Intentional interiors
Editor Alice Lines talks textiles and ways to make them live well for longer.
Textile TLC.
How do you make your house your home? I think it’s important to focus on making it a place in which you can truly live — day in, day out. Beyond aesthetics, decorating to create such an intentional interior is an opportunity to level up by paying extra attention to the ‘ordinary’ things you actually need and use — like your textiles.
Whether it’s the pillowcases you wake up on every morning or the curtains you draw every night, buying what you really need, buying less and buying well is the first step. Caring for your pieces then becomes crucial to ensuring you get the most out of them.
To help your favourite fabrics live and look lovely for longer, you need both a will and a way, and the top technology of Fisher & Paykel’s newest front-loading ActiveIntelligence™ Steam Care washing machine and Heat Pump Condensing Steam Care dryer is a great pick for the latter. Between them, these leading appliances have 48 cycles (many of which are complementary) that enable you to give your textiles proper TLC.
You do hue
A simple way to stay on course when curating an interior that reflects your lifestyle, not trends, is to establish a colour scheme — and remember: opting to invest in quality items in beautiful, natural materials doesn’t mean resigning yourself to only neutral hues.
The palette on these pages shows how a selection of bolder shades — chocolate, blue, yellow, terracotta and black — can punctate a neutral base and transition from room to room. Let this concept be your buyer’s guide — you’ll find having a list of four or five colours to refer to will provide clarity when you’re shopping.
To keep your chosen colours vibrant, wash them at lower temperatures, and as well as combining whites with whites and brights with brights, make sure you clean similar textiles together. The aforementioned Fisher & Paykel washing machine has an LCD display that makes customising your washes a breeze, while the dryer boasts TangleProtect tech that ensures each load dries evenly, helping to preserve the integrity of your colours.
You could also opt to steam rather than wash, taking advantage of the washer and dryer’s new Steam Care