Fabric materials are an important part of home design that is often overlooked. This may be, in part, due to a lack of knowledge on how to make the best use of fabrics. Or even a fear of getting it wrong and being stuck with furniture that doesn't quite suit the style of the home. 

Fabrics are in fact much easier to incorporate into your home design than you may have originally thought. This subject can be (and is) studied in depth but we have compiled a short list of tips, tricks & useful pointers to get you started on your road to a more exciting home style with fabrics.

 

Keep the background neutral

If you have decided that you want to make a statement with furniture or rugs in bold fabrics or fabrics with striking patterns, then neutral walls and floors will ensure the room doesnt feel overwhelmed and in chaos. White or cream walls with natural timber floors provides the perfect neutral backdrop for bold fabrics.

 

Which type of fabric is best for me?

The answer to this will depend on a) its everday use and b) the look & style you are trying to achieve. Silk, for example is extremely popular and invokes feelings of elegance and luxury. However it is not hardwearing, so its use should be restricted to curtains (when correctly lined to help prevent sun damage), cushions and bedding. 

Linen is also a popular fabric to use in the home, as it has such a natural, comfortable feel. It can stain easily but is widely used in upholstery, cushions and curtains. 

Leather also has a luxurious feel but depending on the colour & age of the material, it can feel either very contemporary or very traditional. There are some very fancy soft leathers around for beautiful sofas. Naturally, linen or cotton are far more animal friendly than leather and therefore my personal preferred choice.

 

Rugs

Rugs are a really fun way to add colour & style to a home and also to change the entire feel & aesthetic of the room. Using an oversized square or rectangle rug in a single bold colour like purple or cobalt blue feels modern & stylish. In contrast, smaller rugs with delicate patterns suit more traditional homes - you can still use bright colours though.

For a more coherent look, incorporate a couple of the key colours from the rugs into other fabrics in the room - for example in the cushions & curtains. 

 

Wallpapers

Although most wallpapers are generally not now made with fabric, it was traditional for many cultures around the world to use them in this way. To easily & cheaply recreate this, some living room and bedroom wallpapers have a textured feel. Choose a bold colour with a striking pattern on just one wall for  feature wallpaper designs. Childrens wallpaper can add some serious fun to the walls of a newborn or young child. 

 

Large / Floor to ceiling windows

Lucky enough to have beautifully large or floor to ceiling windows? You lucky things! It would be almost a crime not to dress these charming windows with some stunning fabrics to help showcase this lovely feature of your home. If you have floor to ceiling windows and a room filled with natural light, then add floors to ceiling curtains in a fabric to suit the style of your home. For traditional properties, the fabric can be thicker and in darker / more subdued colours. 

Curtains are an excellent opportunity to add colour & personality to plain walls. Walls with bright wallcoverings may not need bright curtains, as the drama is alrady present in the room.

 

 

Give your furniture a make over

Are your particularly creative (& a dab hand at DIY)? Chair cushions can be re-upholstered in great new fabrics to give them a new lease of life. If you have existing wood furniture, then they can often be sanded down and painted, often completely changing the look & feel of the chair, table or desk.  

If you feel this is too much work, then an easier way to spice up existing furniture is to get brand new cushions for your neutrally coloured sofa. Neutral backdrops invite bold patterns & eccentric colours.

 

 

Quick Tips

- The louder the patterns & the more colours used in one space, the more eclectic / eccentric the feel

- Bedrooms love warmth. Warmth can be achieved with thick luxurious curtains in dark fabrics and the use of block colours. Keep the bed the focus of the room with great bedding.

- Garden rooms can easily take pretty floral patterns in blue & green as these help the room connect with the outside.

- Like the idea of Blue as a main colour theme? There is a danger with blue (especially in colder climates) for it to look too cool and unwelcoming. Keep it warm by adding touches of pink, orange & green. 

 

 

Where to find more helpful information:

- Homes & Gardens

 

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2013 is set to be a fun, adventurous & exciting year for new home interior schemes. If you want to nail the modern home trends for next year, here is a good place to get started.

 

Colours

The experts at Pantone explain that colours for next year will reflect the consumers desire to find balance; mixing bright colours with more neutral tones for perfect harmony. Green will be hot for spring (with Emerald being the hot colour of 2013) whereas Violet and poppy red may well prove to be the statement colours of choice. The combination of beautiful blues and neutral linen will provide the perfect balance. For more information visit the Pantone website at: www.pantone.com

 

Textures & Fabrics

Wood flooring has seen a fantastic revival in popularity in the last 10 years and this looks extremely likely to continue, with homeowners putting oak flooring down in not only their kitchens, living rooms and hallways but also in their bedrooms and bathrooms too. 

Mixing earthy fabrics like linens and wood with earthy colours on the wall will give a sophisticated look that is bang on trend for both living rooms and bedrooms. 

Quick Tip: To update your home quickly and cheaply, paint over old wood furniture pieces like large cabinets with an exciting colour like cobalt blue and then add some colourful cushions for the room to tie in the colour with the rest of the room. 

