Category: interior

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Silk Velvet Upholstery Fabrics For A Contemporary Lounge

Silk
Silk (Photo credit: markb120)

A contemporary lounge chair or sofa attains its contemporary’ status by having the right combinations of ‘form’ and an expertly upholstered, quality finish. Here we will just look at upholstery and, in particular, silk velvet upholstery fabrics.

Contemporary furniture is designed to be striking, with the better examples typified by great craftsmanship. Consequently you will find many designers and upholsterers specifying fabric such as that sold by leading fabric houses including Kravet, KOTHEA and Donghia.

Why?

A velvet fabric is one where the fabric is made with very many tight loops of yarn. A cutter then chops off the end of every loop leaving yarn that ‘points’ upwards, tightly packed together. Often you will have encountered this type of fabric in theatres and cinemas – more so now in private theatres. The length of the remaining yarn can vary and this is called the pile; it could be a few mm or several mm long. The longer the pile the more likely it is to ‘fall over’. This, by itself, is neither good nor bad. It depends on what you prefer. The direction in which the pile falls is called the ‘nap’ and when upholstering a high quality craftsman must understand how to correctly work with the nap.

The nap can show some of the side of the individual strands of yarn and the sides can be more reflective than the cut ends. Thus, often, velvets have ‘shine’. Shine also occurs with wear as the pile becomes compressed, exposed and rubbed/polished with usage. People often, incorrectly, associate this solely with ‘silk velvet’ but that is not necessarily always true as many velvets can show more shine with age.

So we have learnt a little about how velvet is made and how it wears. Where does the silk come in?

Well, velvet can be made from many yarns. Cotton, viscose, mohair, linen or sheep’s wool. Silk is a natural substance spun by a silk worm. Silk is commonplace but varies tremendously in quality. Often silk is combined with other yarns to increaser its strength or to achieve other properties. For example one of our most luxurious fabrics is a silk and cashmere velvet. The resulting mohair velvet fabric feels great AND also has much improved durability properties. Cheaper silk will degrade much more rapidly.

So, typically, silk velvet is mixed with other yarns and often has a shine. This makes it great for contemporary furniture

 

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|* 99 *| Top Interior Design Websites & Blogs for 2014, Leading Interior Designers London > UK> Europe > World

Expo Design MAP à Saint-Étienne

We’ve scoured the net to find and list the sites we know and love. Some you already know, some you will love once you see them for the first time. Either way enjoy the depth and variety of the information on our industry and don’t forget to see which ones are voted as the ‘best’ at the end of this article – you can vote for your favourite too.

These are all sites that might be useful for interior designers rather than ones created by interior designers (or their suppliers) to promote their business. Maybe they provide a nice showcase or perhaps just a tad of inspiration in a seemingly never-ending sea of banality. Enjoy!

In no particular order then:

