Since its first introduction in the Middle east during the 8th century, velvet quickly became an indication of wealth and luxury and has often been associated with royalty. The silken fabric arrived in Europe much later during the 14th century, traveling through the legendary silk route to the Italian cities of Florence, Sicily, and Lucca where it was adored and similarly used as a statement of wealth and high fashion.

Fast-forward to today, the fabric is made from a combination of synthetic and natural fibers. The short, dense pile of this woven combination is what gives the fabric its distinctive feel and luxurious look that has helped both fashion and interior designers create sumptuous designs with the material. In today’s design world, we see velvet making an appearance on soft furnishings such as chairs, sofas, beds, throws, and cushions, often accompanying other luxurious materials like leather, suede and timber.

This rich and tactile fabric works best as an accent point – applying rich colours such as navy, emerald green, and slate grey. We love working with deep jewel tones such as midnight blue, olive green or plum, to accentuate the rich, lavish tactility of this material.

In recent projects, we have created custom velvet banquet seating, used statement velvet chairs and high-end headboards.

A cost effective and easy way to bring velvet into your home would be to adding touches as a decorative detail. For example, a newly upholstered chair, ottoman or simply a collection of scattered cushions will deliver a luxe finish to a more formal space. Mixing velvet with other fabrics and materials such as linen, cotton or wool will keep things a little more contrasted and contemporary – we love mixing materials and creating a broad materiality to each project.

Content by Amira Al Shater, Designer KLD.