Decorating Your Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the most frequently used rooms in the house. It is where we do our private cleaning job and could also be a place of relaxation; depending on its design. 

Some have indeed said that they receive divine inspiration on their toilet seats! (The place must be very comfortable). It is therefore important to plan the design of the bathroom well.

Due to limited space, we may not be able to cram all bathroom equipment into our bathrooms. Therefore, we need to prioritise our bathroom equipment in order of the frequency of use. when decorating, some of the things to put into consideration include; the length of a bath tub; if you are using one, space for towel rail, water heater, wash hand basin, toilet roll holders, the width of the shower and vanity, etc.

Many homes have a separate room for the toilet and one for the bathroom. A small narrow room houses only the WC and sometimes a small wash hand basin, and then in another room there is the shower over a bath and a vanity. It is preferable to have a single room and combine the two that way it is often possible to make allowance for a separate shower.

As with décor for the other parts of the house, choose a style for your bathroom. Generally, clean and crisp fittings and fixtures together with white tiled walls and floor is a perfect basic style for a bathroom. Other styles include beautiful terracotta tiled floor with tiled walls, recessed lights, brass fittings, heritage porcelain fittings, spiked taps.

Recessing an open glass shelve into the wall near the tub helps keeps the bathing area uncluttered and offers easy access storage for clean towels and bathing accessories.

Remember to try fittings and fixtures before purchasing them for your bathroom. Lie in the bath ensure it fits you or that of the intended users. Sit on the toilet seats to make sure they can withhold your weight, turn the taps or levers, and see if they are functioning.

Essentially, decorating any part of your house should be fun; the bathroom is no exception. So, when the time comes to do some redecorating, sample as many ideas as you can before you settle for one.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Creating a Unique Style

Creating a Unique Style

Style in interior decoration means the ability to create a beautiful design that is well balanced, congruous, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and an overall memorable effect.

Styles could be fashioned after epochs in history; e.g. Victorian, Louis XV or after cultures e.g. English Country or French Provincial.

Styles can also be inspired by forms of decoration for example art Nouveau and Rocco; furniture makers have also invented styles like Sheraton and Chippendale.

Styles can also depend on location, for example, urban style, country style and popular historic eras of change, hi-tech, art deco and minimalism, or Eclectic.

How to find a style

You can start by flipping through magazines and books and noting the styles and patterns that attract you or you admire. Review all the pictures or pages that you bookmarked and you will notice a trend or pattern of your style. It is just the same as when you enter an interior decorating store there will be some set of fabric, style of furniture, lightings, paintings etc. that attract you.

In creating your style you need to be mindful of the design of your home or space. If you have a Victorian style home for example, you do not necessarily have to decorate in that style, but you have to take into consideration the peculiarities of the structure and frame of the house or space.

Country homes need a rural touch; solid functional furniture, wood flooring or easy care floors, wood or cane furniture, simple decorations, etc. Contemporary houses require more elaborate decorations and finishes; ceramic tiles; heavy blinds, wallpapers etc.

Contemporary clean lines are not appropriate for country Style home.

It is possible to vary the style in different rooms of the house to some extent, but the variations must not be extreme. There must still be some element of harmony throughout the house or space. For example, the kitchen design and materials are usually different from the rest of the house; to create harmony, a glass or panel that matches the doors of the house can be used as the kitchen cabinet doors or panels.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Decorating With Floral Patterns

Decorating With Floral Patterns

Floral patterns are commonly used in interior decorating; they make a room cool and inviting. Floral patterns are usually applied to living rooms and bedrooms; depending though on individual taste and style.

Floral designs are many; there are subtle ones and there are bold and active types.

Floral fabrics can be used in upholstery and it fits perfectly a one-colour background. Floral patterns can also be used in combination with other less busy patterns like stripes. Adding several throw pillows of various patterns will add detail and depth to the decor.

