At least the past five generations, perhaps more, have been exposed to toile, painted cloth. Toile is that unmistakable fabric of French origin consisting of simply printed cotton. Generally, these cotton fabrics are printed with charming scenes of French daily life and bucolic country scenes. Toile to our generation was made famous by the Von Trapp children in "The Sound of Music," in which Maria, the governess, thought the drapery fabric appropriate for the children's play clothes. But I digress.

Toile was the baby of 18th-century French master printer Christophe Philippe Oberkampf. Oberkampf discovered a method of printing with colorfast dyes onto fabrics with a metal roller press. This innovation made very precise reproductions, unlike the crude printing of wood blocks. He established a factory in Jouy en Josas, not far from Versailles. His earliest chintzes printed in stripes and ribbons quickly caught the eye of the court of Louis XVI. These fashion-forward fabrics were used by the king and his courtiers for both furniture and fashion.

Originally, toiles were printed in single colors: red chalk drawings or blue, as in the blue-and-white china. As tastes evolved, so did the thematic, sometimes copying the style and imagery of artists such as Watteau and Fragonard. By the end of the late 18th century, this fabric was well established as Toile de Jouy. As artists imagined travels, these fabrics went on to incorporate chinoiserie themes and romanticized versions of the life of the French bourgeoisie picnicking or on swings hung from tree branches.

For decorators and designers, it's a love or hate relationship with toile. While some designers extol the virtue of toile by the hundreds of yards, covering every stitch of furniture, creating window treatments and upholstering walls, others are more cautious and may do one piece as a nod to the French concept of bcbg: bon chic, bon genre.

History repeats itself, and, as in its heyday in the French court, the 1990s embraced sportswear made from these decorative fabrics at the hand of clever designers on the East Coast. Folklore has it that a fancy Palm Beach lady had outfits in the same fabric as her living room furniture so her largesse would somehow blend into her room. Good for her!

In spite of its 250th birthday, toile has never felt so young, energized by new subjects filled with irony and subtlety. Wallpapers, fabrics and home accessories from towels to china have reinvigorated toile with new colors and tongue-in-cheek style. Even with its busy patterns and designs, a room full of toile makes for a harmonious, even pleasing experience.

Toile undoubtedly has stood the test of time. Not just for country French interiors, it can adapt its theme and color to become an accent fabric or a central theme to any type of decor. Toile has become a classic of design that has something for everyone.

Joseph Pubillones is the owner of Joseph Pubillones Interiors, an award-winning interior design firm based in Palm Beach, Florida. To find out more about Joseph Pubillones, or to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: at Unsplash