Wydeven Designs: Home Design Trends

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Home Design Trends - Chevron

Chevron Fabric on Accent Pillow - for ease of source identification, I placed all images on my pinterest board - source

I have been fascinated by the ubiquitous presence of chevron fabrics (and rugs and walls and plates and furniture and clothing, etc. etc.). I just finished a set of chairs in a seafoam blue and cream chevron and thought this might the the time to do some research on this decorating trend.

First the definition:

A figure, pattern, or object having the shape of a V or an inverted V: as

a : a heraldic charge consisting of two diagonal stripes meeting at an angle usually with the point up

b : a sleeve badge that usually consists of one or more chevron-shaped stripes that indicates the wearer's rank and service (as in the armed forces) - source

And some early history:

The chevron occurs in early art including designs on pottery and rock carvings. Examples can be found approximately 1800 BC in archaeological recovery of pottery designs from the palace of Knossos on Crete in the modern day country of Greece. source.

And transition from historical patterns to modern usage:

The chevron symbol is commonly used to represent rankings, government groups or company logos. The word chevron comes from the French word for the roof of a house – where the two rafters meet making an upside-down V. You can see why this symbol has been used on shields and flags throughout the years.

Then moving forward the chevron has been a very popular pattern used on flooring and decking especially with wood. Still tending to keep with a more literal symbolism of the rafters. When used in a repeated pattern such as in flooring the chevron symbol makes what many people see as more of a zig-zag. source

The following images - all found on my pinterest board under fabrics (see link above) for source information, represent the interesting ways chevron has made its way into our lives.