Floral accents and accompaniments in deep shades of the main colour theme will enhance the beauty of the room. Also floral patterns in a contrasting colour would come out nicely. Choose colours that work well and go together with the pattern.

Wallpaper is a good way to introduce floral patterns into interior design. Intricate, bold and active patterns should be used for larger rooms while invisible and light colour wallpapers should be used for small rooms. Using bold patterns for small rooms will make them look smaller. For small rooms, active patterns can be used for the other accompaniments and accents like throw pillows, rugs and curtains.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Low Budget Decor

Low Budget Decor

Interior décor does not have to be expensive and high-ended; decorating on a low budget is achievable. You can have a beautiful space irrespective of limited cash.

Recycle old stuff. You will be amazed at the amount of resources you have if you check out your old belongings. You can gather tits and bits from old stuff and recycle them into new items of furniture. If you can’t recreate them by yourself, you can take them to specialists who remodel old items like furniture. You can get inspiration from designers who recycle old items into new things.

Reupholster furniture. Instead of completely overhauling your furniture, simply reupholster it. To reupholster means that you replace the fabric covering on furniture; this brings a new look to the room while also saving you some cost. 

Also consider buying multipurpose furniture that has storage capacity, instead of investing in expensive organizers.

Furniture rearrangements, adding new curtains, introduction of new accessories are subtle ways to redecorate a space. Furniture rearrangement in particular can transform a space; move the sofas to new angles or corners; rearrange other accessories.

New accessories can add style and attraction to your décor; change the area rug or the throw pillows. Bear in mind the colour scheme and style of your décor before introducing new accessories; let them blend well with the old furniture.

Sales and discounts are a great way to save cost. December especially is usually a period when there are sales and discounts in abundance. You can plan your shopping around this time, it is possible to get sales and discounts on interior décor materials. In addition have a budget at hand before the period comes, calculate how much you will need to spend and things of priority that you need to get.

Use natural resources. Sometimes the best interior accessories are what nature has to offer right in your garden or backyard or before your home. These could be beautiful flowers and plants, tree branches and cones etc. You can fill a bowl or vase with painted leaves or bark and compliment these with some sweet fresh smelling flowers or it could even be artificial flowers.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Colour Balance

Colour Balance

Colour plays an important role in interior décor. The right colour combination can transform an otherwise drab room into an exciting one. The right colour mix can also make a room look classy. We bring you basic tips you need to know to create an elegant interior décor.

To know more about hues and colours you need to study the colour wheel provided. The colour wheel shows how hues generate from colours. Red, yellow and blue are the primary colours; a mixture of them produces other colours. For example, purple is a mixture of red and blue, while green is a mixture of yellow and blue.

Colours can be described as warm and cool. Warm colours are lively and bright; they make a room come alive, while cool colours give a calm effect. Cool colors are usually less pronounced and they are perfect for visually enhancing small places.

Colours and hues can also be either complementary or analogous. Complementary colours are located opposite to each other on the colour wheel, while analogous hues are located close to each other and are generated from the same hue.

Triads are the three colours located equally on the colour wheel. These work well together if well balanced. The formula for combining them is to use one as dominant while the other two are complimentary.

In designing a space you can choose a cool or warm colour scheme. You can also use a small proportion of cool colour in a warm colour scheme and vice versa, to enhance your design.

Colours have intensity; they could be light or dark. Lighter intensities are called tints, while darker intensities are called shades or tones. Tints and tones are given more elaborate names for example, army green, sky blue etc.

Balancing colours is where creativity is expressed. Lighter shades can be mixed with neutral or medium shades. With accents you can make the design stylish; for example a colour scheme of cream and light green, a touch of yellow or orange can brighten the atmosphere.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Achieving Balance with Decorating

Balance and coordination is very important in interior décor. Without it, a room will look disjointed and lopsided. On the other hand, a well-coordinated room looks appealing and everything is like a perfect symphony.

Balance in decorating means that the arrangement of furnishings and other items are harmonised; it is possible to have a variety of items in different shapes, sizes and height, but all must blend together.

