Tying a Room Together with Fabrics

By Dianne Lee

Congratulations - you've pooled your finances to purchase your first home as a couple! Unfortunately, that may mean that you are pooling your furnishings as well, with your living room reading: his, hers and ours. Between the two of you there may be an eclectic mixture of modern, traditional, hand-me-downs and thrift store finds. How do you tie it all together for a comfortable cohesive feel? Look to fabrics to help solve your decorating dilemma.

Start with your largest "soft" furnishings, such as sofas, love seats and chairs. Pick one piece that you want to build your room around. If budget allows you might consider re-upholstering the remaining items to coordinate with the chosen piece. Re-upholstering can, however, be expensive, and unless you love the piece it is rarely worth the money. Slipcovers on the other hand can be very inexpensive, and offer a great solution in today's more casual environment.

Ready made slipcovers can be purchased at most linen or department stores, and can also be ordered online from a variety of suppliers. However, you might want to consider making your own. They can be as easy as throwing fabric over the sofa or, with minimal sewing skills, you can cut and piece fabric to fit, and make your own semi-fitted slipcovers.

Whether you choose to buy or make your slipcover, it's a good idea to choose a tightly woven fabric with some weight to it, so that it will wear better and keep its shape over time. One of the advantages of slipcovers is that they can be laundered, so try to choose a washable pre-shrunk fabric.

If you are making your own slipcovers you may want to avoid stripes or very symmetrical patterns. These designs are more difficult to work with, and if the pattern doesn't match up well then it's unlikely you will be pleased with the end result.

Pillows can also be a cheap and cheerful way to liven up your room, and this is where you can bring in some stripes, patterns or bold and vibrant colours. Pillows are inexpensive to buy and simple to make so they can be replaced easily. You might want to have a "winter look" and a "summer look," choosing warm or dark shades for the winter and bright sunny or cool shades for summer. Look at the colours being shown in stores for tee-shirts and sweaters to give you an idea of the current colour trends. If you have slipcovered one or two pieces you might want to make some pillows out of the same material. Many fabrics have coordinating prints and these will have the same colour palette and tones, adding variety to the room while giving it a cohesive look. Check out napkins to sew together for an inexpensive pillow cover. Adding tassels, braiding or beading will give your pillows that designer feel.

Curtains, drapes and tabletop covers can also be used to tie the room together. For drapes, look for material that hangs well and ask the salesperson to help you pick out the right lining for your drapes, for example, blackout lining if keeping out the light is important. Yes, you should line your drapes. It will give a much fuller look to your window coverings, and is well worth the added cost and effort.

Once again, adding trim, fringes and tiebacks will provide an upscale look.

Finally, if your dining room is adjacent to your living room use the same fabric for all the drapes, as uniformity in colour or fabric throughout helps make a space look bigger and gives continuity to your home. Slip covering mismatched dining chairs will add pizzazz, and again the fabric should complement the other fabrics used throughout. Pre-made chair covers are readily available and fabric stores carry patterns if you wish to sew your own.

Don't be afraid to let your creative juices flow! Adding your own touches will allow your new home to reflect your style and personality.