Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Through the years, the classic Paule Marrot fabric, Les Tulipes, has made appearances in quite a few well-appointed residences. Take, for example, the home seen above. Located in Bermuda, the house was decorated in the mid-1940s by Ruby Ross Wood, who chose the orange colorway of Les Tulipes for the living room's sofas and slipper chairs.

Wood's protege, Billy Baldwin, was also a fan of Les Tulipes, having used it on at least two occasions.

  

And then there was Stephen Mallory of Mallory-Tillis, who, like Wood and Baldwin before him, favored Les Tulipes, although this time the fabric was used to vibrant effect in a bedroom. (That vivid orange-red background must have been like a jolt of caffeine when viewed upon waking.)

In the 1970s, Toronto designer Robert Dirstein selected the fabric for his cozy, jewel-box library. Les Tulipes looks less floral-y when surrounded by dark painted walls, chrome, and smoked glass, don't you think?

Paule Marrot's tulips also figured prominently in the living room of this Otto Zenke-designed home in County Clare, Ireland, although here they were joined by irises and daffodils.  This Marrot print is known as Guermantes, which is still available today through Brunschwig & Fils.

In fact, Guermantes' most recent appearance was in a home decorated by Miles Redd and David Kaihoi, which appears in the current issue of Architectural Digest.  This house was located in the Bahamas rather than Bermuda, but the effect was much like it was in the Ruby Ross Wood-decorated house.  Cheery, upbeat, and fresh as a, well, daisy.  (Bjorn Wallander, photographer.)