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Choosing a fabric that will bring your interior to life is an art itself. Charles Parsons shares some great selection tips.

Tip 1 Style and Setting

Is it a casual setting where you can use fun colours or trendy prints? Or a formal setting with more traditional patterns, or a muted colour palette? Is the look modern or contemporary? Think about the way you want the setting to look, and ensure it will fit in with other furnishings already in the room. If you want to embrace the latest fashions, make sure it is something that you truly like and can live with for years to come, long after the trend has passed!

Tip 2 Adding Depth and Proportion

You can’t change the size of the room, but you can change the perceived dimensions of the space with cleverly applied colours and patterns.

Drapery stripes tend to be vertical as they draw the eye up, creating the illusion of height and space.

In small rooms, you can make the space appear bigger by using lighter fabrics to make the walls appear to recede. Dark colours absorb light, making a room seem cramped and can give the impression that the room is closing in on you. Choose large-scale patterns as smaller ones can be chaotic in a small room.

If you have an oddly proportioned room, one option is to create an illusion of depth on one wall by using colour. Keeping the other walls neutral, decorate the last wall in a deeper contrasting colour and colour block with plain or textured drapery to give the impression that the wall is further away than it really is.

Tip 3 Pattern Scales

When you’re choosing a pattern, consider the size of the design. Small curtains or blinds won’t show the full potential of a fabric with a large pattern. Similarly, a large curtain in a small-scale design can look busy and fussy.

Mix and match different patterns in the same room. The key to contrasting patterns is to ensure each pattern is a different scale. This prevents patterns from blending into each other and making the room look confused; the eye has trouble distinguishing between them at first glance.

Tip 4 Colour

Colour can change the whole mood of a room. You want to match the weight of the colour to the rest of the room. An electric blue curtain is going to look mighty out of place in a setting decorated in soft pastels, even if the rest of the room is blue! Different colours can work very well together if they are the same weight. Alternatively, a feature piece in a strikingly different weight can have real impact.

Also consider whether you want your furniture in cool or warm tones. Warm tones have an undercurrent of yellow, orange or red, making you think of sunlight and heat. Warm colours bring items closer and create a sense of intimacy and comfort. Cool colours create a sense of space and depth, and tend to have a hint of blue or stark white - it has nothing to do with whether the fabric shade is light or dark. You don’t necessarily need to create a whole room in one tone though. Statement pieces in a contrasting tone bring a welcoming sense of balance to a room.

For more helpful tips and information on Charles Parson's extensive fabric range, visit their website - http://www.charlesparsonsinteriors.com.au

The Dollar Curtains & Blinds team can work with you on how to select the best fabrics for your home, our showrooms cover the whole of Melbourne and Victoria as well as areas surrounding Fyshwick and Mitchell in Canberra, Griffith, Batemans Bay, Merimbula and Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and Mt Gambier in South Australia.

Visit your local showroom to view our extensive range of fabrics and colour choices. Our team can also book in a free in-home consultation with you to work through your interior design scheme and select the design solution best to suit your home's interior style. 

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Here are some of the latest interior design trends, as noted by our fabric wholesaler Charles Parsons!

Curtains and drapery are extremely important to complete a look in interior design, literally pulling the curtain close on the stage of the room's decor. They finish and polish the style chosen. However, like all aspects of the interior design industry, there are trending styles that come in and out of fashion. Here's a glimpse into what this year has in store for designer curtains and drapes.

Cornice boards

Decor View states this is an on-trend look that creates instant drama as they add the illusion of height. Opt for an organic look by adding wooden cornice boards above the window, or cover them in fabric as a decorative window treatment.

Nature inspired

Bringing the outdoors in is a key trend, inspired by the global focus on sustainability and 'going green'. 

Fullness and layering

Layering curtains to give them added volume is a fashionable look for 2015.

"Lining and interlining are what give curtains their body and fullness."

– Suysel DePedro Cunningham

Indeed, designer Suysel DePedro Cunningham emphasised in an interview with Elle Decor that "lining and interlining are what give curtains their body and fullness."

Get the look by using lining textiles in neutral tones, such as ivory, beige or cream, so you can let the main curtain colour and pattern be the star of the show.

Metallic accents with monochrome

Shimmer and shine is here to stay, but done tastefully by contrasting them against classic black-and-white.

Rather than immersing the room in a metallic glow, opt for subtle hints of gold, bronze, gun metal or silver on your curtain rod or within the fabric itself. Some dazzling options include Zia Silver.

If you choose the curtain rod as your nod to the metallic trend, balance it with monochrome curtains like Marcello Platinum.

Embellishments

Decor View adds that a striking statement this season is to have embellishments on your curtains, either as a border pattern or stripe along the bottom.

Scalloped valances

Elle Decor notes that 1940s French Riviera chic has influenced this trend, which uses a cornice board framed in a curved scallops pattern as a valance to the curtains.

Denim curtains

Not just for flared jeans a la 1970s vibe, denim is making a comeback and it's for adorning the windows. New York decorator Katie Ridder used denim curtains side-by-side with applique Vitruvian wave scroll patterns as an embellishment, blending two trends in one.

Bring the outdoors in is the latest interior design trend. Use floral pattern curtains and plants.

Charles Parsons Interiors is one of the largest and most diverse fabric wholesalers in Australia and New Zealand. For more information on their collections and more tips on how to select your fabrics head to www.charlesparsonsinteriors.com.au