Designed 1981-1984

"Grandmother" Fabric

The Grandmother design was adapted from a flowered tablecloth that had belonged to an associate's grandmother. A pattern of black dashes, inspired by the conventional lining of business envelopes, was superimposed over the floral design. "We wanted a pattern here that was explicitly pretty in its soft, curvy configurations and sweet combinations of colors," Venturi wrote, "and represented as well something with nice associations, those of flowers. By juxtaposing the two patterns, the dashes and grandmother-tablecloth, we achieved design involving dramatic contrasts of scale, rhythm, color, and association."