If you love cashmere, then get ready for a whole new definition of “cozy”. For more than six generations, Loro Piana has crafted some of the softest, most luxurious, and stunning fabrics that are cut and sewn into clothing for men, women and children, as well as home furnishing accessories.

The company’s latest endeavor is a line of fabrics for interior design, including sumptuous cashmere, incredibly fine wool, as well as vicuña, linens and ultra-fine cotton.

The designs range from a chevron to a plaited weave, raw and lightweight linen to sexy silks and tactile cottons. Use the thicker cashmere fabric on a sofa, the delicate linen for curtains, and the raw linen or soft cottons for a cozy duvet cover.

Of course all of this luxury comes at an equally pretty price, but you can start out with a small chair or blanket and add to your collection over the years. If you really feel the need to splurge, try the cashmere carpet…just don’t spill any red wine!

–By Kate Bailey

Technorati Tags: Loro Piana, interior design cashmere, luxury home fabrics, fine linen, smooth cotton, luxurious carpet, best cashmere fabric, new textiles for home

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Stripes can be bold and brash, or subtle and handsome. I recently returned from a weekend getaway to New York City and, as I browsed through the six gorgeous floors of ABC Carpet & Home, I noticed that stripes are a wonderful way to add pattern to a room without overwhelming the rest of the space.

Harbor Stripe Shower Curtain
$40.00
The Company Store

Menswear-inspired patterns in muted shades can be translated into traditional or modern spaces, and are just as well-suited to simple cotton upholstery fabric as they are to a set of mouthwatering drapes. Any of the pieces featured here will add an injection of grown-up, personality to a room.

West End Stripe Percale Bedding
$25.00-$98.00
Garnet Hill

Wide Stripe Curtains
$525.00-$595.00
Williams Sonoma Home

Don’t be afraid to mix stripes with other patterns as well! A striped fabric in an understated color can act like a neutral, which gives you ample opportunity to play with bolder patterns and colors. For example, pair the Dylan Stripe Bedskirt (top) with a bright red or yellow blanket covered in large-print florals.

Striped Jewelry Box
$240.00
Vivre.com

I love the idea of covering my incredibly modern sofa in a simple haberdashery-style blue-and-white stripe and then adding my polka dot pillows and a bright pink throw! As always, have fun, mix it up, and experiment.

Marcel Armchair
$699.00-$799.00
Pottery Barn

–By Kate Bailey

Technorati Tags: Striped Furnishings, Striped Bedding, Menswear-inspired home design, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma Home, Vivre.com, Striped Shower Curtains

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We all have our addictions. My mother (an art quilter) has collected thousands of fabric swatches. My best friend, hundreds of pairs of shoes. My personal addiction is books–seemingly harmless, but terribly unfortunate when it is time to pack up and move apartments.

On this week’s Saturday-morning jaunt to my favorite bookstore (latte firmly in hand) I came across a compelling interior design book by Marnie Fogg, a lecturer in fashion and culture at the University of Nottingham in England. Couture Interiors , $35.00, Amazon.com, examines the relationship between catwalk fashion and architecture, interiors and home design products.

Fogg reveals how the fusion between fashion and interiors is the result of several modern constructs, including the speed of manufacture, consumers who are increasingly more literate in design vernacular, and the dissemination of ideas via magazines and the Internet. Today, trends in interiors change as quickly as the fashions that roll down the catwalks each season.

So what does all of this mean to you and me? Well, take a look in your closet, then look at your home. Do you see a common thread? If you favor a casual, preppy, East Coast vibe, are your interiors decked in dark, clean-lined modernist pieces? If so, consider throwing in a few more bright, classic accessories, you might discover that you feel more comfortable in your rooms.

Or, perhaps your wardrobe is filled with edgy, contemporary pieces in blacks, grays and neutrals. If your home has more flower prints than a Laura Ashley catalog, it might be time to rethink those pink, floral draperies.

In short, it is important that your home directly reflect your personality and lifestyle. If not then you might as well be a guest in someone else’s house. The expression of your personal aesthetic is important, because if you don’t feel at comfortable in your rooms, then you will never feel relaxed. And, after all, what is home for other than maintaining a genuine reflection of happiness?

–By Kate Bailey

Technorati Tags: Couture Interiors by Marnie Fogg, interior design books, fashion and interior design, fashionable interiors, new interior design books, fashion and interior design, fashion design

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DwellStudio has teamed up with The Shade Store to create a colorful, graphic collection of modern window treatments. I’m a big fan of Christiane Lemieux and Jennifer Chused, the two talented gals behind DwellStudio, and have always been drawn to the bold colors and prints of their bed and table linens. (By the way, if you haven’t seen their new collection at Target, definitely check it out—the baby bedding is adorable!) But, I think this use of their fabrics might be my favorite. I love seeing the patterns straight on. Against solid colored walls, these designs just pop and make a really effective design statement in a room.

Their collection includes three styles of Roman Shades, Drapery, Laminated Roller Shades, and Cornices. While many of their fabrics are a no-brainer for kids’ rooms, there are plenty of options for your adult spaces as well. Everything is custom, so you’ll be sure to get just the right style and size for your windows. The Shade Store provides lots of expert advice in choosing and measuring, so no worries.

Pictured above: Relaxed Roman Shade in Motif/robin, from $201

Flat Roman Shade in Talon/ink&manila, from $201; Straight Cornice and Pinch Pleat Drapery in Pin Dot/ink&manila, from $156/panel

Tailored Pleat Drapery in Gio/aqua, from $156/panel

Flat Roman Shades in Dots/chocolate, from $201

Chilewich is another partner of The Shade Store with a collection of custom roller shades in five of their iconic woven vinyl textiles. While neutral in palette, these textural shades are interesting enough to work alone as clean and modern window coverings—no curtains needed.

Wood Grain in driftwood, $245

The Shade Store also has ready-made or custom drapery. Pick from over 140 fabrics and choose your style: grommets, various pleats with rings, or rod pockets (the inverted pleat is my favorite).

Goblet Pleat in versus/lake, from $156/panel

Take this design tip from them: hang your rod several inches above your actual window frame to elongate the wall and create more impact.

Check out all of The Shade Store’s offerings on their website.

—Jennifer Kopf

Technorati Tags: window treatments, roman shades, DwellStudio, Chilewich, drapery, curtains, Christiane Lemieux, Jennifer Chused, window ideas, modern design, wood grain faux bois, cornice

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