WARMING GLOW While dark living rooms are stylishly sophisticated, they can sometimes feel austere; to bring warmth and life to the space, try upholstery in a rich, spice-toned velvet. Here, walls in a deep charcoal create a cocooning feel, while Vanessa Arbuthnott’s Traditional sofa, from £2,630, covered in its Marigold cotton velvet, £68 per m, provides a striking focal point.
Feature Pippa Blenkinsop
Bringing luxury, warmth and
softness to interiors for centuries,
velvet is prized for its silky, tactile
texture. The luxurious material
actually takes its name from the weaving
technique used to create it, in which two
fabrics are woven on a loom face-to-face
and simultaneously, with their loops then
cut through the middle to create a cloth
with a soft, dense pile.