Choose the right fabrics for your home

How to pick the right fabrics

Textiles are of major importance to a room because they determine your level of comfort as you sit on furniture, walk on your rugs and put your head on a pillow. “The measure of quality is in their component materials, how the textile is made, and how the type and weight of fabric are suited for the intended use,” Lemieux writes.

MATERIAL

“Feeling is imperative when it comes to textiles,” writes Lemieux. When you feel a ten-dollar and a three hundred-dollar cashmere pillow, and the more expensive one is softer, that is due to the length and number of fibers in the material. Longer fibers are spun more tightly, which makes them last longer and explains their price tag. Cheaper materials are made of shorter fibers and aren’t woven as tightly, allowing them to fall apart more easily.

HOW IT IS MADE

Designs are usually screen printed onto linens, silks and cottons. The result is almost like a work of art, allowing repeatable designs as well as customized fabrics to be made. Other designs can be woven into a cloth, creating a more textured piece. The various strands then become one whole rather than layers of color that can eventually fade.

END USE

“Not every fabric is right for every job,” Lemieux says. In the case of drapes, hang sample fabric in front of a window to see how the light runs through it before making the purchase. Clearly fabric for bedding needs to be soft, as you will be lying on it in your sleep. For upholstery projects, place a sample of the fabric on the piece of furniture and see how it molds to the structure. Samples are key, Lemieux says.