The Design District

Posted By Lisa Radon on 12/10/2008

What started it a couple of years ago was a crazy notion of using burlap to make a handbag…to counter all the frou handbags with something rough and raw and textural and decidedly un-shiny.

Well, I bought some burlap and guess what? Burlap has a really strong burlap odor…so much so that I thought, here in my rainy Northwest, that for much of the year I’d smell like something between a wet dog and a stevedore.

But I do like burlap for all of its qualities mentioned above. So what about it as an interior fabric? I thought about covering the dining room chair seats in it, but on a summer afternoon, if we sat down to tea in our bathing suits for some reason, it would be scratchy. I’ve put the whole burlap idea on hold…for now.

So when I saw this unbleached linen covered pillow (above) in Ink & Peat (3808 N. Williams Ave), I was thrilled. It has the roughed-up vibe I was looking for and it’s texture feels really good to the touch.

I like the idea of it juxtaposed with bright, clean white like my down comforter which is like a cloud.

On a related note, I saw these printed unbleached linen tea towels (they’re only $13), by FlowerPress. I love them and their spikey floral (and you won’t often hear me saying the words “love” and “floral” in the same sentence). Could make such great gifts.

Any ideas about what I should do with the burlap?