Sheer farbics for contempoary interiors
Sheers and Linen
2015 Double Width Sheer
Double width sheer fabric
Double width sheers are great as they reduce the quantity of seams in the final, made-up treatment as well as reducing the cost or making up. We have several ineresting and unusual geomnetric designs for Spring 2015
Textured Upholstery & Sheers
Some farbics beautifully arranged from our Spring 2015 Collection. A vey nice (we think) staged image in a set full of light diffused from some white souble-wodth sheers. 3 differing and contrasting cushions arranged off-centre on white contempoary seating
Double Width Sheer
Double width sheers are great as a window treatment. The extra width (twice the size, incredibly!) means less seams, so improving the appearance and ‘hang’ as well as reducing the making-up time.
Faux Leather Upholstery Fabrics
KOTHEA are one of the UK’s leading Faux Leather suppliers to the Interior Design and Architectural sector. Our products in this sphere have high performance, commercial and residential characteristics – fantastic durability and adherence to appropriate fire retardancy standards.
We have several faux leather collections – they are aimed specifically for upholstery but are often also used on walls, doors, sometimes for curtains and cocktail bar fronts and stools.
Most of the wide range of colours we stock are available in several different finishes. The finishes range from a ‘flat’ vinyl to a heavy, but naturally, textured leather finish. In between these extremes, there are leather textures with differing degrees of depths of textures.
The ‘feel’ of the collections vary. Some are very like leather to the touch, whilst others are more vinyl. Typically more vinyl-type finishes have highly superior cleaning and light fastness properties.
Please note that these faux leathers are specifically targetted towards interiors. They are not thin, low-grade fashion faux leather.
We also have several ranges of faux animal skins, mimicking skins such as crocodile and ostrich. These are niche products and are only available by the roll.
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Contract Curtains – BS 5867: part2: 1980: Type B
New black curtains shading for the sun. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One of the specifications for the flame retardancy for contract curtains in the UK is Contract Curtains – BS 5867: part2: 1980: Type B.
Q: Is this the right one for you to use?
A: Maybe.
It is normally the responsibility of the interior desinger to determine what specification is required and to agree that with the local fire officer. Sometimes there might not be an interior designer. In that situation it is the responsibility of someone like, for example, the hotel owner. It is NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FABRIC COMPANY nor is it the responsibility of the CURTAIN MAKER.
You should also tread carefully. If from your research you decide that the correct specification is BS 5867: part2: 1980: Type B then you are still not all the way there. If you plan to use other materials with your curtain or hang them in a novel way or with some sort of coating then all those ‘extra bits’ are relevant. The fire officer needs to be consulted to see if your method of making and hanging the curtains is OK.
Also note that if you are having your fabric treated by someone like Essex Flameproofing or TEK or Textiles FR then once they have treated the fabric they may well perform an indicative test. However if you are then going on to do unusual things to the fabric whilst making and hanging the curtains then you may have to have the curtain material tested by a testing house – such as TFT Ilkley. IE they test the retardancy and compliance of the made up curtain and not just the raw fabric in laboratory conditions.
If you are unsure of these opinions then please consult your local fire officer for correct guidance.
Pink Linen For Upholstery & Curtains
Pink linen is a rather rare and unusual flower. Not often specified in your average interior designer’s scheme. I found this scan that we had emailed someone recently for the client to choose for some curtains. We were even able to introduce different pinks into the warp and weft of the linen for an unusual effect. (We can do that with most of our linen colours).
Anyway, I just thought the pink linen image looked nice and I wanted to share it with you!
Designer Fabrics & Luxury Wallcoverings 2012 – Latest Collections of Faux Leather & Raffia
Interior Design 101. Back to basics.
Minimally patterned, plain and simple patterns matter when you choose designer fabrics for your interior design scheme. It’s not just the ‘important’ stuff you have to worry about; it’s all the stuff.
Design after design. Pattern after pattern. Squashed into corners. Covered ceilings. Hung on walls. Something here, something there… OK you might have certain pieces that take centre stage in your grand design but you also have to set the stage with the backdrops, the reflected light, the subtle blend of auxiliary textures.
To a certain degree, if you must, you can compromise on the backdrops. It’s great having a silk panelled wall, relatively inexpensive and good to the touch. Not so good when it fades at differing rates in the exposed sun-lit areas of the room.
So when you choose designer fabrics yes you should be wowed by the colours, designs and textures BUT you should also be wowed and interested in the technical properties. Your clients might initially thank you for a great looking job. They won’t thank you if it starts to fall apart. they may well have already paid you at that point (so you’re OK right?) but will you then get recommended to their friends…probably not. It is so, so easy to make this kind of mistake.
So try faux silk rather than silk. It looks and feels pretty much the same but can be excellent in terms of non-fading.
So try faux leather. A wide variety of finishes and qualities are available and many are great for wall covering (!) as well as upholstery. Great to cover chairs or a bar in a restaurant but also in your kitchen as they can relatively easily be cared for and cleaned. If you love leather you might find that your upholsterer might not love that choice as you are working with hides of varying sizes, whereas with faux leather you are working with a fabric available by the metre.
Click for faux leather or faux silk designer fabric samples.
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Fabric Tips #13: Velvet Curtain Making
Here are some additional pointers to consider when you are making a curtain using a velvet. Remember that a velvet is just a type of fabric and the fibre(s) that the velvet is made from is important.
So for example, we would always recommend that you line a curtain. This gives a superior appearance but also reduced the amount of light going through the fabric hence limiting as much as possible the effect of any fading.
If the velvet has a pile that can be flattened in one direction then we would recommend that you have the pile going downwards for SHINY velvet fabrics and PATTERNED VELVETS.
If however you make up the curtain with the pile upwards then this will deepen the colour so you could make the curtains this way for cotton velvets and Trevira Velvet and Mohair velvets.
These are general guidelines and it is not necessarily wrong if you make up the curtain ‘the other way’ just so long as you understand the implications to the finished look and performance of the material.
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Fabric Tips #12: Rolling a velvet
You’ve just ordered a new velvet and unrolled it to admire your purchase. But how do you re-roll it?
When you roll almost any fabric you should have the face on the inside. With a velvet this is the pile so you have the pile on the inside.
Some, but not all, velvet piles stand straight up others will ‘lay down’. for the former it does not matter which way you then roll the fabric (provided the pile is on the inside). However for typically longer pile which lays down (ie you can brush it flat with your hand in one direction only) then you should roll the fabric down the pile as you return it to its roll.
Hopefully that made sense. Good luck.
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