Fabric’s overlooked qualities are an essential aspect of design

Posted 7/23/20

Four bolts of Liberty of London's current fabric collection inspired by historic English love stories. by Patricia Cove One of the most important features of any design is the fabric and materials …

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Fabric’s overlooked qualities are an essential aspect of design

Posted
Four bolts of Liberty of London's current fabric collection inspired by historic English love stories.

by Patricia Cove

One of the most important features of any design is the fabric and materials that are selected to cover upholstery, fabricate window coverings, and create the accent pieces within a space. The selections of these fabrics and materials can make for a visually successful space or one of total mediocrity.

There are so many qualities to these materials that are critical to the success of a room's design. Color, being one of the more recognizable traits, can present challenges when it comes to deciding where specific colors should be placed. Pattern, equally important to color, actually plays a more critical role when it comes to relaying a consistent style within a space. Then there are the less discernable qualities of fabrics, that if not recognized and understood, can lead to serious problems in the areas of appearance, upkeep and maintenance.

Almost 100 years ago, when the practice of interior design was in its infancy, designers like Edith Wharton and Elsie de Wolfe could select the highest quality of linens, silks and wools that could be woven into the finest brocades, embroideries, damasks and jacquards. The" weight" of the fabric often became the key to its use. Heavily embellished wools with intricate and colorful threads would be used on upholstered pieces, while thinner linens and silks, often embroidered with silken accents, would hang from the windows.

The way the window covering was designed would dictate the type of fabric that was most appropriate. The curve of a piece of furniture, the size of its back and seat might also dictate the weight of the fabric and the size of its pattern. One quality of fabric that is rarely even discussed in today's designs, except by knowledgeable and expert designers, is a quality called the "hand" of the fabric. The "hand" of a fabric refers to the way a piece of fabric feels against your skin. It is an important element when it comes time to decide what material should be placed on a large, comfy sofa or a small armed side chair. It also relates to the way the fabric feels between your fingers and your thumb. Interestingly enough, it plays to a combination of physical, physiological and psychological factors; not only how the fabric itself feels, but how it makes you feel, too!

Similarly, the "drape" of a fabric is key when it comes to selecting materials that would be considered for a window covering. When everyone was installing swags and jabots, a heavier, more substantial "drape" to the fabric, would give the swag and jabot more form, able to stand up to the curve of the swag and the folds of the jabot. Today, the "drape" of the fabric plays a key role when the design of a window treatment consists of two stationary panels, that simply frame a window. The question will then pertain to how will the selected fabric "fall.” If you want the panels to be more structured in appearance, the "drape" of the fabric should have more substance and body. If you want the panels to be more fluid, soft in appearance, or ethereal, the drape of the fabric chosen should also reflect those qualities.

The past 100 years have given us all any more options that address all the specific qualities of fabrics and enable our designs to be more accurate and reflective of how we want a room to appear. Individual companies have become synonymous with particular colors and patterns. Morris and Company and Liberty of London, for examples, create patterns that become

signature looks and can reflect those looks through nature, floral and fauna with specific color combinations and patterns that become trademarks of their companies. It is always exciting to see the new prints and patterns that Liberty of London bring forth each season.

So keep in mind, when selecting fabrics for a design project, the color, pattern, weight, hand and drape, are all important traits that can make or break a room's overall appearance as well as it comfort factor. And the quality of those fabrics is all too apparent in the overall success or failure of a space.

Patricia Marian Cove is Principal of Architectural Interiors and Design in Chestnut Hill, and can be reached through her web site: www.patriciacove.com.

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