Spots, stripes, curtains or blinds, linen or silk? Choosing the right soft furnishings for your home can be daunting, worrying and stressful. But before you give up and cover it in brown paper, One Two One Interiors’ Jonathan Bonnici shares some clear and easy tips with Veronica Stivala.
The sitting and living room
• Fabrics
Some aspects of choosing upholstery fabric might seem pretty obvious, such as selecting a colour. However, since it’s always good to take your needs into account, fabric durability is an important factor too.
Choose a fabric based on who will be using your sofa. If your pets will also be sharing it with you, consider a micro-fibre fabric or a fabric with a high Martindale count to withstand heavy use.
Woven patterns hold up longer than printed ones, as do higher thread counts. Thread count refers to the number of threads per square inch of fabric, and denser fabric lasts longer.
• Colours and patterns
Colour is the main reason people choose a fabric, so make sure your choice is appropriate. For instance, it may be best to avoid a very bold colour for a smaller room and to avoid delicately coloured fabrics around children and pets.
Avoid overly trendy colours and patterns, unless you happen to really like them. Colour and design trends come and go so be careful. Many colours can often be found in contemporary homes, from bright yellow and fuchsia to silver, black and aubergine.
However, a multitude of neutral tones exist such as ivory, champagne, stone and taupe that will always make for timeless furnishings.
The kitchen
• Colours and fabrics
Nowadays, most kitchens are open plan and need to be furnished in colours and fabrics which complement the living areas. Simple works best in such high traffic areas, so Jonathan always recommends the use of Roman or roller blinds and perhaps eyelet curtains. One can always add a pop of colour with table runners and seat cushions.
The bedroom
• Colours
In large open-plan areas, very common in today’s contemporary living, a neutral palette of ivory, sand and pebble usually works best. However, if you do like colour and wish to experiment with it in your home interiors, then the bedroom is probably the best place to introduce colour due to the confined space.
The bedroom is probably the best place to introduce colour due to the confined space
For a warm atmosphere, Jonathan recommends the rich tones of aubergine, berry and/or mahogany, and for a cooler and softer ambiance, you can use a combination of azure, teal and/or silver.
• Patterns and fabrics
If you’re lost, you can carry the same colour palette across your home, with few colour accents on throw pillows and throws.
Jonathan suggests a neutral palette, with accents of olive or duck egg, as well as the classic natural mixture of mink and taupe. In smaller rooms, avoid bold patterns and colours for curtains or big upholstered furniture, and create interest through the use of different textures such as a combination of velvet, linen and silk to create contrasts between shiny and matt surfaces.
The bathroom
• Fabrics and accessories
Carrying colour forward from main living spaces to the bathroom works best for Jonathan. So if we’re talking of an ensuite to a bedroom in which you have chosen azure as a colour palette, then bathroom tiles permitting, one could easily add azure and white bath linen, rugs and matching roman blinds.
Outdoors
• Fabrics and patterns
For outdoors, it’s always best to consider fabric that is specific for the outdoors. Plenty of fabrics now exist that are fade resistant and all-weather protected. For outdoors, Jonathan loves black and white, especially combined with rattan furniture and to which one can easily add pops of fuchsia or tangerine.
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