For example, to maintain a congruous visual weight, an armoire should be complemented with a large table or two portly chairs, an area rug, and a smaller table. In the same room, a big porcelain bowl displayed on the mantelpiece could have two framed watercolours as beside it. If you decide to have a table lamp in the same room, it should not be bigger than the table upon which it is placed.

In case you want to upgrade your furniture; think about the coordination of the room first. You need to consider the items in the room and how the furniture will synchronise with the rest of the room. This includes the shapes, sizes and colour balance of the room.

Professionals match elements to add symmetry and to enhance the sense of harmony. Thinking duo is also a good way of creating balance; dual mirrors, twin lamps, two trays, two matching chairs on opposite sides of an area rug or chair arrangement.  

Group small furnishings together in a large room otherwise they would look like little cluttered or scattered items if you leave them afloat.

Also consider the right positioning for each furniture item. In a very small room a corner might just be okay for a love seat, while you have to find other positions or places for your other furnishings. Add a mirror to make the room look more spacious. 

Also plan to create a focal point or centre of attraction.

A focal point is the highpoint of the mix; it is the element that draws and holds the most attention.  For example, in a living room where there is a beautiful view from a picture window, this could be made the focal point. Other furnishings are arranged to align with this centre piece.  Fireplaces and French doors are known to be classic focal points.

More commonly, a media centre fit snugly behind louvered doors with matching storage units on either side is used as focal point.

TVs are not recommended as focal points because when the set is turned off, the attention is taken away to other points of interest.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Things to Know About Window Treatments

Window treatments, also known as curtains, are very important in any home. Window treatments can transform the most drab and ugly windows into beautiful ones while hiding the flaws. There are many fabrics to choose from and these include: lace, cotton, nylon, silk etc.

Generally, there are no hard and fast rules to the length of window treatments; but depending on the effect you want to create and the purpose of the room, you can choose the appropriate length.

Lengths

How long should curtains or draperies be? Generally, the longer the curtain or drapery, the more dignified, dressy, and formal the look. Shorter lengths always imply a casual, relaxed, and informal mood. The decision is up to you. Take a look at the following guidelines to find the style that's right for you.

For a romantic room, graceful long curtains that flow or puddle on the floor are suitable.

For formal or dressy rooms long curtains that barely touch the floor are alright.

For kitchens and bathrooms, short curtains that reach the sill or the bottom of the window (also known as the apron) are great.

For dens or family rooms, elegant draw drapes that barely kiss the floor are perfect.

Here are some wonderful tricks to help you transform your windows.

• For narrow curtains extend rods beyond the window and hang draperies so that they barely cover the frame, leaving as much glass exposed as possible, all of which makes a narrow window seem wider.
• For short windows attach rods just below the ceiling molding and hang long curtains that touch the floor. This makes the window look longer and more elegant.

• For awkwardly long windows. Add a deep cornice or valance above the drapes with a bold horizontal pattern. Create further distraction by adding a horizontal line which could be a contrasting louvered shutter.

• For wide windows, break up the space by hanging several panels across the window. Then hang drapes on each of the panels; each panel will look like a separate window instead of looking like just one big wide window.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

How to Clean Blinds

Cleaning your window treatments can be less harrowing if you follow these simple tips. There are three basic types of blinds – wooden, fabric and vertical; these tips will help you clean and maintain your blinds easily.

1.     Clean across the splines not in an upward and downward motion.

Also when cleaning vertical blinds, brush downwards because the splines may remove if you upwards.

2.    Use lamb’s wool duster instead of plastic dusters. Remember to clean across the splines.

3.    Use a rubber sponge to remove dust and residue. Just wipe the sponge firmly across the blinds.

4.    To remove spots, spray cleaning agent like Windowlene on a dry cloth and wipe the targeted area. Avoid spraying the cleaning agent directly on the blinds.