 

Wallpapers

We can't not mention wallpaper designs when talking about hot interior design trends for 2013. We are already seeing a mixture of old and traditional wallpaper patterns given a new lease of life with a bright or bold colour mix and this is set to remain popular throughout next year. Very large print patterns will also be popular (in both modern and classic patterns) and pastel hues too. Generally though, the more drama you can add with new wallpaper the more on trend it will be, even if it is just for one or two walls!

 

Go for glamour or get inspired by nature in 2013 for sure fire winning designs!

 

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Green is a fantastic colour choice when it comes to decorating the home. It can be both calming and energizing or nurturing and uplifting, depending on the shade used and it really easy on the eye. There are a plethora of shades to choose from including, lime, mint, fern, forest, jungle moss, sage, olive and many more. It is actually easier than you think to use green in your decorating schemes.

 

Where to use Green in the Home

Green is an extremely versatile colour so can be used successfully in a variety of different rooms. It is often used to help make a connection between outside and inside so you can use green in the entrance hall to make this connection or in a garden room or conservatory. If you have large windows or sliding doors this will increase the sense of connection and the success of the green colour scheme.  

Lighter and paler shades of green work well in the living rooms of traditional style english homes or period townhouses. Especially those with high ceilings and period features. In contrast, very modern style living rooms can benefit from bright mint green or olive green sofas to add a splash of colour if the overall colour scheme is severe and modern (lots of white).

If you wish to add a feature wall in your kitchen to create a lively atmosphere, a lime green feature wall (or splashback area with bright green tiles) will certainly cause a stir. When done right, this type of vibrancy can add a real sense of energy to a room. In contrast, for a study you will feel more comfortable with a softer green shade and could use light green wallpaper designs for this or a green striped wallpaper.

Green is a surprisingly popular colour for use in bedrooms (especially guest bedrooms where you ideally want the space to be soothing and fairly neutral in feel). Believe it or not, pairing blue and green can be really successful in bedrooms, so long as the rights shades are used. Sage green and a pale sky blue make for an easy pairing and you can use the curtains, the throw pillows and even the bed linen to add these colours. This blue & green floral bedroom wallpaper can make for an excellent feature wall for a vibrant bedroom wall

 

When not to use Green

Certain shades of green can give your skin an unflattering look. So take caution when using green in a bathroom with a large vanity mirror. Otherwise green is very flexible so can be used in most other rooms in the home.

 

Choosing other colours to go with Green

The best place for inspiration when matching other colours with green is nature of course! Go outside and look in the garden for flowers that look particularly pretty against the green backdrop of the foliage or the lawn. Then take these colours and try to match them to paints, wallpapers or fabrics to use with your green colour scheme.

 

 

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Following on from the introduction and instant success of our Mottled Owl Childrens Wallpaper at its launch during the National Home Improvement Show in September, we thought we would show off our most quirkly wallpaper designs to date, to see if they can get your creative (& quirky!) juices flowing with your new home interior scheme.

 

 

 

Animal Print Wallpaper

Animal print wallpaper is bold and brassy - it will make a huge statement in your home but is more suitable in some rooms than others. An animal print feature wall can look fantastic in a bedroom setting with the right accessories but may be a bit much for the hallway or kitchen.

 

 

Classic Wallpaper with a Twist!

Our Baroque collection of wallpaper designs features some classic prints on very bold or modern colours. Most even have a shimmery sparkly hue when the light catches them. These wallpapers are quirky because they are different from the norm and can add some fun to serious period homes.

 

 

Pebble Wallpaper

Installing wallpaper that looks like something else is the quirky idea of the moment. For example you can have an instant bookcase, for likely a tenth of the expensive of a real wooden bookcase (and without the actual books of course) with a cool bookcase inspired wallpaper design. We have pebble wallpaper designs and wood striped wallpaper too.

 

The Easiest Place to Put Quirky Wallpaper?

Why in the childrens rooms of course! The more quirky the childrens wallpaper the better, especially if you are just looking to decorate one wall. The kids will love it and anyway, they are only young for such a short time!

 

 

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This year MYK Wallpaper Designs & Wide Oak Flooring LTD had a stand at the National Home Improvement Show at Olympia, London. We had 8 of our most popular designs featured on the wall panels of the stand, including some great striped wallpaper & childrens wallpaper too. The show received many thousands of visitors, lots of which oohed & aahed over our Mottled Owl Wallpaper  

 

 

The Wallpapers on Display

We had 8 wallpapers on display in total and they included our Audrey Striped Wallpaper, our hugely popular Giselle textured wallpaper and our Blue Skies Every Day Childrens Wallpaper. All provided inspiration for those decorating their home & looking to use wallpaper, whether that be in the new babys room or as part of their new living room design. 

 

 

Our Wallpaper Collection Sample Books

8 of our wallpaper collections were featured at the show in their sample books. This allowed clients to browse through over 100 different wallpaper designs and choose which they would like to use in their homes.

 

Show Special Offer

Our discounted prices for the show are still available if you order by Sunday the 7th October 2012. If you visited us at the show, please send us an email at help@mykwallpaperdesigns.co.uk or fill in the Contact Us Form on this website to receive your discount code.

 

 

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