Soft furnishings seal the feel of a room, adding colour, texture and definition. But curtains, armchairs or lampshades can also be expensive. The costs – for fabric, workmanship, transport, and Brexit-induced tariffs – add up. Happily, there are lots of ways to economise, with panache. Upcycling remnants, mixing antique with new, adding a dashing trim or ruffle: a high-low, save-to-spend approach can be equally effective.
This is what creatives do. For Octavia Dickinson, lampshades made from saris, in warm pinks, reds or yellows are ‘a way to introduce personality without a huge commitment.’ Faced with the expense of restoring her own home, Speronella Marsh used linen sheets, block printed with her own, bold motifs, for her furnishings. One stylish but impecunious photographer friend made her floor-sweeping curtains from heavy cotton dust sheets.
For Brandon Schubert, combining new with second-hand is key to conjuring the ‘always-there’ atmosphere which more of us are craving. He has turned caftans and auction-bought weaves in to furnishings and framed artworks. For lampshades, he uses dressmaking fabrics – plains, checks, stripes – from Merchant & Mills. Interiors, he says, are ‘like baking. You need a bit of this, a dash of that, otherwise it tastes flat and predictable.’ Re-purposing and re-using ‘add age and patina.’
Cocoon Home’s Angela Constantinou, who makes soft furnishings for some of the industry’s most influential names, agrees. Part of her work involves restoring heirloom textiles: new borders for sun-scorched chintz curtains; arm caps for influencer Alexandra Tolstoy’s aesthetically-worn patchwork chair. ‘There’s something rather lovely about rescuing something keeping its stories alive,’ she says.
Angela (who learnt her sewing skills from her mother, a seamstress) lists her favourite hacks. Stencilled motifs (try Ideal Stencils and Setacolor for fabric paints) make plain fabrics interesting (Hackney Draper, Tinsmiths or The Cloth Shop sell mid-range priced textiles). Even the ‘wobbliest’ stitcher, she assures me, can pull off a cross stitch on a border. ‘Odd-shaped’ remnants can be made in to striking patchwork cushions; fraying textiles disguised with colourful, visible mending. ‘Not everything has to be perfect.’
For designer Natalie Tredgett, upholstery has always offered a chance to experiment. ‘It can bring that sense of connection – and narrative - to a room which I think we are all want.’ She dug into her ‘treasure box of fabrics’ – a kimono, 1970’s dress, scraps of sun-faded curtains – to re-upholster a chair in a mix of patchwork and decoupage. But this is no edgy art seat. ‘It’s also comfortable. That’s my baseline.’
‘It’s the details… that draw the eye and make a piece stand out,’ says interior designer and textile artist Jo leGleud (formerly of Maddux Creative). She recently spent a ‘blissful’ few days embroidering plain curtains with wild flowers and grasses – drawn from the flora of her clients’ home country. ‘Something ordinary became personal.’
At Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, founded in the 1930s, the firm’s original, re-work and re-invent ethos has percolated down the generations, like folklore. In her last home, decorator Lucy Mayers hung an early 19 th-century Anatolian textile on a curtain pole behind her bed. When she moved, the hanging became a rug. ‘If I can go for an antique fabric, something with history and a previous life, I will,’ she says. ‘It makes for automatic layering’.
For a speedy upgrade, upholsterer Micaela Sharp favours woven trimmings. Her tip? Load up the glue gun and ‘be bold… it’s easier to apply edgings in one go. But remember to glue and fold the edges before you start,’ says Micaela (for more insider hints, she also teaches an online upholstery course at Create Academy).
For luxurious Passementerie consider Samuel & Sons, George Spencer or Jessica Light’s handmade confections. Textile artist Lore Avedian, known for her intricate, botanical motifs, has launched her own range based on travels in Armenia. Less expensive sources include Barnett Lawson, Troynorth or Collybrook. Designer Pabllo de La Cruz likes London haberdasher’s Mac Culloch & Walls. ‘You will have to rummage,’ says Pabllo whose finds include a dashing but ‘divisive’ leopard edge. ‘Am obsessed.’
For budget curtain rails, Olivia Outred uses garden centre bamboo poles, fixed to the wall with a traditional bracket (you can adjust them to fit the pole). ‘We used matching brass curtain rings. The bamboo pole was a perfect addition to these traditional brass fittings, and it all came together very nicely.’ For headboards she likes Mali mudcloths ; ‘An inexpensive solution… we love the deep indigo with white.’
Textile dealer Molly Hogg, specialises in rare 19th and early 20th century weaves sought out by collectors to be framed - or hoarded. Molly encourages clients to put her more imperfect or everyday finds ‘to work’ as upholstery. She takes inspiration from the late, prolific collector, the politician Alistair McAlpine. ‘He filled his homes with textiles; they were for display, and use,’ she says. Kantha quilts, from Bengal in ‘vintage airmail-envelope red and blues’ make talking-point slipcovers; American patchwork quilts lend themselves to curtains, an Ikat weave from Indonesia a blind. For the moth-proofed home, she suggests you try a Welsh blanket (Jen Jones is a specialist) on an ottoman, or headboard.
Removeable slipcovers (beloved by the Georgians) are useful if you have young children, or wine-splashing friends. Romo’s Linara linen, in a multitude of colours, is washable. Wipeable, indoor outdoor fabrics are another possibility; once limited to uninspiring greys or whites, they now come in an array of patterns and colours (try Pierre Frey, C&C Milano, or Perennials). And slips are not just for seating: Nordic Knot’s bedheads come with washable, linen cotton slip covers in demure tones.
For a large hallway, Laura Hanbury stitched Indian throws (try Chloe Jonansen) in contrasting colours to cover a long table, kick pleat corners add a tailored edge. Octavia Dickinson’s room divider, made from primary-hued panels has a similar, Harlequin-esque effect. She recommends adding borders to curtains that need to be pulled back by hand – to withstand wear and tear. Her tip for lampshades: line them in a softer, yellow-ish fabric for a warm glow.
Textiles consultant and avid re-user Joanne Brierley of Arc of Joan (who began her career at Howe London) uses tarpaulins and Turkish rugs for sturdy seating. For romance on a budget, Sophie Pringle made a tented bed using an off-the-peg frame (try Alice Palmer) with double-sided drapery: a painterly Fanny Shorter on one side, and plainer Ian Mankin ticking for the reverse.
At Haines Collection, founder Jules Haines sells end of line and discontinued designer fabrics (prices start around £29 per metre) that might otherwise end up in a dump. (A survey by WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme) in 2019 estimated that over 42 per cent of textile waste presently languishing in landfill comes from homewares – rugs, curtains, and other soft furnishings). Haines works with over 150 suppliers. Thus far, they have re-homed over 42,000 metres of fabric: longer than a marathon.
For her own home, she favours the 80-20 approach: mainly old mixed with a bit of new. Her budget ploys include using an old sheet to make the base of a valance. ‘You can then splurge on the sides.’ Contented customers send Jules pictures of their DIY projects – lampshades, cushions, blinds, linings - using remnants: ‘Everything can have a use. It’s just a case of doing things a bit differently.’
