Design Aesthetics for Beginners
by Charles
Whether you've decorated your house before or never even thought about it, it's a good idea to think about the overall mood and look you are going for before you commit to any one idea.
I want to take a few minute to share some ideas that I've found helpful in my years of buying, selling, and using fabric.
1. Buy the Fabric First and the Paint Second
I can't stress this enough. The fabric that you absolutely love and can afford is not available in every color under the sun. Often times you will discover it when you least expect it- and if you've already committed to a paint color- you will find that it isn't an exact match- or in most cases- even compatible at all.
You can recreate any paint color based on a swatch of fabric- you cannot, however, mill the fabric of your dreams in any color you like.
Pro Tip- Screen printed fabrics contain valuable paint matching information on the selvage. Typically these color dots are meant to aid the printers during the manufacturing process- but you can use these conveniently organized color dots to find matching paints.
2. Understand Your Fabric Orientation
In the Industry, the way in which a fabric is oriented is called a "run". Simply put, a fabric can run vertically, either, or horizontally ("railroaded").
Why the difference?
There are a couple of reasons. For starters, fabrics made strictly for upholstery may be railroaded so that a furniture manufacturer does not have to constantly seam the fabric together to get the width required to cover the furniture.
Typically, upholstery fabrics measure between 54" and 60" in width. Imagine how limiting it would be to need to find a way to hide a seam on every couch because the fabric was not wide enough to cover the entire width of the couch.
When a fabric is railroaded, the pattern is oriented from selvage (the edge) to selvage. This means that the width is as virtually limitless (well- the fabric can be as wide as the roll is long- but for the life of me, I've never seen a 50 yard long couch!).
Railroaded fabrics are usually not appropriate for draperies. You find that most people get tricked by this principle when dealing with stripes.
Stripes are typically meant to be used in an up and down fashion. This is how they are marketed, sampled, and displayed in photographs. A railroaded stripe going up and down is only as long as the width of the fabric (remember that 54" to 60" measurement). Therefore, using a railroaded stripe in and up and down fashion for a drapery would mean that you'd have to have a very low window or a very short drapery!
Fabrics with vertical runs are suitable for upholstery- especially pieces with cushions as you will generally not have a problem with seams when you have cushions. Most decorative fabrics are run vertically because of a number of factors, one major factor is versatility. Another is "rack appeal" or how a fabric appears to you when its on a roll on a display.
Pro Tip- Ever wonder why some sheers are over 100" wide and "railroaded". The answer is simple. Sheer fabrics, especially voiles look terrible seamed together. So, to work around this, you make the fabric double wide- which is long enough to reach most floors and orient the fabric sideways- so that you basically buy the width you need for your window treatment because the height is already taken care of. It's brilliant design at work.
3. Buy Samples First
Sometimes there is only a limited amount of fabric left and you know that if you don't buy it right then and there that someone else will come and snatch it up- and the fabric of your dreams will be lost to you forever.
I wish I could tell you that this statement is preposterous marketing hogwash. But I can't. There are instances where its now or never. Even I think back to the ones that got away. But lets not confuse sentimentality to well thought out pragmatism.
If you see a fabric online, even one offered here, and just know its the right fabric for you but you've never seen it in person... buy a sample first.
The reason for this is simple. Fabrics are tactile things and its impossible to convey how the fabric will feel to you through a photograph. Also, you have to consider the lighting in your room, how you are going to use the fabric, and well, whether you find that emotional attachment to it once you have it in your possession.
Most fabric companies cannot accept returns or refunds for cut yardage. Take this into account before investing a large sum of money on something you haven't seen, or more importantly, felt.
Pro Tip- One Yard is enough fabric to make a throw pillow. If you want to buy a sample that you can actually get some use out of- consider a one yard purchase!
I appreciate your comments and feedback. If you have a topic you'd like covered- or perhaps, a correction to any of the information I've provided - please contact me at
draperyrow@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Charles
Whether you've decorated your house before or never even thought about it, it's a good idea to think about the overall mood and look you are going for before you commit to any one idea.
