Thursday, July 30, 2009

Botanical Bliss

We've all seen the array of vintage, or made-to-look vintage botanical prints that have graced the design scene for the last few years. Most recently, we were awed and entertained by the fantastic, oversize versions selected by designer Bunny Williams for the Kips Bay showhouse. (Full article and pics at house beautiful).

The history of botanical prints dates back to ancient Roman times - where images of plants and herbs were depicted to provide reference to different species. Later, during the Renaissance, interest in the natural world blossomed, and botanical renderings became more detailed and beautiful - an art form, if you will.*

These days, despite their lineage, you'll find botanicals used in not-so-traditional interiors.
from here
image here
In many cases, though, you'll find botanicals placed in classic, grid arrangement.
You have to give a homeowner credit when they throw design "rules" to the wind. Like these unframed versions used with wallpaper effect. Design street cred, I tell ya!
Despite thinking such traditional art may not fit the scheme of my Brazilian casa, I've been snooping around for a cool set of vintage prints. I'm thinking something tropical: palms, orchids, maybe tropical fruit So I was thrilled when I got a hot tip via Full House. (Be sure to read her interview with Caitlin Creer for some awesome DIY images!)
Vintage Printables has printable clipart images of vintage botanicals - I do believe I'll need to warm up my printer for this!
Here's some of my faves:


*History of botanical prints here

7 comments:

thekettrickfive said...

I have the first picture torn out of the magazine. I LOVE it! I am going to have my little girl "copy" it for me and hang it in the living room!

LindsB said...

ohh, I love vintage things, or new things that feel vintage are cool too :) Often I fall in love with something that is truly vintage and I cant afford it, so this is a great option, thanks for the heads up!

Tricia said...

I actually made some botanicals myself a few months ago using things from our yard. It was a fun project for me and my daughter and I love how they turned out!

so.chic said...

I found some great botannical prints at antique store where I love and I love them!! They are currently in white west elm frames, hanging on the wall behind my bed.

Averill said...

I love that print Bunny Williams used...the colors are just fantastic. That said though, I'm not generally a huge fan of botanical prints -- I tend to either go for moody (or personal) photography, Japanese woodcuts or really, really colorful paintings.

Minnie said...

i just saw a post on someone else's blog for someone selling botanical pull down charts for an astronomical (to me, anyway) price of over $300 each. i went with a cavallani calendar (vegetable garden) i bought on sale for $10. not sure yet whether i'll frame some of the pages or be gutsy and try to "wallpaper" a wall with them. i did something similiar with a vintage travel poster calendar i bought, framed some pages, then hung in my bedroom, which truthfully is rarely seen much less investigated up close to see whther they're nice prints or pages from a calendar!

Maureen Stevens said...

vintage botanical prints are so cool. I'm trying to find butterlies & moth prints, too. I think they'll be great for a collage.