5.    Avoid soaking wooden blinds, instead use a dab of water or a damp cloth on them. Instead of dismantling the splines, just wipe them across.

6.    For fabric window treatments, engage a professional launderer to clean them in case they are heavily soiled. Don’t attempt to clean them by yourself because you may not be able to handle the technicalty involved.

7.    For vinyl and metal blinds; take them outside and lay them on a small piece of carpet. Using a brush and dishwashing soap and water, brush slightly the splines from side to side. Repeat this for the other side. Rinse the blinds thoroughly with water while tilting them so that the water can run down freely. You can run your fingers through quickly to prevent water spurts. Leave the blinds out to dry.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Be home proud, #AskRosemarys

Sleep with Beach Memories

Most people head out to the beach once there is a holiday or simply to fulfill their desire to unwind and recreate the mind. Wouldn’t you rather the beach came to you night after night, with its calming sea breeze washing all over you, with the sound of the sea waves lapping into each other, with laughter ringing out as jokes re shared, with your body fusing with nature and time seemingly standing still?

With beautiful sheets with luscious beach scenery be it Hawaii, Lagos, or Jo’burg, you can recreate your beach memories. You would fall asleep each night completely relaxed, leaving behind all the stress of eking a living and allow your body to regenerate. It’s time to get rid of those circles under the eyes and simply unwind with beach scenery bedsheets.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Be home proud, #AskRosemarys

Sweeten Your Ambience with Plants and Portraits

Plants and portraits are such easy and adaptable accessories to have. They add finishing touches to your space making it unique and inviting.

Portraits and other forms of art works play an important role in home décor: not only do they highlight your individuality; they absorb noise and can transform the shape of a room if placed properly. For instance, a landscape picture can be used to widen a room while a floral portrait gives an illusion of added height.

Before putting up art pieces, experiment with different combinations and patterns. Try out different arrangements on the floor of the room until you come up with a great pattern. There are no hard and fast rules about creating art arrangements but note smaller pictures look better in clusters as this brings about a balance and cohesion of elements in the room.

Big pictures, on the other hand, should be placed in proportion to the furniture in the room usually six to nine inches above a sofa but at eye level. If the picture is hung too far apart from the sofa, there will be no connection between the two items.

Plants and flowers are the icing to cap up your decorating efforts. Easy to blend into any room, they come in varieties such as natural, artificial, dried, etc. Colours vary too, so whatever you fancy; there is something out there for you. Allergic to natural flowers? Try the silk ones, they are very beautiful and it’s hard to tell them apart sometimes.

Plants in the home not only sweeten your ambience but add natural colour, texture and soften the rooms’ ambience making it appealing. Accessorize your flowers with beautiful pots, vases, planters etc. these days they come in themes and schemes, you may have a hard time believing that they are planters.

For dried flowers, do not forget the oils to give off sweet scents now and again. Do take out natural plants to sun at least once every fortnight. Wipe the artificial plants often to avoid accumulation of dust. Replace fresh flowers weekly and change the water in the vase often.

It’s time to get some plants and portraits into your home.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Going Ethnic with Beddings

Afro centric!

That’s one of the buzz words of our time and it’s being applied to everything including beddings. There are beddings that have ethnic bias, fabrics that remind you instantly that you are Africans and proudly so. There are a variety of prints from different parts of Africa, from Senegal to Kenya to Ghana; people simply like to identify with the ethnic theme.

Legend has it that long ago, only great warriors who had fought and killed such animals like the lion, leopard or tiger could hang the skin in their homes, but thanks to modern fabric technology, we all can be great warriors simply by purchasing a tiger or leopard print material, great for duvets, floor pillows and bed sheets, these fabrics bring adventure into your bedroom night after night- flooding you with pleasant memories of our beloved continent.

They are more than mere beddings, they are a collector’s item. We are pleased to tell you that with Rosemary’s you can let your imaginations soar and let your dreams of African adventures take flight!

