Try a Four-Leaf Design That Spans the Ages
A quatrefoil is a decorative device that dates from the Middle Ages and Gothic architecture. It is formed by four overlapping circles. There are many thoughts on what these circles represent, from the four gospels of the Bible (Mark, Matthew, Luke and John) to the four cardinal geographic points (north, south, east and west) to the four elements (wind, water, earth and fire).
The Latin word quatrefoil translates as "four leaves," so another interpretation is that the quatrefoil represents the rare four-leaf clover. If this is correct, the trefoil represents the more common three-leaf clover.
Perhaps the quatrefoil's ability to be representative of so many things is the reason for its enduring design legacy.
While a quatrefoil was used primarily in Gothic design and architecture as tracery, it has come to be employed in many ways. From ceiling designs to chair backs, from railings to wallpaper, the quatrefoil is still popping up everywhere.
Interior design, from furniture to wallpaper, has long used the quatrefoil — shown here on the chair back — as a design motif.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that the quatrefoil is a very adaptable and diverse design element. It can be used in a house plan — say, as a landscape element or tile flooring pattern; it can be used in a side view of a home — say, as a decorative shape on a window shutter or for a window; and it can be used on a ceiling — say, as a decorative, controlling device.
Many traditionally inspired landscape elements, especially in a Mediterranean aesthetic, have a quatrefoil shape. It's quite common to see small water features, pools and fountains that have a quatrefoil as the basis for their design.
A quatrefoil can be used as just an accent point that introduces light into a space. When used this way, it is much like an ox-eye window, relieving the severity of just a solid and unadorned wall.
A barbed quatrefoil is one in which a square is laid over the four overlapping circles. The resulting triangular "barb" between each circular element gives a more controlling and geometrically fixed shape to the quatrefoil.
A nice feature of the quatrefoil as a decorative element is the shape's ability to be quite small, like when it's used for a wallpaper design, or quite large, like when it's placed on a ceiling as a controlling device for a room.
