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Table linen

Thanks to modern printing techniques and especially digital methods, textile designers have revamped table linen with colourful, artistic and often intricate patterns.

Fabric has become one of the preferred vehicles of expression for many professional graphic artists, illustrators and designers. Marianne Diemer, a graphic designer from the field of advertising and packaging design, has been focusing on table linen since 1995. Her credo is  &ldquoto reinterpret the great classics of decoration using the techniques and design concepts of the digital era&rdquo. Her latest creations which include her "Cardiff&rdquo tablecloth, decorated with outsize black and white hound&rsquos tooth check and &ldquoSquare&rdquo tablecloth, with its Mondrian-type primary colours, add bright chic to our table settings.

Young designers also draw inspiration from the linen presses of yesteryear. Red and ecru tea towels, embroidery and raw materials such as hemp have all been modernised and given a new twist. Anne Hubert has revamped traditional linen by combining classical patterns and hip details. Toile de Jouy, cameos and damask checks now come in fluorescent pinks and yellows which would have been unthinkable a few decades ago. Linen only became colourful in the 20th century. Before that, tablecloths and napkins were only designed in white or the natural colour of fabrics. White has long remained synonymous with household linen. There was little change in style or type until the end of the 19th century. Tablecloths have existed since Antiquity but were developed in the Middle Ages by the Italians before they were supplanted by Flemish weavers in the 16th century . A symbol of refinement and social distinction, tablecloths were the prerogative of the upper classes.  However, they soon became more democratic and, along with Table napkins , were an essential part of a girl&rsquos trousseau.

 Whether square or rectangular, tablecloths were made of white damask linen and embroidered with the family monogram from the 16th century onwards.  This reversible fabric with its woven pattern comes from Damascus in Syria. For many centuries, embroidery was the only way of decorating Table linen . The main motifs were flowers, rural scenes, country folk and geometrical designs.

The 20th century revolutionised both the use of tablecloths and their shape. Today, table sets are reserved for festive occasions such as weddings, Christenings and Christmas. Place mats and table runners are used the rest of the year. More functional, they correspond better to today&rsquos concept of entertaining, which is relaxed and informal. Easy to look after materials, such as woven vinyl and plant fibres, are very popular. Paper napkins are no longer reserved for picnics. No one is shocked to seem them on the table. Plastic tablecloths, which are just as practical, but more attractive than oil cloths, are widely used. Very similar to fabric in appearance, they brighten our tables with their gaily coloured dots, flowers and stripes.

Whether you are looking for a designer tablecloth for a big occasion or place mats for everyday use, you will find a wide choice of Table linen to make meal time an attractive, stylish moment!

Latest News...

| Annabel Gueret has created a website specialising in the sale of vintage furniture as a tribute to her grandfather Edmond. The objects come from the 1950s, a highly influential period in the history of design. A children&rsquos range is proposed as well as her own creations in limited editions. | Aïssa Logerot, a young graduate from the ENSCI design school in Paris, has an amusing collection of innovative designs. With &ldquoMadam is served&rdquo, the ironing board turns into a swing mirror. Both amusing and multifunctional. 
 

VIA DESIGN 3.0 - 1979-2009 - 30 years of furniture design
16/12/09-01/02/2010, Pompidou Centre, Paris

The VIA association for innovation in furniture and the Pompidou Centre are celebrating VIA's thirtieth anniversary with an exhibition of forty pieces and a video retracing French design in the last thirty years.
On this occasion, forty prototypes and numerous graphic pieces from VIA's collection will be donated to the National Modern Art Museum.
You will discover the very early designs of Philippe Starck, Martin Szekely, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, Matali Crasset, Mathieu Lehanneur, François Azambourg and Philippe Rahm, along pieces by Gaetano Pesce and Andrée Putman.
Created in 1979, VIA is a remarkable platform for research and expression aimed at promoting creation and innovation in the home decoration sector, both in France and abroad. It encourages exchanges between designers, manufacturers, marketers and distributors.

www.via.fr