Behind the Design: A New Take on Paisley

Born in 12^th century Iran, shipped out West in the 18^th century and named after a 19^th century Scottish town, the paisley pattern has seen its fair share of history and culture.

The classic pattern’s Middle Eastern origins revolve around a botanical-based design called the buta — the droplet-shaped motif that we associate with classic paisley today. Over time, the design evolved into something quite different as it made its way west towards Italy, Spain and France (primarily in the form of high-end shawls, which Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine were particularly fond of). Eventually, the pattern took on a new western name, after the town of Paisley, Scotland, where many of the designs were produced.

Today, paisley still retains its title as one of the world’s most classic patterns. At Pottery Barn, we have innumberable interpretations of paisley, and many of them are our top-sellers in bedding, pillows and rugs.

This year, we took our love of paisley to an entirely new level. We dug deep into our incredible textile library, and went back to the roots of this traditional design for inspiration.

Each of our new paisley patterns are drawn carefully by hand, then digitally blown up and adjusted for scale, and then fine-tuned by hand once more before printing.

Our incredible San Francisco design team gave each paisley pattern a distinctly Pottery Barn twist, blowing up the scale and playing with contemporary color palettes to create patterns that are better suited for modern living.

The result? A stunning collection that melds classic and contemporary style in fabrics that were made for casual, easy living.

Shop the full collection here.