Jerome Gagnon, Special to The Chronicle

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

"..... Interior designer Emily Taylor of Hillsborough cited design doyenne Nancy Lancaster - known for her English Country look - as an influence. "To achieve a well-traveled, sophisticated style, you shouldn't be afraid to layer pattern over pattern," Taylor said.

'For a house in Oregon where the client wanted an Adirondack lodge feel, we used a wonderful antique Oushak rug layered with two George Smith chairs covered in different kilim treatments. There are stripes on two stools and an Art and Crafts patterned fabric for the window treatment,' Taylor said.

The rule that I like to use for layering is staying within the same palette but mixing up textures and patterns to give an Old World, less 'decorated' charm she added, ....."