Decorating & Design
October 16, 2020
5 Cozy Fall Fabrics That Encourage Cocooning
As the temperature dips, it’s time to prepare your space for hibernation! Pile on the nubby throw blankets, fuzzy rugs and worn-in leather chairs for a home that feels warm and cocooning. Wool, faux fur, suede, leather and velvet are fabrics we love in the colder months — and it’s easy to see why. So, put on your softest slippers, snuggle up in your coziest blanket and get inspired to decorate with these touchable textures!
Wool
Design duo Alexandre Blazys and Benoit Gérard mixed textures and patterns in this glamorous Montreal loft. Upholstering a lucite chair in a subtle wool fabric creates an interesting contrast of sleek modernity and sink-in comfort.
Blankets this beautiful deserve to be on display. Designer Carmen Dunjko keeps a stack of wool throws from Camp Quin-Mo-Lac — a local summer camp — on a minimalist stool for guests to use.
In this abandoned Georgian-style farmhouse, comfort is key. The love seat in the sitting area was covered in a woolly gray fabric, which softens the exposed beams and stone walls.
Dress your bed with a wool blanket (bonus if it has contrasting stripes) for warmth on colder nights.
Take a page from designer Joel Bray’s book and use excess yarn as artwork. Simply fill a large acrylic box with raw wool, and showcase it on a wall of your choosing.
Faux Fur
Designer Susan Burns warmed up a rustic bench in this farmhouse’s back porch entrance with thick faux fur to make changing your shoes that much more comfortable.
To amp up the comfort in her artful New York City bedroom, designer Colette van den Thillart adorned a stool with fluffy faux fur.
Bohème Goods shop owner Sarah Shabacon used neutral-toned faux fur to soften up her kitchen table’s reclaimed wood benches.
A faux fur stool does double duty by providing visual interest and a soft place to perch in this new-build farmhouse‘s living room.
Faux does haven’t to mean fake-looking. This synthetic throw exudes soft and sumptuous texture for a bedroom that encourages cocooning.
Suede
For a family’s ski chalet in Whistler, British Columbia, designer Alda Pereira went for light gray suede tub chairs and a statement rug.
A green-brown suede sofa adds subtle texture in this Seattle living room.
A luxurious suede channelled headboard gives this elegant principal bedroom by designer Anne Hepfer a cocooning feeling.
A pair of suede swivel chairs might read quite summery in this light-filled lakehouse, but give them a seasonal makeover with chunky throws and fall accent pillows, and they’re ready for hibernating.
Suede can be a bit of an investment, so why not try a suede pillow instead? This camel shade is neutral but warm.
Leather
Two cognac leather couches make this cozy living room feel like a warm hug. The original wood-burning fireplace and layers of throw pillows and blankets amp up the cozy factor.
Rust-colored leather chairs in this ski chalet’s dining room instantly warm up the cooler-toned alderwood cabinets.
“I like using large-scale or boldly colored objects in smaller spaces for dramatic impact,” says museum director Kelvin Brown of his artful living-dining room. A tufted black leather couch and chair provides a place for the eye to rest.
Designer Gillian Gillies worked hard to find fabrics for this home that would be cat-friendly. These leather swivel chairs are both comfortable and can stand the test of time.
In this 1930s-inspired room by Commune Design, a leather lounger gives this historic Craftsman home even more heritage charm.
Velvet
Sarah Shabacon is no stranger to texture. She waited three months for this vintage velvet Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy to be shipped from France. “Don’t just buy something because you need something in a corner,” she says.
In the Spring 2020 Princess Margaret Showhome, designer Sarah Baeumler chose a teal velvet couch for her speakeasy-inspired basement. The rich hue pops against the moody charcoal walls.
Curvaceous armchairs and a sapphire couch — both dressed to the nines in velvet — are the scene stealers in this European-inspired living room.
Sometimes velvet can read as quite formal, but it’s all about how you use it. In this Parisian pied-à-terre, a carnelian-colored couch gives velvet a laid-back, laissez faire quality.
Who doesn’t love a curved, jewel-toned sofa? In this sumptuous space, bold velvet chairs and a saturated couch are offset by a contrasting cobalt rug.