prints charming

A new generation of designers with African heritages are finally getting the platforms they deserve – and the result is just the burst of sunshine we need

- FIONA MCCARTHY

Designer Yinka Ilori with his vividly hued, limited-edition, hand-painted square plywood stools, £540 each

never have we needed the rich technicolour vibrancy and joyful bold graphics of African-inspired pattern more for our homes than right now. Swathed across fabrics, furniture, ceramics and home accessories, these savoir vivre prints inject an instant burst of energy and happiness into any space, all thanks to a new generation of designers who are finally coming to the fore, being given platforms to reinterpret and reimagine the techniques, stories and symbology of their cultural past to create new designs that feel so right for modern life.

Take multidisciplinary London artist Yinka Ilori’s latest homeware collection, which includes place mats, tablecloths, stools and pouffes decorated with a swirl of hypnotic pattern in hues of sunshine yellow, azure blue and candy pink that ‘evoke happy memories of my childhood surrounded by the bright pattern and colour of the fabrics worn by my British-Nigerian family,’ he says.

LEFT Crimson glazed stoneware floor lamp, £3,200, Xanthe Somers at Partnership Editions THIS IMAGE Jowi, Cappa and Weego printed velvet cushions, from £80, Amechi