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Think soft furnishing…#AskRosemarys

Subtle Effects that Beautify Your Home

Make seating compact

Move furniture away from the walls; this creates a more intimate seating and creates a floating effect. Afterall it is a family or family with guests and we want to encourage bonding and friendship.

Reupholster furniture with old curtains

Instead of throwing away your old classic curtains, you can make them into fabric for your sofas! Sounds a little weird, but it would give your living room a unique classic style.

Mix and match your bedding

Mix and match your beddings. You could use a mixture of patterns and faded batik prints to create an ancient and modern look at the same time. Antiques like cage lights and lamps would help to create this effect.

Display a great collection on a dining room table

You can display a beautiful collection of Chinese porcelains on your dining table; this gives the room a regal look. The pieces do not have to be exactly the same design but let them just be in symphony.

Place antique in the bathroom

You can put antique pieces in the bathroom to keep a reminder the ‘ages past’. This is particularly good for old houses which have been refurbished or reconstructed; it creates a dynamic style where the house is modern and clean yet the antique pieces point to the authenticity of the epoch of the house. 

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration.

Secure Your Comfort with the Right Beddings

Beddings refer to a range of items mostly made out of fabrics used to beautify the bed thereby making it attractive and inviting. The most popular collection of beddings is bed sheets, which can be either flat or fitted. They come in various textures, patterns, colours and finishing; but we favour 100% double threaded cotton sheeting with brush finish because of our tropical weather. Cotton absorbs body moisture better than any other type of fabric; is easier to maintain; and is less likely to cause allergies.

You cannot change your bed often, but you can change the sheets, recreating different vistas that fit your fantasies on a reasonable budget. You can literally transform your bedroom at least twice a week without robbing a bank.

Fitted sheets are necessary to prevent body moisture from seeping in too much into your mattress as well as give elegance to your bed when properly complemented with a flat sheet. When buying bedsheets, consider the height of the mattress. The bedsheet should be big enough to cover the flat surface of the mattress and leave enough room for tucks. A well laid bed has no creases because enough tuck allowance has been provided.

A good bed sheet is easily discerned by its thread count and depending on the source of the yarn, it could range from 280 to 1050 thread counts. The luxuriant double threaded cotton is soft and cool to touch.

Beyond sheets, beddings also include covers e.g. duvets, coverlets, blankets, chenille covers etc. These refer to what you use to protect your body against chills etc. The addition of a bedcover especially in a fabric complimentary to other furnishings in a bedroom creates a stylish effect.

In choosing bedcovers, consider what you already have in the room. For instance, if you have frill-trimmed curtains, try adding a frill around your bedcover. It is advisable to match and/or coordinate all fabrics in the bedroom from curtain to beddings and even down to night wears. (For a proper fit, the bed should be measured after it has been made to account for any extra height). A good bed cover should drop equally on all three sides of the bed – the foot and the two sides.

Different bed covers are required for different sleeping situations, do choose wisely, but remember that the essence of a cover is to generate heat and transfer same to keep your body temperature stable while at sleep.

Also, remember to consider colour when choosing beddings. Choose colour sets that synchronises with the rest of the room, the curtains, walls, floors etc. Let the colour of the beddings harmonise with the colour theme of your room.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration. Call us today on 08033069199 or 08169308907. ‪#‎AskRosemarys

14 Tips on Fabric Maintenance

1.     Sunlight has the ability to fade colours on fabrics and leather, take care not to position your sofa in the path of the sun.

2.    To guard against deterioration from sunlight, always put on your air conditioner and or pull the curtains to darken the room especially when the fabric is leather, pale linen, silk, chintz, etc.

3.    Do not launder your sofa in parts, vacuum the entire sofa at least twice a week, this will ensure an evenness in appearance. Engage a professional drycleaner especially when not sure of fabric.

4.    Turn the sofa cushions regularly and plum daily to ensure even wear and tear as well as aesthetic appearance.

5.    Vacuum or shake out your curtains occasionally but most especially after the harmattan season to loosen accumulated dust.

