Swatch Out! I need input...

It's opinion time.  I'm collecting fabric swatches right now because I will be recovering 3 chairs for the living room and making coordinating pillows.  Two of the chairs I will be recovering are slipper chairs that we purchased at the Room And Board Outlet Store in Golden Valley, MN about 4 years ago.  - Awesome place to shop.  Bring a truck! -  The chairs are similar to this picture (right) but with fabric.  The shape is classic and functional, and they are really comfortable.  Of course the cats thought so too... furry little balls of destruction...  Love them!  Anyway, I have been wanting to recover them for some time.

The third chair is a vintage chair we will be getting from my mom.  It has an upholstered back and seat and wooden arms and legs.  I remember it in the house when I was little, and my mom has recovered it a few times.  I'm excited to breath some new life into it myself.


So, now I'm trying to figure out my color/pattern scheme.  The living room is part of an open floor plan flowing directly into the dining room and kitchen.  The updated kitchen has a decidedly French flair with black and red accents.  I'm bringing those colors out into the dining area through the use of one of our art pieces, "Cafe Tivoli" and accessories

The living room will have "Spirit of the City," by Ryan Kelly, as its artistic centerpiece.  So, you can see our art tastes skew a bit, shall we say, modern eclectic?  The walls are a warm, buttery yellow and the floors are a beautiful oak hardwood.  Currently there are curtains in the same yellow/gold as the walls.  (Those may change to chocolate brown leather or possibly white, we'll see once the fabrics are decided.)

The other pieces of furniture are firmly in the brown family.  We will have a large buffet that my great grandfather and uncles built out of the barn boards from the Brown family farm.  (PRICELESS!)  As well as my mom's upright piano that she bought from a door to door salesman.  – I'm a sucker for great stories of acquisition. – There will also be a modern, square coffee table that has a wooden frame and woven leather straps that I got at the Slumberland Clearance area in Maplewood, MN.   And, finally, a bonded leather couch from Slumberland called the Brockport.  The pillows on this thing are not my style at all, but they will make excellent forms for the new covers.

Now, after all this setup, we get to the fun part.  Fabric swatches!!  I visited two online resources for the fabrics.  Both allowed me to purchase swatches that will be arriving by mail next week.  I am waffling between a men's suiting kind of feel and a more modern eclectic mix of colors and patterns.  I'd love to hear opinions!!

The first scheme is the suiting scheme.  I am becoming completely obsessed with houndstooth.  I can't explain it, I just am.  I found this awesome lemon and chocolate houndstooth pattern on fabricguru.com.  (And it's on clearance.  I need 5 yards, so don't buy it all.)  I thought this would be lovely on my vintage arm chair, so it's not too overpowering in the room, but still makes a major statement.  Then I would use a classic brown pinstripe on the slipper chairs.  The coordinating pillows and couch would look like this:

I like the old men's club feel with the brown leather.  But does it get too heavy?

The second scheme incorporates a different houndstooth called, Spaceage Chutney by Robert Allen, and a very modern pattern by Richloom design called, Twizzler Crayola.  Both of these I found at onlinefabricstore.net , which is a really beautifully designed and easy to shop online retailer.  I actually saw the "twizzler" fabric on a Target chair, and fell in love with it.  I was so excited when I found it here!  I'm thinking the Twizzler Crayola on the two slipper chairs and the Spaceage Chutney on the vintage arm chair.

I think this becomes a fun blend between men's suiting and modern fun.  I like how the colors work together, but stand out on their own as well.

The third option uses Twizzler Crayola again with another Robert Allen pattern called Time Loop in Canyon.

The reds are a bit darks in this, but I like the organic shapes working together.

The fourth option is Twizzler Caryola and a simple dot pattern called Welsh Springs in Cajun.

I think this has a really cool, professional look.  The colors are perfect and the dots in the Welsh Springs pattern work very well with the twizzler pattern.

So, what are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear.  The projects will begin in a little over a week, and I'm beyond excited to get on with it.  Any helpful nudges in one direction or another, would be greatly appreciated.  I will keep to myself which option I am voting for and which is Brett's favorite.

Happy swatch hunting!