LIVING WITH FABRICS

As seen in SNAP – May 2013

 

Fabrics can give a room its character as well as reveal as much about your personality as the clothes you wear.  Fabrics can be used in interiors in so many different ways – They can be your drapes, the upholstery in your furniture, pillows, table linens, sheets, blankets and even the towels you use every day are a type of fabric (terrycloth).

 

Iván Meade & Echo Eaton checking fabrics at Meade Design Group Studio

 

As you can see, we are surrounded by fabrics every day.  It seems that using fabrics in interiors should be a very important element in any home, but often this is underestimated.  Aesthetically, fabrics add texture, interest, and beauty; but they can also add functionality to your home.  For instance there are many reasons to dress up a window: Privacy is usually the first need, to keep out sunlight, to disguise the window’s unattractiveness or an unattractive view, and to add more colour and decorative interest to the room.

 

Echo graciously carrying fabrics available at Meade Design Group

 

On the other hand; cushions, pillows and trims come in various styles and can be used to reinforce the lines and style of your upholstered piece.  It is also important to select the right fabric for your lifestyle.  Something that will be durable, yet comfortable to the touch.  People are generally spending more time on their sofas than before, they eat while watching TV, have naps or socialize with friends and pets.  For linens in the 90’s  a 300 thread count was the minimum requirement for a nice set of sheets, nowadays you can find higher thread counts, but take this with a grain of salt because fiber quality, yarn size, finishing and construction can also affect the quality of a pair of sheets regardless of the thread count. After all, we spend around a third of hour lives in our bed.

 

Barbara Barry Fabrics at Meade Design Group

 

If you have kids or pets at home are you choosing the right fabric for your needs? If you have a window facing east or west where the sun hits the strongest – Have you selected the right fabric for your window treatments? – Do you have the softest sheets in your bed?  A fabric is defined by four qualities: its hand, which is the way it feels – rough, smooth, thick, or thin; its textural quality – tufts, nubs, bumps, and reliefs, it’s fibres – natural, synthetic, or blends;  and its pattering – interwoven or imprinted designs.  As a broad generalization, rough, nubby fibers and bold geometrical patterns tend to be more contemporary and masculine in style; smooth, glossy cottons, silks, and pictorial patterns tend to be more traditional and feminine in style.

 

Window Treatments at Meade Design Group

 

Fabrics definitely make our life more comfortable and enjoyable.  We often forget we are surrounded by them so why not give them the attention they deserve and choose fabrics that are really going to improve our lifestyle?

MEADE DESIGN GROUP - THE BLOG. Copyright 2007-2011