Creating Beauty With
Home Decorating Fabrics

I love looking through home decorating fabrics and decorative trims and especially look forward to when the new samples come in from the manufacture and showrooms.

There is such a wide variety of fibers and designs making it the most versatile medium for introducing texture, color and pattern into a room as well as creating a mood.

Photo courtesy of Wolfiewolf

But the selection of fabrics requires some planning.

Think about what the fabric to going to be used for, what kind of atmosphere you want to create, who will be using the item and what kind of wear the piece will get as well as how to clean your home decorating fabric. Select home decorating fabrics to be aesthetically pleasing and long to be touched with a personal preference for color, patterns and textures. By choosing a variety of textiles you will make even an ordinary room become welcoming and quite special each time you enter.

Sheer and lightweight fabrics, like an organza gives a sense of dreamy and romantic. Heavyweight fabrics such as velvets and tapestries will give an intense importance to a room.

For farther understanding of the different fabrics refer to the textile dictionary.

When deciding which fabrics to use, you don’t always have to stay with the typical upholstery fabrics. Menswear fabrics like grey flannel make stunning draperies, and tweeds tailor nicely and wear well.

To make sure the home decorating fabrics, pattern, and the colors you are considering create the effect you want and feel right to you, include samples of possibilities on your home decorating theme and inspiration board.

Paint or cover your board with the wall color, and attach swatches of the fabrics you are considering for curtains and upholstery. Move all the pieces around representing the relationship of where they will be in the room, while deciding whether they work or not. If you are doubtful now is the time to make changes.

Also important, when choosing fabric is to create a sense of continuity through the home.

Vary the size or scale of the pattern, but avoid too many patterns in the same room unless you are going for the cluttered Victorian look.

Fiber content is important and are either natural or synthetic. Natural fibers include cotton, linen, jute, hemp, wool, silk. Two of the more popular synthetic fibers include rayon and polyester. There can also be two or more fibers woven into a textile.

Review the home decor fabric characteristics of a variety of fibers.

Whether or not a fabric is durable, depends on the way the fiber was spun and the construction or weave of the fabric. Look at the fabric construction to be sure the fabric is tightly woven. Remember loosely knit or woven home decor fabrics are not as durable and tend to show wear quickly.

Consider the purpose of the home decorating fabrics. If the piece of upholstery will receive a considerable amount of wear, select a strong fabric with a good abrasion resistance, ratings included on the manufacture’s information label.

A less durable fiber can be selected for furnishings that receive less wear.

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