Last summer, we visited Scotland and discovered two unique restaurants, not only in terms of the food served, but also in terms of their design.

The first restaurant we visited in Edinburgh, called "The Scran & Scallie: Public House with Dining," is a gastropub not only renown for their great brunches, but also a holder of a Michelin guide Bib Gourmand 2017.

Offering menus showcasing Scottish food, or "scran," and traditionally brewed ales and artisan beers, they source everything locally in Scotland. This charming map displays the origin of the ingredients, carefully handwritten on tags and pinned up.

The food was a hearty modern take on Scottish breakfast food and the perfect first meal after our arrival in Scotland and walk around the artsy Stockbridge neighborhood and its weekend market.

The relaxed dining room was also a feast for my eyes, with a charming, countryside pub appeal and smart mix of toile wallpapers, obligatory Scottish tartans, and well-worn leathers benches. But the wallpaper is not your traditional toile, but instead a clever modern rendition by one of our favorite design companies, Glasgow-based Timorous Beasties, featuring their "Tree of Life Toile" and "Two in a Bush" patterns.

Here, my husband Christophe, got cozy and acted the part of Scottish Laird in this chair topped with a fuzzy sheepskin throw.

We found Dulse & Brose, based in The Bosville Hotel in Portree, after driving through the magnificent Quaraing mountain ridge on the Isle of Skye, featuring modern Scottish food.

My favorite design feature here was the cool bench seat covers which wrap over each banquette and are finished with whip-stitched edges.

The use of different textures and materials like heathered wool tweeds, soft worn-in leather hides and roughhewn wood finishes was so original and the curated selection of wares on their shelves made we wish I could buy something from them.

Not a bad place to perch with a view of the sea over the cliffside road and grab a late afternoon bite on our way back to the mainland.

Seema Krish’s textiles have become a favorite go-to collection for not only our client design projects, but also for the recent completion of our new design studio. The spirit of her textiles represents exactly what we look for in a collection: fabrics which feature traditional time-honored techniques, but with a modern twist.

While her vivid and colorful debut collection “Bombay Bliss” highlights recognizable Indian techniques like hand-block printing and tiny mirrored embellishments, these patterns have been updated to be well-suited for modern and contemporary interiors. Crafted by skilled artisans in India, each fabric has variations that are inherent to the handmade process, contributing to the unique beauty of the fabric. There is a warmth to her textiles that we adore, with each pattern having its own narrative.

Jeannie met Seema in 2011 when Lotus Bleu had just opened its newly expanded boutique and she had started her textile business. They enjoyed sharing their experiences as women small business owners.

Seema relocated to San Francisco about three years ago and we’ve been fortunate to get to know her better. We recently had her over to the Lotus Bleu Design Studio to preview a couple of her new introductions.

Her new “Hudson Indigo” colorway of her very popular JUHU and UNION SQUARE patterns fit in beautifully with her New York, NY collection. A departure from her candy colored and heavily textured Bombay Bliss collection, her New York NY collection features a more subdued palette of indigos, grays and black, and introduces new techniques like the Japanese Itajime Shibori in her Soho pattern and new materials like the soft, but tailored linen + wool blend.

Her ability to create cohesive collections that offer different scales of pattern in matching colorways contribute to her collections’ success. The patterns mix and match beautifully. As seen in our design studio, we have created a casual roman shade, layering the small scale Altamount Road underneath the bold and wave-like Breach Candy, both in the Rani Pink coloway.

We’ve also played with marrying her textiled with interesting vintage chair frames, like this vintage Thonet Chair we painted in gray and then upholstered in the block-printed and richly embroidered Worli pattern, in the vivid Kesar Orange colorway. A great little accent chair like this adds a pop of color and visual interest.

Finally, although Seema currently resides in San Francisco, she is deeply committed to her roots in India, not only in working with her artisans, but by giving back to her community there. She has recently partnered with a non-profit organization in India called MITU (Multiple Initiatives Towards Upliftment, mitufoundation.org) to produce their fabric memo samples. The income generated from the volume of the samples helps supports their initiative for empowering women.

Thank you, Seema, for keeping us inspired. We’re looking forward to seeing your next San Francisco Bay Area inspired collection coming out soon!

A few more images from our Seema Visit: