Why Fabric is Important in Interior Design

Why fabric is important in interior design

Have you ever experienced looking at a room and feel that something is missing? All the essentials of interior design are there: color palette, wallpaper designs, furniture pieces, decorative items. However, you still see and feel that the room is flat.

Decorating the home interior is not just about finding the appropriate furniture pieces and accessories or painting the walls. It is also important to select the right fabrics. The right fabrics used in the home interior can provide good and timeless design. However, reality bites. Adding texture in the home interior is always treated as an afterthought. The truth is that texture is the thing that makes a room look wonderful.

Texture in interior design

In interior design, texture is defined as the sensations caused by the external surfaces of objects received through the sense of touch. It simply implies how thing feels such as a soft carpet between your toes, or touching a rough wooden tabletop, or sinking down into the soft couch cushions. This way, you will be able to understand how thing feels even without touching them. Texture plays an important supporting role to the function of the space. It elevates the overall experience of the design as it adds visual weight and balance to the home interior. The use of fabrics or textiles, such as slip covers, throw pillows and blankets can help you successfully achieve the desired texture of your room.

Available fabrics for your home

There are various kinds of fabrics that are available in the market that can make your home pop. The most popular fabrics include cotton, silk, linen and wool. Synthetic fabrics include rayon, acrylic, nylon, polyester, and acetate. In most cases, homes have a blend of both natural and synthetic fabrics. 

Cotton is very strong, versatile, breathable and affordable, making it one of the popular choices for everything from furniture upholstery to sheets, as well as curtains.

Silk is another famous choice, but far more expensive and luxurious. The fabric is used in rugs and throw pillows.

Linen has a casual appearance, and has a breezy and outdoor feel. It is resistant to stain and wrinkles easily.

Wool is probably the strongest and most durable and will last a long time. The fabric is warm and cozy, however can be itchy and uncomfortable at times.

For window treatments, the most commonly used is rayon since it hangs well. However, the fabric has the tendency to shrink if used in areas with high humidity.

Nylon is also a tough fabric and will last long. However, it may not be that comfortable since the fabric is not breathable.
Another fabric that is commonly blended with natural fabric in upholstery is polyester. It is fade resistant, but be advised that it is difficult to clean the fabric and not that durable as compared with nylon and wool.

Mixing fabrics and patterns

Sophisticated design involves layering various patterns and textures. The secret is to mix no more than three patterns or textures. Pick a fabric or a couple fabrics that you love and build your color scheme around the fabrics. If you are planning to use multiple patterns, try to vary the style. For instance, mix one floral, one stripe and one geometric.

In addition to these, vary the size of the patterns. If you prefer large floral, then go for smaller stripe or geometric pattern so that you will be able to create balance. Also pick colors that contrast each other, such as plum and yellow or teal and tangerine.

Avoid large patterns in large rooms as they will overwhelm the room and may make the room appear smaller. The direction of stripes also make a difference. Horizontal stripes make a narrow room feel wider while vertical stripes make low ceiling look higher.