A recent transplant from England to the Lowcountry, artist and floral enthusiast Lucy Hunter designs handpainted wallpaper and textiles inspired by the beauty of nature. She shared with us how her creations transform rooms by bringing the outside in.
How do your hand-painted wallpaper and fabrics enhance the feel and/or mood of a room?
To me, the most interesting rooms are the ones that are layered in a slightly eclectic way with stories and memories. Elevate decor by using the fabrics and wallcoverings in different patterns and textures that speak to you and make you smile every time you see them.
How does your English and European background influence your designs that capture the Lowcountry landscape?
I would like to think I can bring old world charm and romance to the Lowcountry that is full of incredible landscapes, people and history. As with my books and florals, I encourage people to look for wonder and beauty in the familiar and elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary with soft but strong colour combinations, layered designs and old world aesthetic.
What is a day in the studio like?
I am a lark, so I’m usually up early and I always do any work requiring total concentration first thing, before 10 AM with a strong hot coffee.
Time for new design work is usually saved for the afternoon with mugs of hot tea. I very rarely spend all day in the studio, though. I need to spend time in the garden or just outside. Sometimes I’ll draw and paint outdoors but then usually get distracted and end up doing just a little bit of gardening, weeding, dead heading, moving pots around on our deck and dreaming of new planting combinations. Sometimes I’ll bring blooms inside to arrange and spend an afternoon capturing them on my camera. It can mean new wallpapers and fabrics take longer to produce but it's all part of the process. It all informs the other.
How would you describe your various patterns?
I like to think of my designs as individual personalities. ‘Martha’ started as inspiration from a camellia flower and a bird motif from an old French textile I had collected many years before. The camellia came from a very old shrub. There is a feeling of an old soul about ‘Martha’ –she is grounded and eccentric but not afraid to be totally herself. I wanted her to feel timeless, with values from the past, a design that will last the generations.
‘Beatrice’ took her inspiration from an ancient fern –but she always felt fresh and sparky. I wanted her to be a design you could live with whatever your mood.
‘Margaux’ is a large-scale vine that takes her reference from the old walled gardens and courtyards here in Charleston. Her colours are more muted, with soft sage greens and a bruised fig vine, creams and a hint of butterscotch scrambling the walls.
‘Martha’ and ‘Beatrice’ are available on non-woven wallpaper and Belgium linen.
‘Margaux’ is available on non-woven paper and paper-back silk. Additional details are available on www.the-flowerhunter.com. Wallpaper and textiles can be ordered through Halsey and Spruce.
While I grapple to understand the humidity and soil here, the inspiration for my collections that hasn’t changed are both the light and colour combinations.