Spring trends aren’t just reserved for flowers. This year, you’ll want to appreciate the vibrant, desert-inspired stripe—
especially in outdoor-fabric patterns. And home-décor enthusiasts have designer Liz Lambert and her colorfully chic and sophisticated collaboration, Perennials by Far West, to thank.
Lambert’s designs for this Baja-meets-bohemian fabric, which can be stunning on many an outdoor lounger, poolside cabana, and breezy hammock right now, emerged from her extensive and eclectic research process when she embarks on creating a new collection. “I spend a lot of time absorbing inspiration by traveling, reading, shopping at flea markets, and visiting museums around the world,” she says. “And I surround myself with art books and reference materials—everything from magazine tear sheets to swatches of fabrics to rocks I find on the beach.”
The designer, who grew up in a seventh-generation Texas cattle-ranching family, calls Austin her home base, and the entire state the single largest influence in her life—one that crosses the border. “Life in Texas is inextricably linked to Mexican culture,” she says. “I grew up with that influence, like most Texans.” And Lambert has spent a lot of time exploring Mexico; today she even owns a home in El Pescadero, a village on the southern end of the state of Baja California Sur.
It’s her expert melding of Mexican and Texan cultural vibes and aesthetics that brings her new collection with Perennials to life. “The designs share a quality of light and a certain ease of the pace of existence that gives me time to think and explore,” she explains. “I mostly worked in colors that reflect the sky at golden hour.”
The results include such standout combinations as the bold Tejas Stripe in hot pink, the more traditional multihued Serape Stripe in blue and turquoise (seen on the cushions below), and the playful Roadrunner Stripe in a mellow melon tune. When you take the whole set into account, Lambert has dreamed up a color palette and stripe pattern that’ll pair well with almost any décor style.
The choice of outdoor fabrics also perfectly match Lambert’s lifestyle. “I live so much of my life outside,” she says. “It was a dream to develop this line of textiles that is both beautiful and so durable.” The latter point was of key concern to the designer, who has long had to replace fabrics annually because they would get beaten up and faded by the sun and salty air at her home in Mexico. This was an issue not just because of the extra expense, but also in terms of sustainability and her desire to waste as few resources as possible.
Perennials’ 100 percent solution-dyed acrylic fabrics offered Lambert a natural feel that nonetheless resists ultraviolet degradation. (They’ve been tested in the harsh Arizona desert.) “It’s really wild how these fabrics work,” she says. Each piece is backed by a three-year no-fade guarantee; spilled liquids, including wine, simply run off the surface and rinse away with plain water. “I almost couldn’t believe there was a way to make soft, natural textiles that could endure pretty much anything!” she adds.
Lambert says she lives by the design mantra “Don’t give the people what they want, show them something they don’t know they want yet.” So she seeks comfort and livability in all her projects, finding her joy in the iterative and meandering process, while still allowing intuition to guide her.
“I think the most important thing about decorating a home is that it’s a reflection of the personalities, the way of living, and the experiences of the people inhabiting it,” Lambert says. She’s especially pleased that these fabrics will feel at home in everything from a contemporary beachside bungalow to a Spanish-style stucco home for years to come: “This collection is fairly neutral and works with many styles—that’s why I love it so much.”
This content was originally published here.
