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Interior Design Basics:
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- Interior Design Basics
- The Basics of Color
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- Fabrics
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Fabrics in Interior Design
The proper use of fabric will bring your interior design to life. Once again remember:
Function,
Mood
Harmony
Functionally – How durable does the fabric need to be? How fade resistant is the fabric in sunlight? How dirt resistant does the fabric need to be? Is the fabric you have just fallen in love with too expensive for your budget?
Mood – Does this fabric fit the overall mood of your design? There is an almost unlimited amount of variation of fabrics for you to choose from. The best way for you to choose fabric is to go to a store and experience the fabric first hand. You not only have to look at your fabrics but sit and lie on them as well. It is important to inspect them up close and touch them to see if the weave and texture appeals to you. Whatever color scheme or mood you decide to go with, using a variety of fabric textures adds depth to your design.
Harmony – Are the fabrics you have chosen harmonious with each other and with your overall design? The patterns in the fabrics must be proportional, i.e. big motifs with big furniture and big patterns with large rooms. Have only one bold pattern in any room. You don't want competing bold patterns fighting with each other, it looks crap.
The qualities of the different fabrics must also be similar.
Your can tie your overall design together by incorporating elements from, for example your couch, into your curtain fabrics or rugs. What I mean is, if your couch upholstery is predominantly red, you could use a red accent in the color scheme of your curtains to create harmony in the room.
It would be a mistake, in my opinion, to use the same fabrics for both your couch and your curtains as this would be both overpowering and quite boring. As you will see below, most upholstery is unsuitable for universal application in any case. The classic approach to interior design differs with my opinion. Many designers do the draperies and upholstered furniture in the same bold pattern and then do the rest of the room in simple solid color fabrics or small pattern fabrics. They use different fabric types for different applications but with the same patterns.
Make up your own mind about what appeals to you. You have to live with the design you create. The rules of design are important guidelines if you want your design to look good but, this is a creative process and ultimately you should suit yourself.
Now let's take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the most important fibers for upholstery and draperies. First we will look at the natural fibers and then the synthetic fibers.
Natural Fabric Fibers
Cotton Fabric
Advantages – Cotton is a tough vegetable fibre that stands up well to wear and laundering. It is a cool fibre (it reflects heat and light) that breathes well and dries relatively quickly.
Disadvantages – Cotton has a tendency to wrinkle.
Wool Fabric
Advantages – Wool is a tough, durable, resilient animal fiber. It is known for it's dye ability, softness and luxurious look and feel.
Disadvantages – Wool can be both delicate and expensive when taken from goats, camel, alpaca and llama and so these types of wool are often mixed with sheep’s wool.
Linen Fabric
Advantages – Linen is a cool fabric that has a crisp textured look.
Disadvantages – Linen has a tendency to wrinkle and is not as durable as cotton or wool. It is also not easily dyed and as a result is usually neutral in color.
Silk Fabric
Advantages – Silk is the most luxurious fabric. It has unrivalled qualities of softness, sheerness and lustrous brilliance. It is a delicate fabric that is also very strong. It has the virtue of being very amenable to dyes. It soaks them up and displays them with unequalled brilliance and luster.
Disadvantages – As silk soaks up dyes it also soaks up dirt and stains which can become unmovable. Strong light can fade the dyes and weaken the fibers. Strong cleaning fluids also destroy the fibers. Only use silk where it will be subjected to a minimum of abuse.
Synthetic Fabric Fibers
Acrylic Fabric
Advantages – Acrylics are very strong and durable, and resists weathering, mildew and insects. They are also wrinkle resistant which makes them good for drapes.
Disadvantages – Acrylics do not absorb moisture and become hot, clammy and uncomfortable when sat on. They are not good for upholstery fabrics. They also generate static electricity which attracts dirt.
Glass Fabric
Advantages – Glass fiber fabrics are very flame resistant. They just don't burn. They are also impervious to water and resist sun damage, mildew and insects. They are also very good at holding their shape and as such are very good for draperies.
Disadvantages – Glass fiber fabrics lack resistance to abrasion. If a folded pleat rubs against something it has a tendency to crack. For this reason it is not a very good fabric for upholstery.
Nylon Fabric
Advantages – This is the strongest of all fibers. It is easy to dye (and is colorfast) and can be spun into both fine and thick yarns. It repels mildew and moths, is washable, dries quickly and holds it shape. These fibers are widely used in upholstery and carpeting.
Disadvantages – Early nylon had an artificially shiny appearance and conducted a strong static charge. Newer methods of manufacture have reduced but not eliminated those problems. Nylon can also be damaged by sunlight and is flammable. It is best avoided for draperies.
Polyester Fabric
Advantages – Polyester is flame resistant, strong, dirt resistant, mildew resistant, and moth resistant and is washable. It goes back to its original shape after washing without ironing. It can be used in yarn of diverse thickness.
Disadvantages – Polyester does not handle strong sunlight well at all. It does not take dyes well which limits your color choices and conducts a static charge which attracts dirt.
Rayon Fabric
Advantages – Often called the poor mans silk. It is an inexpensive fabric that can be spun into silk like fibers and dyed with brilliant colors.
Disadvantages – Rayon is subject to mildew, weakens when wet, is not very strong and rots in sunlight.
As you can see there is no such thing as the perfect fabric. Many of these fibers have been blended with each other to try to combine their strengths and negate their weaknesses.
Have a good think about where the fabric will be used and what you want your fabric to achieve before choosing what fabrics to use for which application. You can also treat fabrics with stain resistant, moth resistant and flame retardant finishes to improve their qualities in this regard where necessary.
Now we should have a look at furniture and where it fits into your interior design.
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