How and when to use tactile fabrics within the home

Every winter we see an influx of faux fur, animal skins and tactile fabrics creeping into interior designer's mood-boards and this year is no exception. With many different styles and designs to choose from you gone are the days where real animal skins were laid onto floors as 'show-offs' from hunting expeditions – it's a far cry from those days and yet we still have a yearning towards animal-prints and furs as they provide wonderful natural prints along with a feeling of warmth.

Tactile fabrics in the home

From cheap rugs with faux zebra print, to faux fur bed throws to snuggle into there are plenty of ways you can introduce tactile fabrics into your home without any ethical issues or feelings of guilt. Adding a variety of tactile fabrics is high on this season's trend agenda and if you don't like faux or real animal hides or faux fur bear skins you can still include textures by mixing hard with soft; for example a faux suede roller blinds with a faux leather trim offers a stylish window dressing which fits very nicely into industrial and utilitarian interior design trends. In a similar vein you can mix satin and lace with velvets or velours for bedding, cushions and throws to create add a feminine touch to bedrooms and living areas.

Tones and colour choices with tactile fabrics

If you also use colours which tone and blend you'll be able to use them throughout the season and still be on-trend. Reflect back to our post 'Pile on the Plaid' and you'll see another way to bring both texture and colour into your home with the simplest of soft furnishings and adjustments to your existing décor. Don't forget that all curtain fabric have their own feel and texture, therefore its easy to look for those which contrast with each other and bring a new dimension to your window dressings and soft furnishings.

With the clocks going back this weekend and the winter nights drawing in, rather than sit in front of the TV every evening why not embrace another of this year's interior design trends and have a go at making hand-crafted and home-made soft furnishings to bring new looks to your rooms. There's plenty of ways you can do this and with the aid of the internet you don't have to be particularly proficient at sewing or handy-crafts to make or re-cycle old into new.