the two rooms featured here
and in the Calico Corners catalog.
Nan brings a wonderful design sensibility to her projects and worked closely with the Calico Corners merchandising team on these rooms. In a recent interview, Nan explained the process a designer goes through in creating a room and how decisions are made in selecting fabrics, furniture frames and accessories. |  | Q: At first glance, some people may not realize that this is the same room—dressed out two entirely different ways.
A: It was an interesting challenge! I think it’s important to have fun when decorating your rooms — to have things that are unexpected, but also inviting and comfortable. I think both these rooms achieve that goal. | | |  |  | | | Q: Let’s start with the “Boho Chic” room. It’s vibrant, spirited and colorful!
A: For this bohemian style, I wanted to play up the whole room with color and pattern. All the colors fit — they don’t match —but they all go together. I mixed patterns, colors and furniture styles in a way that feels playful, but very adult. | | |  | Q: Tell me about the choice of window treatment fabrics and style.
A: I liked having most of the pattern on the furniture, pillows and carpets in the room. So the draperies are colorful but calming, and the curvy cornices — they’re almost Moroccan looking — cap the look and provide a place for the eye to rest.
I wanted the draperies [Bishapur in Persimmon] to complement the colors, but not match any of the fabrics in the furniture.
The horizontal bands appear embroidered, but they're actually woven into the fabric and pick up the raspberry color of the cornice. | | | Q: I’m intrigued by the marriage of the contemporary sofa frame and the raspberry floral velvet fabric—it really works, but why?
A: Sandra’s Sofa is a track-arm frame with no skirt—and I thought putting the floral velvet [Miranda in Boysenberry] on this clean-lined frame would look updated, fresh and fun. If
we had chosen a tufted, antique-style frame, it would have looked very Victorian.
This marriage of fabric and frame plays against type and is unexpected. I thought it was a great blend with the other two chairs that felt more ‘old world.’ You have to be sensitive to what fabrics work on which frames.
|  | | | | Q: How did you decide which fabrics to use—and how many?
A: I started with 35 fabrics—and kept narrowing it down until there were 11 in the final room. I loved the Miranda floral velvet—we’ve used it in color Boysenberry on the sofa and in Ochre on Sharon’s Chair in the foreground. I didn’t want everything to be raspberry. It’s often a mistake when everything matches in color—you lose the line of the furniture. | | | |  |  | | | | Q: The ivory, taupe and charcoal colors used in this room are softer than a black/white combination. Tell me about how the fabrics were chosen.
A: I wanted a softer contrast in these opposing colors. We have black accents for punch in the welting on the loveseats, in the ribbon trim on the lampshade and in some of the accessories.
I love the stylized flowers in Waverly’s jacquard upholstery for the slipper chairs [Chrysanthemums in color Birch on Sinclair’s Chair]. The floral medallions are geometric, but not hard. The pattern adds visual interest to a room with a lot of angular shapes. And I liked the contrast with the crisp ivory linen loveseats.
Q: The way you have repeated geometric shapes in this room is quite interesting.
A: With the squared shapes in the furniture, the carpet and the grid in the sheers, the room needed round shapes in the accessories. The vases, lamps, end tables and glass paperweights (on the ottoman) were chosen with that in mind. Even the leopard fabric pillows add an organic shape [Panthera in color Honey] and a fun touch to the room while keeping the loveseats crisp and sharp. |  |  | | | | Q: Why did you select the charcoal sheer for the windows?
A: I knew I wanted a sheer at the windows, because I love light—I didn’t want a heavy texture there. The fabric [Chenille Plaid Organdy in Smoke] softens the window, adds color and filters light. The grid pattern comes from a chenille yarn woven through the organza ground.
I love how the light coming through the smoky sheer changes the tone of the fabric.
|  | | | | Q: The Patrick’s Loveseat has no skirt. It’s a great choice of frame for an ivory fabric because there’s no danger of shoe-polish residue collecting on the skirt!
A: Yes, the open frame of the two chairs and the ottoman dictated to me that there should be no skirts on the loveseats [done in Slubby Linen in Ivory].
I like the soft edges of the oversize Jack’s Ottoman—it’s a great place for people to perch at a party. And the charcoal color means no worries about putting your feet up! |  | | | | | Click to see more details about these fabrics |  |  |  | | | Chrysanthemums/Birch | Slubby Linen/Ivory | Panthera/Honey |
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