Tipping the velvet

Is there anything in life more luxurious that velvet?

Some may argue silk is, but for me it’s velvet all the way.  The plush feel, the peach-skin texture, and the depth of colour you get as the pile changes direction is just stunning.

I knew when we moved house that I needed velvet in my life.  The living room bay window was screaming out for a cosy love seat, as it was too small for a sofa but would have drowned a single armchair.

I found a lovely example from sofa.com, and shortlisted either claret red or olive green velvet for the upholstery.

…being a Mancunian, the red won in the end 🙂

Claret Velvet Love Seat, sofa.com (similar here) / Velvet Landscape Cushion, John Lewis (similar here) / Tartan Throw, National Trust (similar here)

I’ll admit it can be a bit high maintenance… so food and drink is kept to a minimum and I put a throw over it when we have parties (plus I have a lint roller on hand for any emergencies).  A quick hoover every week or so to freshen the pile, and it looks like new.

Now that I’ve caught the velvet bug, I’m on the hunt for my next investment piece.  Thankfully velvet is still very on trend, so there are a host of home wares you can get on the high street to add a touch of luxury to your interior.

The Clashing Colour trend has been executed beautifully with this gorgeous mustard yellow velvet sofa and deep plum wall. Find similar sofa here (ph: nordicdesign.ca)

Jewelled Teal and Midnight Blue tones are set to dominate in 2018.  These colours look even richer when used for full length velvet curtains, and compliment both light & dark interior schemes.

Left: Teal Curtains, find similar here (ph: instyle.com.au) / Right: Midnight Blue Curtains (ph: arflexmilano.tumblr.com) 

Peach is the new millennial pink this year, so perhaps I can kill two trends with one stone with this plush footstool from made.com.

Add opulence to the boudoir with emerald green accents, find similar here  (ph: decoholic.org)

I have this habit of planning several projects at once (cause doing them one at a time would be too easy), so as well as working on creating my botanical bathroom and a new lighting scheme for the dining room, I’ve started thinking about redecorating my spare bedroom.  I want to move away from the dusty damson and tartan patterns I have in there currently and introduce a contemporary grey and yellow colour scheme, with a variety of textures to add depth and make it cosy.

ph: hearthomemag.co.uk / swooneditions.com / sofa.com

…definitely an opportunity to add some velvet cushions, throws, or even a bedhead 🙂

In the meantime I’ll be appeasing my velvet craving with some of these choice cushions from Primark.

They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours.  These pink and grey square cushions are only £5 each (ideal as my bank balance is still in recovery after Xmas).

Watch this space for some more velvet loveliness coming soon!