6.    Dry-clean your curtains every three to five years and get your interior solution provider to put it up for you again.

7.    The first spots to give way on your sofa are usually the arm and the spots where the head rests. To help protect against this, avoid causing friction in those areas by not letting people sit on the arm of your sofa, and by brushing down the entire sofa with a soft brush the way you would brush you hair to even any recess in the fabric.

8.    Steam-wash your throw pillow fabrics occasionally especially if it is of a delicate nature. Always buy pillow covers that have zips for ease of removal and washing. Air the pillow filling every two weeks.

9.    Do not wash your sofa cushions with soap or detergent as this can cause the fabric to ‘run’ (colour bleed). Wash them in washing machine at 40c or get them professionally cleaned. Always remember to use a fabric conditioner.

10.  Ensure that you dry out your cushion thoroughly in the event of a spill to avoid dampness which may lead to the accumulation of micro-organisms, nasty odour, allergies etc.

11.  When wiping up spills, wet the entire surface evenly, using a soft sponge, allow to dry naturally under mild sun – early morning sunlight.

12.  When dealing with 100% cotton fabrics or linen, (as in throws, bed sets, duvets etc), wash with mild soap using lukewarm water. Avoid causing friction by rubbing vigorously. Do not squeeze and iron on a low heat while slightly damp.

13.  Do not wash dark and light coloured fabrics together. Also wash similar fabrics together always to ensure evenness.

14.  If unsure of what to do in case of a spill, stain, tear etc., call a professional to the rescue. Remember that the higher the quality of fabric used, the easier it is to maintain. Always buy and use very good quality fabric for your furnishing at least you can be guaranteed 5 years’ worth or more of use.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration. Call us today on 08033069199 or 08169308907. ‪#‎AskRosemarys

Enjoying the Outdoors

Outdoor living is becoming increasingly popular. Being able to extend the living areas of your house (i.e. sitting, dining, and children’s play area) to the outside is both healthy and exciting, and the creativity of this space has no rules and is left to your imagination.

The space on the outside can be worked to suit any purpose and whether you are working with softscape or hardscape you can accomplish the goal of this extension easily, effortlessly and inexpensively.

Softscape, as the name implies, is the soft part of your landscape i.e. sandy and grassy area, while hardscape is the hard part i.e. concrete, paving stones etc. depending on what you want for your home, you can make use of softscape or hardscape or a combination of both.

Creating the perfect outdoor space does not require much thought, but depending on what you want to achieve, a few factors need to be put into consideration:

·         The amount of space you have to work with

·         Your lifestyle: for example are you the hospitable type, or do have to entertain guests regularly?

·         Do you have kids?

·         Do you have pets like dogs, cats etc?

The architectural design of your building is important because, you wouldn’t want a contradiction of styles between the design of the building and the design of the landscape e.g. Victorian style architecture and modernistic design of the garden, but, if you decide to, you will have to find a balance between the two budgets.

Elements that enhance your outdoor living experience include:

           

     Garden features; paths, walls, fencing etc.

·         Garden structures; patios, gazebos, pergolas etc.

·         Garden furniture; tables and chairs, deck beds, hammocks etc.

·         Lawn

·         Pools and water features

·         Rock gardens

·         Trees and shrubs gardens

·         Flower gardens

·         Fruits or vegetable gardens.

There are different ways of using and combining these elements, depending on scale, purpose and interest, as each potential space has its peculiar brief.  Your garden defines outdoor space in the same way that soft furnishing beautifies indoor space.

Successful design, construction and implementation have the ability to delineate space in a way that brings continuity and flow between the house and garden. It fortifies the functionality of the garden, pulling the use out as a participant rather than a mere observer. The results are usually very immediate, and in most cases, permanent.

