Enhance your Home With Textiles!

Leigh Leigh
The Urban Retreat, ZERO9 ZERO9 Living room
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Textiles are a type of cloth or woven fabric, which when used right, can totally enhance your entire home and decor scheme. 

Not only are they a budget-friendly way to change the look and feel of either your interior space or your exterior space, but you can have so much fun with textiles!

You can utilise textiles in the form of new coverings for your sofa or cushions, brand new curtains, a plush rug or some new throws for the living room or bedrooms. The world is your oyster!

But today, at homify we are going to hone in on a few ways you can use textiles to your advantage.

Silk as a textile

Bungalow in Bhuj, Design Kkarma (India) Design Kkarma (India) Living room

Not only is silk soft, luxurious and beautiful to look at, but it can really enhance spaces in your home.

In this image of a living room, we can see how embroidered silk has been used throughout this beautiful sofa, bringing in greens, yellows and blues as well as different patterns and textures. 

This works incredibly well in a very neutral room and also means that if you ever want to change the look and feel of a space, you simply need to recover the furniture—easy and cost-effective!

Cotton as a textile

homify Living room Engineered Wood Transparent

Cotton is a very popular and common material used for textiles. It's easy on the skin, easy on the eye and there are so many different options available! It's also a very cool material—perfect for the South African summers!

In this design, we can see how the interior decorators have mixed all sorts of patterns, colours and textures to create the perfect living room. Often this requires a bit of an expert eye. If you're looking for someone to give you advice when it comes to mixing and matching, have a look through the homify list of professionals!

Velvet as a textile

Mr.Rajan's Bungalow, P & D Associates P & D Associates Living room

If you want to add luxury and elegance to a space, then velvet is the way to go. 

If you've ever run your hand along a velvet cushion or snuggled up against a velvet blanket, you'll know that the texture makes you feel like you are a queen!

Utilise velvet for sofas & armchairs, cushions, rugs or even curtains! If you do go for it, try opt for a solid, neutral colour. Remember that velvet is quite a plush material, so you want the colours to be understated.

Woolen dari as a textile

Living Room ZERO9 Living room

If you like a bit of an oriental or Asian twist to your decor, then woolen dari may be the material for you. 

In this design, we can see how wooden dari has been used for the patterned rug, adding a rustic charm to the home. You could also hang a rug like this up on the wall as a decor piece.

Make sure that if you do opt for woolen dari, that it works in harmony with the rest of the decor in your home. 

Faux fur as a textile

Lonavla Bungalow, JAYESH SHAH ARCHITECTS JAYESH SHAH ARCHITECTS Living room

Faux fur can look classic and lavish, adding that extra something to your home, without any animals having to be harmed in the process or without you having to blow your budget.

Utilise faux fur for your rug, the cushions or even the sofa finishes. Remember that it can be quite a dominant texture so you want to use it subtly.

In this design, we can see how well brightly coloured faux fur works, such as red. However, you can choose whatever colour you like depending on the style of your home. 

Put them all together

Waiting Area Vishwanath And Associates Living room

The design experts will tell you that you don't have to just opt for one textile, texture or tone in your home. In fact, a combination of textiles, colours or textures can bring the design of your home together in perfect harmony. 

In this design, you can see what we mean! Don't you love how the silk cushions work with the cotton sofa?

Also have a look at this ideabook: The latest textile trends because plain just won't do!

A note on curtains

homify Living room

When it comes to your curtains, you really can afford to have some fun with different textiles depending on the room.

For a bedroom, for example, you may want a heavier and darker material, which is where velvet may work. In a living room, however, you may want a lighter room where sunlight and air can flow in through the window so you may opt for cotton.

As we can see in this image, curtains can dress up your windows and make them look magnificent! Also have a look at these: 6 tips to dress your windows to impress!

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