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Wednesday, February 15

Behind the scenes


Remember when your parents told you to not play with your food?

I like to rebel a bit at times. When it comes to finding durable fabrics for clients, I don’t mess around. As you can see from this photo, this is how we spent one morning this week. Ketchup, soy sauce, and a smashed blueberry - nothing can get in our way of providing clients stylish products that are functional and durable.

Really how durable can fabric be? How easy is it to wipe clean?

With kids, dogs or just normal day-to-day living, things happen.

I always want to ensure that the most enticing fabrics still make sense in the spaces in which they’re being used. I have found that taking a little bit of extra time to get to know the fabrics - and how they wear - is key. Then I can feel confident in what I incorporate into projects.

This fabric is for breakfast room chairs for a stylish young couple with an adorable little girl. My goal is to make sure that the fabric choice is suitable for the space aesthetically while maintaining its allure from a spill – anything from Lucky Charms to a splash of red wine (hopefully the little girl is not drinking the red wine, or we have bigger problems than the fabric!)

We’ve come a long way from the days of covering furniture in plastic and being afraid to use it. What's the point of having beautiful things but not being able to enjoy them?

Nobody likes to cry over spilled milk.

16 comments:

ArchitectDesign™ said...

TGFS - thank god for scotchguard!

Anonymous said...

Do you have any tried and true "go to" fabrics for reupholstering a sectional that gets lots of wear and tear? I used Ralph Lauren Hewitt Herringbone last time and it wore like iron. I wanted something similiarly masculine but not dark - any suggestions?

Cyn said...

So funny, I do this too. My clients always look a little puzzled when I ask for the Heinz! I have also used Custom Laminations to laminate fabric for kitchen chairs (not shiny and marker/crayons come off too).

Cyn said...

Anon - Schumacher has a new outdoor line they have 2 great looking herringbone fabrics in tan and brown. Maybe too dark but check it out on their website.

the designers muse said...

Great advice!

Anonymous said...

What an excellent post. I'd love to hear your suggestions for durable fabrics and stain repellent treatments you might suggest. Some ideas for fabrics that can withstand (or at least aren't immediately destroyed) by kitty cat claws would also be super. Love your blog. Always brightens my day.

Best regards,

Charlotte T. DeYesso

Arturo Sanchez said...

Hello Grant,
Have you tried Nanotex? It can be applied to almost any fabric except those with a pile such as velvets....Its a God send for projects with Kids and pets or Contract work.

Yours,
Arturo
Art| Harrison Interiors

the modern sybarite ™ said...

AMEN!!!!!

Anonymous said...

EXTREMELY CLEVER!!!!!

XOXOX
V

Loretta Fontaine (EcoHappy Blog) said...

Grant- You cross all the t's!!

Love it!

Loretta

Anonymous said...

V. clever -- you are a wordsmith.

Amy

mbwife said...

So what happened? Did the fabric make the cut?

Laura Casey Interiors said...

Love it Grant! Practical + Fabulous

Unknown said...

Aw yes but don't overlook Sunbrella fabrics they can be for loads of projects and wipe clean too!

Anonymous said...

You are a daring designer. Who would have thought to test things out before showing your clients. A step above the rest, for sure.

HipSwap said...

Great post--interesting and clever. Keep the advice coming for us interior design fan newbies!

 

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