Properly selected and directed lighting inspires an entirely different aura in the outdoor space at night – one that might be overlooked or perceived quite differently during daylight. Lighting has the duplicity of being theatrical and aesthetic, as well as being used for safety conventions – illuminating areas of transition, elevation changes, and/or barriers. So expand your horizons and perceptions! There is much more to the landscape process than most would imagine. Great interest and delight await all who want to transpose that outdoor space into areas that can so easily provide you with inspiration, relaxation, reflection, and repose.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration. Call us today on 08033069199 or 08169308907. ‪#‎AskRosemarys

Furnishing Fabrics

Fabrics are made from different types of fibres which can be used singly or in combinations of two or more. These fibres can be natural; such as cotton, wool, and linen or man made; such as acrylic and acetate.

When choosing fabrics, you need a fabric that can do the job you have in mind as there are myriads of fabrics available in the market place with different finishes, fibre composition and weights.

Some fabrics are all-rounders and are suitable for both curtains and sofas. As a broad guide, just note that sofa fabrics need to be strong, durable, close-woven, able to withstand the friction of sitting, lying, jumping or whatever else you put your sofa up to while curtain fabrics need to have drapability – the ability to hang well.

Cotton

This is the most common and easily recognized type of fabric. It is often laced with small amounts of synthetic fibres added to strengthen and improve crease resistance.

Linen

Extremely strong, quite expensive and creases badly but with the addition of cotton for economy and synthetics to reduce creasing these days it can be used effectively in furnishing.

Please note that both cotton and lined shrink when washed and as such generous lengths (allowance) should be used when making anything. Man made fibres have different properties depending on their composition but they generally resist creases and shrinking. They are most commonly used for making nets, voiles (sheers) which are lightweight, can stand repeated washes and not run although eventually, all fabrics fade.

Brocade

A combination of cotton, cotton/synthetic blend of acetate with a a woven self-pattern created by areas of different weaves suitable for making curtains, drapes and cushion covers.

Calico

Medium weight inexpensive cotton, sometimes dyed or printed. Available as bleached or unbleached and commonly used for lining curtains.

Chintz

Medium weight glazed furnishing cotton, traditionally printed with patterns of flowers like roses, animals and birds.

Damask

Close to brocade, it has a satin weave which gives it a shiny finish. It is made from cotton, cotton/synthetic blends, and linens. Damask is commonly used for table cloths and napkins.

Down-proof cambric

Medium weight cotton fabric especially treated to prevent feathers from shooting out through the weave. Useful for making pillows and chenille throws.

Gingham

Checked fabric woven from cotton or cotton/polyester blends. Often used to create soft furnishing for the kitchen.

Hand-woven Fabric

Heavy weight or medium-weight cotton with an irregular, tough weave used for curtains, cushion covers and bedspreads.

Lace

An open cotton or synthetic fabric, usually with a strong pattern applied to a mesh background, used for curtains, bedspreads and tablecloth.

Linen union

Hard wearing,heavyweight fabric made from linen/cotton suitable for curtains, upholstery, usually floral.

Madras

An Indian hand-woven pure cotton fabric, usually dyed in brilliant olours with a woven pattern of checks, stripes and plaids.

Poplin

Light/medium weight cotton, can either be plain or printed.

PVC

Hard wearing treated cotton with a wipe clean plastic coating (polyvinylchloride) from where it derives its popular name. suitable as kitchen table cloth, etc.

Satin

Light weight cotton or cotton synthetic fabric with a slight sheen. Suitable as curtain lining.

Velvet

Heavy fabric from cotton or cotton synthetic blends with a cut pile used for formal curtains and cushion covers. Similar to corduroy (needle cord), the difference is that the cut pile forms regular ridges down corduroy.

Voile

Light semi-transparent cotton or synthetic fabric used for sheer curtains popularly known as day blinds.

At Rosemary’s we delight in transforming your home and office into a haven even with a limited budget. We also offer consultancy and advisory services on all aspects of interior decoration. Call us today on 08033069199 or 08169308907. ‪#‎AskRosemarys