  1. Houzz.com – probably one of the best resources.
  2. pinterest.com – yep, you know that one too
  3. saniapell.com/athomeblog – At Home !! Best Image Curation !!
  4. Dezeen – Architecture, Interiors, Design
  5. Design Spotter
  6. The Business Bible For Interior Designers
  7. worldinteriordesignnetwork.com
  8. wallpaper.com
  9. decofinder.co.uk
  10. archpaper.com
  11. thehousedirectory.com
  12. designboom.com
  13. echochamber.com Retail matters
  14. thecoolhunter.co.uk Roaming the UK and the globe so you’re in the know
  15. roomreveal.com – Like Houzz
  16. design-milk.com
  17. Remodelista – Sourcebook for considered living
  18. http://www.architecturaldigest.com/
  19. architonic.com
  20. homeshoppingspy.com – Irresistible home buys you will love
  21. emmas.blogg.se – Design and style from a Scandinavian perspective
  22. The Fabric Blog
  23. thebeatthatmyheartskipped.co.uk – Dedicated to daily design inspiration   !! BEST NAME !!
  24. icreatived.com – Interesting Creative Designs. Find a different world in site..
  25. Apartment Therapy
  26. paper.li/JaffeDesign/1323302539
  27. My friend’s house
  28. Pachadesign
  29. Moon to Moon – Sharing the best in eclectic Interior design from across the web
  30. The Selby – is in your place
  31. Design Sponge
  32. Design Squish
  33. The Accessorator – Musings from Judi Roaman
  34. A Library of Design
  35. Slim Paley – Cats, Queens and other things
  36. A Bloomsbury Life – Within Shopping distance of Hollywood and Vine
  37. Design Tripper
  38. Herriott Grace –  A savings account for things I like
  39. Emerson Merrick
  40. Even Cleveland
  41. Past Imperfect
  42. Moco Loco – Design Interiors, Art Architecture
  43. wowhaus.co.uk – Wow property for sale
  44. brightbazaarblog.com – quintessentially colourful
  45. roomenvy.co.uk – Dedicated to finding the latest lust-have schemes
  46. thepeakofchic.blogspot.co.uk – Musing on stylish living
  47. Arianna Interiors – the woman rocking the world of interiors
  48. bibleofbritishtaste.com/category/houses
  49. ikeahackers.net
  50. designshuffle.com/blog
  51. witandwhistle.com/blog – Stylishly quirky paper goods
  52. thishomesweethome.blogspot.co.uk – Interiors DIY inspiration
  53. designismine.blogspot.com – bringing on the inspiration
  54. klausandheidi.wordpress.com
  55. arowantree.blogspot.co.uk
  56. talesfromahappyhouse.blogspot.co.uk
  57. mylittleorangery.com
  58. printpattern.blogspot.co.uk
  59. designspiration.net
  60. ardesiadesign.co.uk/blog
  61. stephmodo.com – Where practical meets pretty
  62. dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.co.uk
  63. decor8blog.com – fresh finds, inspiring interiors and ideas
  64. whatsinyourbedroom.blogspot.co.uk
  65. Fresh Design Blog
  66. The Design Sheppard – Rounding up the very best in interior design today
  67. Isak Blog
  68. InHabitat – design will serve the world (and show you quite a few adverts…)
  69. Web Urbanist – Daily New Articles Featuring Architecture, Art, Design, Travel, & Technology
  70. Swiss Miss
  71. Desire to Inspire
  72. Better Living through Design – Your design guide to home and style
  73. Freshome – Design & Architecture
  74. Trendir – Home decorating trends
  75. the style files
  76. Sub-Studio Design Blog – a compilation of products, furniture, jewelry, architecture and artists that float our boat
  77. Funfurde – Funky.  Furniture.  And. Design.
  78. Contemporist
  79. GrassrootsModern
  80. 2Modern Design Talk
  81. Coochicoos – a design blog for modern parents
  82. Home Design Find
  83. Haute Nature
  84. Hatch: The Design Public Blog – Fresh new design
  85. Gaile Guevara
  86. Breathe Modern
  87. ProjectDecor
  88. Belle Maison 23 – Inspirational finds for creating a beautiful home
  89. archiproducts.com
  90. archello.com/en/products
  91. http://www.stylepark.com/
  92. http://www.materia.nl/
  93. designaddict.com/
  94. iconicdutch.com/uk
  95. carlaaston.com
  96. mydesignsource.com
  97. modenus.com/
  98. Yanko Design – Form beyond function

Shows:

As the cleverer ones amongst you have spotted there are not YET the 99 promised. Suggest more to me using the voting mechanism below (you can add voting options)….

Please LIKE or SHARE … it keeps us sane to know that you are out there benefitting from the information WE share. XOXOXOX

Now VOTE for your FAVOURITES – you have ONE CHANCE to vote but you can vote for lots of sites in that one voting chance. You can also add your own website or blog to the list if you feel brave enough in the face of very stiff competition!! If you get ‘lots’ of votes I’ll add you to the list with a link 😉 But YOU can only vote once.

[polldaddy poll=7238136]

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Inspiring Blog Award – Interior Design

Inspiring Blog 2013
Interior Design 2013

A big thank you to Kiki for our nomination for the Inspiring Blog Award. It’s always great to know that we are reaching out to new generations of Interior Designers.

Following the rules of this award, I have to tell you a little bit about myself.

1. Many years ago I danced with Brad Pitt. Well; I was in the same nightclub and I sort of manoeuvred myself into his general vicinity. That counts right?

2. One of my scariest moments is travelling at over 230kmh in a sports car. I wasn’t driving (luckily someone else was) and you will be relieved to know that we were on a race track.

3. I inadvertently inherited a collection of 1980s vinyl ‘LP’ covers. After years of sitting in a box, I discovered that when framed then made a great art installation next to my work area at home.

4. The first paint I chose was for my own bedroom. Dark green. Hmmm.

5. I like people, dogs and cats. In that order.

6. Most interesting party venues: On a rooftop in Manhattan and some bizarre, mostly uninhabited, island somewhere near Comodo that even now I can’t quite remember the name of.

7. Most stupid question, “Do you like chocolate?”

Inspirational Blogs (I’d like to nominate!): Here are some that I enjoy:

Pippa Jameson

Kelly Hoppen

The Style Files

Anne Sage

Design Geek

Apartment Therapy

Tevami

There are a few rules to accepting this blog award…

1. Display the award image on your blog page.

2. Link back to the person who nominated you and ‘like’ the post

3. State seven facts about yourself.

4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

5. Notify your bloggers of their nomination and link to their posts.