With spring looming we’re all looking for ways to spruce up our homes and inject a little bit of color and joy. One of the best ways to do this, especially if you have neutral upholstered furniture pieces, is to switch up your throw pillows. When we think about happy, colorful textiles, we immediately think of Josef Frank. Frank is an Austrian-born architect and designer who lived in Sweden for the second half of his life and created the Vienna School of Architecture. Today his name has become synonymous with Swedish design and the brightly colored, animated botanical prints that he created while at Svenskt Tenn. He loved to combine many different patterns and colors in his interiors, as well as furniture from different time periods and countries–something which was very new to Sweden at the time. We were reminded of how much we love Frank’s patterns after seeing this image in a recent issue of House Beautiful of a country living room designed by the talented Phillip Gorrivan. Don’t you love how the print pops off the dark walls? This particular print is called Windows 315 inspired by the house plants that sat on Frank’s windowsills.
Pillows below in Celotocaus. His textiles suit larger scale pieces like sofas and upholstered chairs with plenty of room to let the textiles breath.
The textiles also work well for window coverings. Designer Lisa Mendes creates a memorable breakfast nook, below, using Vegetable Tree on a long roman shade.
Frank’s textile called Hawaii is used for window treatments in this home below, as well. Don’t you just love how happy and full of joy and movement his fabrics are?
His patterns also come in wallpapers. Below is Primavera in two different settings. His wallpapers would be wonderful used on a focal wall.


F. Schumacher & Co has recently started printing “Citrus Garden,” one of Frank’s fabrics, to celebrate their 125th anniversary. Here it is shown as a table skirt at an outdoor party thrown by architect Will Meyer.
You can purchase many of Frank’s designs (both furniture and textiles) through Svenskt Tenn. This sofa is pretty incredible.
And you can also find many Frank pieces on 1st Dibs, like this sofa, below in Vegetable Tree. You’ve definitely got to have guts to commit to one of his fabrics in this type of application–but imagine the injection of happiness it would bring to a room!
This important chest from the “Flora” series with illustrations from a botanical book is available through 1st Dibs. Frank was a true artist.
Are you feeling like spring has sprung?!