Borders are back. In paper form for walls, but also as textiles for upholstery and soft furnishings. They are increasingly becoming a focal point in schemes, giving interior designers the edge in more ways than one. Knowing how much to use and where is a matter of interpretation, but knowing where to source is key. Adored by interior designers worldwide, top British textile designer Pink House by Rebecca Cole has become the go-to name for bespoke and vintage textile borders.

Meet Pink House by Rebecca Cole

I had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca a few years ago when some of her work was on display at the Guy Goodfellow showroom in London and again in 2019 when she collaborated with interior designer Natalie Tredgett and other artist makers on an avant-garde project called The ‘Mrs & Mr Bateman’ experience in a Notting Hill townhouse.

This concept showcased the talents of artisan fashion and interior designers using the fictional characters of the Bateman family in interior designed room sets. It is worth remembering that this was pre Wow House! at The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, and was an exciting prospect for visitors that rightly received a lot of press attention at the time.

Rebecca’s textile designs have continued to be feted in the press from UK House & Garden to The World of Interiors and Milieu magazines.

Where did it all begin for Rebecca Cole?

Winding the bobbin back to the beginning of Rebecca’s career, I was keen to know where it all began for her. She says, “I studied textile design at Chelsea School of Art, way back when it was still based in Shepherd’s Bush. It was a really vibrant area, and we were all inspired by the amazing Indian and African fabric shops in Shepherd’s Bush Market.

I studied design for printed textiles, specialising in botanical florals for both fashion and furnishing fabrics. The course set me up brilliantly to become a freelance designer and I was very lucky to have some great commissions straight after graduating, eventually creating my own design agency representing over 15 designers and working with some of the top design companies globally.”

Rebecca Cole’s creative family

Rebecca says, “I am lucky enough to come from a really creative family. My mother is a talented fine artist and my father Hector Cole MBE FWCB and sister Melissa Cole are blacksmiths. My other sister Charlotte (Hill-Baldwin), is a kitchen designer with her own range of specialist kitchen cupboard paints. There has always been a symbiosis across our family’s creative projects and that internal support network has probably helped us all to survive as artisans in a commercial world!”

Mentor and commissions

“One of the first companies I designed for was Laura Ashley. I worked closely with their Print Design Director Jaine McCormack (now a full-time artist and co-organiser of Oxfordshire’s Watlington Art Weeks) and she has remained a mentor and great supporter of my work throughout my career.

“I have been commissioned by some amazing companies to produce designs, many of which have been very successful. Sanderson was able to beautifully reproduce my detailed floral style in print and in the USA my designs have been in the collections of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein. More recently I worked again with Jaine to design for the Guy Goodfellow Collection, creating printed designs inspired by Guy’s famous Fez Weave.“

Border interior design ideas for curtains

This elegant curtain was designed by interior designer Honor Devereux of Devereux Designs using (top): St Sennery block print was custom made and colour matched by Pink House by Rebecca Cole to (middle): braid from Samuel and Sons; (bottom): Piedmont design fabric from Guy Goodfellow Collection; on linen fabric by de Le Cuona.

Design inspiration from France and Nigeria

“When my children were small, we lived in rural France and it was there that I developed my interest in collecting antique French bedlinen, trawling local brocantes and rummaging amongst piles of old textiles was my idea of heaven! I really had no idea what I was going to do with them all until I returned to London and wanted to start my own hand-printed textile collection.

Many of the linens were damaged, so I used them to test my blocks, and this is where the idea of printed trims evolved. I started to print narrow lengths of fabric that can be applied to curtains and upholstery as decorative features. I displayed these designs in the Guy Goodfellow Collection showroom in Chelsea and gradually started to add to my collection.

I had always loved the traditional textiles of my husband’s Nigerian culture and we had often spoken of reflecting our ‘marriage of two cultures’ in my textiles. This was the catalyst for combining my designs for printed borders with the beautiful handwoven strips used in traditional Nigerian costume. These strips are usually sewn together to form large pieces of fabric to make the flowing robes worn by tribal chiefs and for special occasions. I wanted to use them in a different way by applying them to home furnishings.

We have developed relationships with artisan weavers in Nigeria and are really conscious of the importance of supporting the fragile craft ecosystem that is being severely damaged by imports of cheaply woven and printed textiles from China into the Nigerian market. We also work with some very talented Nigerian embroiderers who recreate some of my printed patterns as embroidered designs onto the woven trims. They are used to stitching short lengths of embroidery for garments and have bravely embraced this very different way of working to produce metres of pattern to consistent standards and colours. Using freestyle machine embroidery, the lengths of embroidered trim usually are around 15m long and every piece is created on a bespoke basis.”

Woven stripe border

One of Rebecca Cole’s latest woven borders in ‘Biscuit’.

Border design idea for upholstery by U.S. interior designer Ashley Avrea

I have to admit to stopping in my tracks when I saw this beautiful living room design by Dallas-based interior designer Ashley Avrea of Avrea and Co. The eye cannot fail to be drawn to Rebecca’s stunning handwoven and embroidered Imole Gilt border. The border along with bold upholstery tacks, succinctly creates definition to the smart chaises sofa.

I also love the harmonious combination of pattern and colour along with the room’s gentle nod to the East. For me, the scheme achieves the perfect balance between a relaxed and tailored look.

Border ideas for sustainable upholstery and soft furnishings

Border fabrics are perfect for giving new life to existing upholstery as here on a chair, to the edge of an ottoman or to the leading edge of curtains. The leading edge is often the first part of a curtain to suffer from use over time but can easily be rectified with the addition of a smart new border.

Private train interior design by Sara Oliver

Rebecca Cole’s hand-embroidered Imole border was used by interior designer Sara Oliver of Studio Nomad for a rather special project in the carriages of a private train.

The full story showing the border on exquisite bed throws was photographed by Michael Sinclair and written by Amy Sherlock in the August 2023 edition of World of Interiors magazine.

You can see Rebecca’s Instagram reel of the project here.

Blog rewind

Perhaps you might remember Rebecca’s beautiful sultry midnight blue wallpapers as featured in my blog post Coastal Style 2021.

Contact Rebecca Cole

Whilst Rebecca deals directly with clients in the UK and Europe via her website, her USA clients are looked after “by my brilliant agents in Dallas, Brooks Thomas. Daniel and Brian head the company and run a beautiful showroom where my collection is displayed. They specialise in representing British artisans and really understand the idiosyncrasies of working with artisan makers who don’t always have capacity to instantly supply unlimited samples to designers for client presentations!”

Thank you

Thank you so much for reading this post. If you have enjoyed reading it and would like to receive email alerts for future posts, then please subscribe for free via the blue ‘Subscribe’ button either at the beginning or end of a post.

With many thanks,

Charis x