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www.westendermagazine.com | 55
Velvet has really had a revival recently.
My memories of the fabric are normally in dusty
maroon or burgundy, often in the form of an old
tasselled armchair or dark, heavy curtains, and
somehow tinged with a smell of pipe tobacco, but
now it’s so much more. The colours and prints
available make it a great choice for adding a
touch of luxury to any part of your home, and the
wonderful sift texture adds a depth and a warmth
to any look.
In particular, you will see velvet used in bed
heads, indented with soft covered buttons. This
looks lovely in a pale warm grey, coupled with
dark, floral printed wallpaper and crisp white
linen. Top it off with a couple of contrasting,
small print cushions, and a silky throw to make
a simple bedroom into a sumptuous boudoir.
Or bring that into your living room in the
form of a muted soft, cosy velvet sofa. Punctuate
this with some bright contrasting cushions to
create a comfortable and inviting warmth that
impresses, as well as envelopes its guests.
This is the key area we see lots of velvet
just now as it works really well for sofas and
armchairs. It has an approachability to it,
and that wonderful tactility that just makes you
want to kick off the shoes and snuggle in. At the
same time – it has an elegance and a glamour
that can create a truly stunning effect. These
statement sofas look amazing in deep, dark tones
and beautiful in inky navy or rich teal. Not only
are these super-soft to lounge on, but they add
a striking touch of wow factor to the simplest of
rooms. This effect works really well as a contrast
against natural woods and crisp whites.
Alternatively – there are some fabulous bold
tones available too. You can access all the colours
of the rainbow in furniture now. I recently saw
a lovely combination of rosy pink velvet, with
sage green wood – this was quite unusual and,
accessorised with creamy marble side tables and
light, floral prints created a lovely fresh look.
Firm colour favourites for me though are
rusty vibrant orange, and bright bottle green.
Use these as bold statement pieces in a minimal
room. Add a touch of metallic sheen to pull out
small features, like using warm copper lamp
details in accessories throughout the room.
Pick this out in a lamp, or a candle holder for
example, and this just sets off the luxury of the
velvet beautifully.
This velvet look is so versatile and impactful,
it’s really prevalent in several key trends this
season. Its luscious statement quality means that
you can merge it boldly into various seasonal
trends. One of these is an ‘Under the Sea’ theme.
This circles around scalloped shapes which work
particularly well in velvet furniture, again bed
heads and chairs in particular. Then, reflecting
this wavy, sea theme are the curves of shiny