A window of change
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Cotton fabric was the preferred choice for upholstery in every home till the new tide of synthetics surged in to splash across a new wave in furnishing decor. A feel of the change by RANJANI GOVIND
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FRESH FURNISHING: Synthetics are seeing a whole range of new fabrics, textures, styling and colours.
This article is in continuation of the series on window dressing that PropertyPlus started with last week.
A few years ago, a leading architect, Mies Van Der Rohe, overwhelmed by the astounding variety of fabrics brought together from across the world in one of Holland’s biggest home-textile trade fairs, said: “It proves that God is in the details.” True to every syllable, the architect’s thought is echoed in the weft and warp of the variety that has inundated the market today. The words ‘home furnishing’ conjure up myriad images of déco
r, besieged by a nerve-racking variety of fabrics and finishes available for dressing up your home.
The character and spirit of Indian home-interior-decoration, evolved under the influence of international trends, have now gained a diverse momentum. Cotton-rich drapery-weight fabrics were comforting enough, for quite a while, to the nouveau-riche. But winds of change in household aesthetics brought in cane and wicker, steel and wrought iron furniture and in came synthetics, and gradually got more spoken about for upholstery, curtains and general furnishing.
Synthetics thrive along with cottons and bulky ornate furniture and on the same lines go the success story of the retail business of both cotton and synthetics at several hundreds of exclusive handicrafts-and-home-furnishing-stores across the country. Silk, exclusive to each State, is already part of every boutique, housing a captivating selection of material for furnishing. Home made-ups (cushions, pillow covers, bed-spreads, dining mats, bath and floor towels, dhurries) in every possible variety and yarn form a more down-to-earth synthetic grouping. Most of the outlets now are concurrently catering for the synthetic-wave in curtains and upholstery, apart from satisfying the cotton-obsessed minds.
Says architect Sheeja Menon, who has dealt with ethnic décor in several houses across the country, “With lifestyles demanding the inclusion of Air Cons as a necessity, cotton is no longer a specific obsession even in hot climes along the coastline too. Polyester-blends are easy-to-wash-and-maintain options."
Prashant Mittal is proud of the values loaded in their merchandise in Ideal Furnishing at Cox Town. “We got rid of the run-of-the-mill styles, and unveiled a whole range of new fabrics, textures and colours, all designed to stimulate consumers into trying out new generation weaves.”
Colours and Textures on K.G. Road Cross is ever alive to upscale fashions in dwelling and deals with speciality synthetic home-wash curtains with an imposing range of fabrics with matching valances, sheer panels and heavily embellished embroideries and appliqués, intricate valance treatments, metallic yarns, engineered laces, and the increasingly popular crushed and burn-out designs.
Regular satin, jacquard and velvet curtains in tap, pleated and scallop gatherings are replete with fringe, tassels, frills, flanges, piping and several other luxurious decorations. Fabric-blinds for the kitchen, carpets, bed-spreads, pillows and quilts with covers, curtain rods, tie-bands and designer back-holders in antique finishes figure in the boutique’s speciality listings.
Offer in the market
German photo-transfer prints, chenille (twisted velvet-yarn), two-tone silk, polyester and synthetics with stripes, checks and abstracts, soft embroidered sheers, self florals on jacquard, the Patola, Meenakari and Indian folk art designs (Rs.400 to 1000 a metre), M.F.Husain’s painting woven in Jacquard (in exclusive boutiques only - Rs.600 a metre), synthetic blends (ranging from Rs.200 to 800) and Special cottons (between Rs.150 and 600 a metre).
Sweta Bhat is puzzled. “There are the same looking textures and prints in boutiques costing double when compared to road-side vendors." splashing across for half-the-price”! "No way!" defend the personnel at boutiques, showing the fabric samples, showing the soft 100-counts-fabric in cotton and the imported stock in synthetics that have fire-retardant dyes and chemicals to help star hotels and commercial office interiors play safe when it comes to maintenance. There are quite a few fabrics being sourced from the interior villages of India, say some of the dealers, as it comes directly from thousands of unsung weavers and artisans in rural areas.
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