The textures you choose for a room are essential for establishing a mood. Claude Grégoire* smoothes the way
1. Eclectic style
What makes an interesting décor is the right blend of objects and styles: some old pieces, some new ones and plenty of contrast. To get these contrasts, you can mix different colours or you can combine elements with different finishes — a mixture of smooth and textured for a bit more character.
2. Rough justice
Recognise that an all-smooth room can seem uninteresting unless the surfaces (satin, marble, leather) possess intrinsic, attention-grabbing richness. Of course some sleek elements are fine but too many of them can make a room look boring. Get your cue from nature: it combines the rough with the smooth, and one complements the other.
3. For your floors
If you like it natural, sisal matting, the darling of interior designers, is very versatile since you can mix it with modern or more traditional styles. If you want something softer to the touch, get inspired by seventies shag pile; you can also find fabulous rugs in fur, or woollen mats with big loops.
4. Let walls flower
For your walls, creating textural interest can be as easy as applying a coat of paint. Go for a coarse plaster-type treatment or sand-mix, it’s easy to apply and will give an interesting finish. If you want to opt for a bolder effect, like a colourful fabric wallpaper, then cover just one wall of the room. Natural wall-coverings or wood veneers are ideal if you want to enliven all four walls, without using colour.
5. Make an impression
A mix of textures — hard and flat with soft and nubby — adds drama to any decor, and it’s essential in an all-neutral scheme. If you don’t impart dimension through texture, the room will seem flat, with all the furnishings merging into one another.
6. And so to bed
The bedroom is of course the perfect place to go touchy-feely and you can lend a sensual, romantic air with silky textiles and lacquered wood. Mix satin or pure Egyptian cotton bed linens with a throw or bedcover that has a looser woven stitch. You can also cover your headboard with a deliciously textured fabric.
7. Sublime service areas
If your kitchen is looking a bit like a laboratory, try adding some wooden accessories. These really soften the clinical effect of a white-tiled, stainless-fitted space. For the bathroom beautiful tiles, like slate or travertine, will do the trick but if you can’t change what you have, add a little texture in the form of natural sponges and rough-finish soaps.
8. Get the ambience right
Don’t underestimate the power of texture to style or even theme up a room. Corduroy is probably casual, possibly masculine; silk brocade says formal and possibly feminine; tapestry says antique or Old World.
9. Living dangerously
If you have one of those sleek, modern Zen interiors, try to include some fun textural accent pieces, like a woven leather chair or fringe-trimmed cushions. You can impart cosiness with textured throws (chenille or fleece, for example), rugs (such as shag and Berber) and upholstery (think chenille, velvet and corduroy).
10. All-natural texture
On the terrace, wooden furniture not only wears well, it improves with age allowing you to appreciate the full beauty of the grain. Rattan weaves are also great outdoors, and you can use smooth-textured cushions for contrast. Add in some earthy terracotta pots, and let nature (in the form of the glossy plants you grow) do its work.
* Claude Grégoire, interior designer, 9804 4395 (Hong Kong)
