They come at you like images from some long forgotten painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner: girls jumping double dutch next to field scenes of men and women working the crops; kids balling, 19th century style, with hoops set high in trees while happy couples court and dance. It's modern and contemporary at the same time; that's the genius of Harlem Toile, a new collection of sheets and wallpaper by designer Sheila Bridges.
"Just as Marie Antoinette passionately decorated the interior of Versailles in toile," writes Sheila on her website. "I have always enjoyed using classic Toile fabrics and wall coverings in the interiors that I design for my clients. After searching for many years for the perfect toile for my own home, I decided that it quite simply didn't exist. French Toile de Jouy has historically told stories about pastoral life by adorning fabrics and papers with rural, historical, mythological and oriental themes. Harlem Toile de Jouy tells a rich yet satirical story about African-American lives."
As many of you know, Sheila Bridges was named the best interior designer in America by CNN/Time and one of her most famous commissions was designing the 8300 square feet Harlem offices of former President Bill Clinton. You can see her show, Sheila Bridges Designer Living, on Fine Living. I first had the privilege of meeting Sheila when I interviewed her for my book, Having It All? Black Women and Success and I've been a huge fan of hers ever since.
I'm a girl who moves a lot. In the past five years, I've lived in Los Angeles, Paris and Philadelphia with a pied a terre in Tokyo thrown into the mix. But Sheila's book, Furnishing Forward, like Gordon Parks' Half Past Autumn, is a book that I never have to search for. I always keep a copy nearby. It's because of Sheila's Furnishing Forward that I have been so bold with color: matching the yellow of my bedroom walls to the bright colors of our Iona Rozeal Brown prints. Similarly, using the Furnishing Forward concept, I've repurposed and reupholstered my first grown up piece, an oversized chair and a half, and watched it happily move from my living room to the guest bedroom to my office.
I'm looking forward to seeing the journey that my Harlem toile sheets make as my little family continues its travels and I look forward to the day when I can happily hoist dove gray Harlem toile wallpaper on my kitchen walls. Don't get me started on my lust for Sheila's new line of outdoor furniture, the Cole Collection.
It's a good thing that I believe in the joy of delayed gratification. While I daydream of waterside digs, filled with treasures from the Sheila Bridges collection, I'm scouring her newsletter for great home ideas. Because while I'm happy to tell you all about how I feather my nest, Sheila truly is the Nestmaker.
