decorating with texture

Texture, texture, texture! It’s one of the buzzwords I heard all the time from interior designers as a child. To keep it short and sweet, texture in a home is simply the art of combining the rough, soft, and smooth to create a design that is pleasing to the eye. Think about it… if everything was shag carpet including the walls (yes, I bought a home to renovate with green shag walls) it would be U-G-L-Y! 

The whole process sounds complicated; however, it’s quite easy especially if you focus on fabrics. What I always do is stick with similar colors then break it up using different fabric textures. As an example, my duvet is made of a coarse linen weave which adds visual weight. Then I paired it with cotton percale Euro shams that gives the heavy a little balance. 

As for my living room, I focused on pillows. Seriously, how easy is that! I have these needlepoint pillows that I absolutely LOVE. However, if I added more needlepoint, well… these beauties would no longer POP! So I incorporated a chocolate velvet pillow with a little faux fur (since I’m in the mountains) and lumbar pillows made from antique turkish rugs. Since the colors are cohesive the differing textures work beautifully.   

Now don’t get me wrong...restraint is key, so there’s no need to go texture crazy. Remember the shag carpet on the walls??? But most importantly, have fun playing with different textures and creating a feel that is uniquely you. Be it satin, basketweave, leather, or even a touch of shag, texture can give your room a unique style!