I want to take a few minute to share some ideas that I've found helpful in my years of buying, selling, and using fabric.
1. Buy the Fabric First and the Paint Second
I can't stress this enough. The fabric that you absolutely love and can afford is not available in every color under the sun. Often times you will discover it when you least expect it- and if you've already committed to a paint color- you will find that it isn't an exact match- or in most cases- even compatible at all.
You can recreate any paint color based on a swatch of fabric- you cannot, however, mill the fabric of your dreams in any color you like.
Pro Tip- Screen printed fabrics contain valuable paint matching information on the selvage. Typically these color dots are meant to aid the printers during the manufacturing process- but you can use these conveniently organized color dots to find matching paints.
2. Understand Your Fabric Orientation
In the Industry, the way in which a fabric is oriented is called a "run". Simply put, a fabric can run vertically, either, or horizontally ("railroaded").
Why the difference?
There are a couple of reasons. For starters, fabrics made strictly for upholstery may be railroaded so that a furniture manufacturer does not have to constantly seam the fabric together to get the width required to cover the furniture.
Typically, upholstery fabrics measure between 54" and 60" in width. Imagine how limiting it would be to need to find a way to hide a seam on every couch because the fabric was not wide enough to cover the entire width of the couch.
When a fabric is railroaded, the pattern is oriented from selvage (the edge) to selvage. This means that the width is as virtually limitless (well- the fabric can be as wide as the roll is long- but for the life of me, I've never seen a 50 yard long couch!).
Railroaded fabrics are usually not appropriate for draperies. You find that most people get tricked by this principle when dealing with stripes.
Stripes are typically meant to be used in an up and down fashion. This is how they are marketed, sampled, and displayed in photographs. A railroaded stripe going up and down is only as long as the width of the fabric (remember that 54" to 60" measurement). Therefore, using a railroaded stripe in and up and down fashion for a drapery would mean that you'd have to have a very low window or a very short drapery!
Fabrics with vertical runs are suitable for upholstery- especially pieces with cushions as you will generally not have a problem with seams when you have cushions. Most decorative fabrics are run vertically because of a number of factors, one major factor is versatility. Another is "rack appeal" or how a fabric appears to you when its on a roll on a display.
Pro Tip- Ever wonder why some sheers are over 100" wide and "railroaded". The answer is simple. Sheer fabrics, especially voiles look terrible seamed together. So, to work around this, you make the fabric double wide- which is long enough to reach most floors and orient the fabric sideways- so that you basically buy the width you need for your window treatment because the height is already taken care of. It's brilliant design at work.
3. Buy Samples First
Sometimes there is only a limited amount of fabric left and you know that if you don't buy it right then and there that someone else will come and snatch it up- and the fabric of your dreams will be lost to you forever.
I wish I could tell you that this statement is preposterous marketing hogwash. But I can't. There are instances where its now or never. Even I think back to the ones that got away. But lets not confuse sentimentality to well thought out pragmatism.
If you see a fabric online, even one offered here, and just know its the right fabric for you but you've never seen it in person... buy a sample first.
The reason for this is simple. Fabrics are tactile things and its impossible to convey how the fabric will feel to you through a photograph. Also, you have to consider the lighting in your room, how you are going to use the fabric, and well, whether you find that emotional attachment to it once you have it in your possession.
Most fabric companies cannot accept returns or refunds for cut yardage. Take this into account before investing a large sum of money on something you haven't seen, or more importantly, felt.
Pro Tip- One Yard is enough fabric to make a throw pillow. If you want to buy a sample that you can actually get some use out of- consider a one yard purchase!
I appreciate your comments and feedback. If you have a topic you'd like covered- or perhaps, a correction to any of the information I've provided - please contact me at
draperyrow@yahoo.com
Thanks!
Charles
Prices per yard unless otherwise noted. A note about color: It is impossible to accurately depict colors from computer to computer. Every monitor is different. Also scale and distance may effect the way color appears. Any reference to color on this site is an estimation and is not warrantied or guaranteed to be correct. Whenever possible, consider the purchase of a sample for exact color matching. No returns on cut yardage. All fabrics are first quality.
