Things to Consider When Choosing Fabrics in Luxury Interior Design

Some of the best parts of luxury interior design can be found in the details, like the materials used in a room. In the interior design world, “materials” can take on many forms and meanings — stone, wood, metal, rattan, grass, lacquer, mirror, leather, grass cloth, and paper to name a few. But, today, I want to dive into the ocean of fabrics, which is what you might think of first when you hear about the “materials” in a space.

Keen understanding of and affinity for materials really brings a room together and creates a space that’s sophisticated, elegant, and completely swoon-worthy.

To that end, a fabric story in luxury interior design must be three things.

1. Intentional

The thoughtful combination of color, texture, and line — all of which show up in a fabric story — help establish rhythm in interior room design. As a luxury interior designer, I can look at fabrics — their patterns, palettes, textures — and reimagine them in myriad ways to create a custom look. This is the intentionality behind a fabric story. I see it in my mind’s eye, based on what your space looks like and how you want to live in it, and then we make it happen. 

For example: One of my favorite ways to create intentionality is by adding unexpected elements to custom furnishings. Recently, for a dining room interior design, I paired gorgeous two-story draperies — enhanced by an attractive linear blue-gray detail — with custom-upholstered dining chairs that featured a plush velvet accent panel on the back. What beautiful rhythm was created here with these two fabrics — plus, a stunning custom geometric rug.

Adding even a clean band to an otherwise simple drape or solid fabric; implementing a luxe, complementary textile on a chair; creating visual interest with accents like throw pillows in statement prints and lush textures — all of this shows the power and versatility of intentional fabric selections at work.

2. Nuanced and Interesting

Luxury interior design is ultimately a layer cake —

 and I’ll have a big slice of it all. Lots of nuanced layers that are delicious and custom and intriguing are what build a well-designed room that feels impeccable and special.

Fabrics play a big role in the layer cake. They contribute so much texture as well as color and pattern to a space.

When expertly paired, their contrasting and complementary moods — like the mix of sleek, silky velvet against organic, nubby rattans and linens — make for exciting eye candy.

3. Family-Friendly

There was a time when family-friendly, indoor-outdoor fabrics looked and felt like, well, gravel pavement. Rough, scratchy, and stiff — something you’d sooner wrap your recyclables in than then sit on. But it’s a whole new world out there now. Today, family-friendly and indoor-outdoor fabrics can impersonate soft “cottons,” washed “linens,” and plushy “chenilles” and “velvets” with a luxurious hand.

So different are today’s hard-wearing fabrics from their ancestors that these fabrics are automatic shoo-ins for cozy yet elegant indoor spaces that experience heavy family use or sun, such as family rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, kids’ rooms, guest rooms, vacation homes and rentals, and more residential interior design.

You’d never know that the sophisticated white sofas we recently put in a great room hold the secret of stain-resistance — or that the velvety green dining chairs have never met a spill that won’t easily wash off.

The basic thing to remember about this class of fabrics is that it’s unlike traditional cloth. Traditional cloth is made of spun yarns and those yarns are woven into cloth and then the cloth fabric is dipped in dye to affix their color or pattern. Indoor-outdoor fabric consists of manmade threads into which a color solution is mixed along with the chemicals making the thread itself. The color is literally PART of the thread, not placed over the top of it, which explains these fabrics’ color fastness and durability. They’re also mold- and mildew-resistant, which makes them great for spaces where there’s more moisture in the air.

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At our luxury interior design firm, we hand-pick every detail — including fabric — to orchestrate the most impeccably beautiful and livable spaces that are personally suited to each of our clients. Check out more examples of our work here.