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Design ideas for plaid and tartan fabrics
It may only have been popularised as a fashion statement by the Scotland-crazed Victorians (see also: Balmoral, Ivanhoe), but tartan has been a design staple for centuries. Be it in great swathes adorning statement walls or covering sofas and ottomans in front of Highland castle fireplaces, or in controlled amounts to add energy to a hotel’s furnishings, tartan and plaid are versatile and come in a diverse range of patterns. (And, for anyone wondering, the difference between the two is that plaid refers to any woven design with a criss-cross motif, while tartans are those associated with specific colourways and clans.)
So, from the extensive House & Garden archives, we’ve gathered some of the best examples of plaid and tartan design, courtesy of a handful of the best names in interior design working today.
Dean Hearne1/15When designing this country house, Bodil Blain incorporated the same Colefax & Fowler tartan throughout. Here in the son's bedroom, the walls are upholstered in it to add a sense of warmth to a colder part of the house.
Dean Hearne2/15The fabric is Lowish plaid in teal and is repeated here on the sofa, where it is paired with soft pinks against the vibrant yellow walls.
Dean Hearne3/15Its third and final use is as a cabinet skirt in the utility room, where the draping and soft folds give it an entirely new character.
Lauren L. Caron4/15The tartan armchair in combination with the antique rug and hardwood floors feels immediately Ralph Lauren coded in this warm Seattle home. The table is from Seattle dealer Kassie Keith. “It reminds me of a chess piece,” the owner says. The fireplace mantel and surround are original to the house, the screen is from 1stDibs, and the rug is vintage from Chairish.com.
Benjamin Edwards5/15At the Fife Arms in the Cairngorms, a bespoke tartan was woven to cover the walls. It mirrors a painted ceiling by Zhang Enli, which is said to replicate a slice of stratified Cairngorm rock.
Michael Sinclair6/15In a small bedroom in Thea Speke's country house, curtains in a green check from Merchant & Mills screen an iron bed from The French House. The green paint colour adds an intimate touch to the space.
Simon Upton7/15Fraser tartan from Lochcarron brings drama to the seating area of this basement room in a Nicky Haslam London townhouse, in which grey Ikea units are paired with Delft tiles by Petra Palumbo.
Simon Brown8/15A vibrant tartan blanket can be a beautiful way to add colour to an otherwise simple room. In this bedroom at Caroline Holdaway's enchanting Cotswold cottage, an olive-stripe flatweave rug from Sinclair Till contrasts with a vibrant tartan rug from Toast used as a bedspread.
Fritz von der Schulenberg9/15In the flat Kelly Hoppen lived in in 1995, metal “wicker”-style chairs from the Philippines contrast with a Black Watch tartan tablecloth from McArthurs.
Ngoc Minh Ngo10/15A Howe ottoman covered in vintage suzani fabric works alongside a punk-inflected plaid rug by Vivienne Westwood for The Rug Company in Annabel White’s Manhattan townhouse, adding colour and texture to the polished snug.
Paul Massey11/15Sarah Corbett-Winder indulged her love of blue in the spare room of her north London home, with walls in ‘Livid’ by Little Greene and Rowen & Wren’s ‘Latham’ bench covered in Ralph Lauren’s calm ‘Mission Plaid’ linen in indigo.
Tim Clinch12/15Kit Kemp is a master at combining different fabrics and patterns, and here, in her south coast house, sofas covered in Brunschwig & Fils's 'Bichon' chenille plaid face one another across a Philippe Hurel coffee table.
Tim Beddow13/15In Annabel Astor’s cottage on the remote Scottish island of Jura, director’s chairs bought at auction and re-covered in Viyella plaid surround the table.
Tim Salisbury14/15In this vibrant Brisbane apartment by Anna Spiro, the checked dining chairs, in ‘Tattie’ linen from Anna Spiro Textiles, push the definition of plaid into new territory.
ERIC PIASECKI15/15Subtle tartan cushions bring a hint of the purple of Highland heather to this house in a remote corner of northern Mexico.
