Looking Ahead: New Collections from Duralee

Duralee is not slouching these days, having just released an impressive fourteen new fabric collections. Of course, so far, our favorite is the wonderful Thomas Paul II Collection, which will vye for new collection of the year in our year end awards- but these new collections are certainly going to provide some new looks going forward.

The Highlights:

* Alfred Shaheen Surf & Sand Outdoor/Indoor Prints - book # 2766

Suburban Home's third outdoor series features a Hawaiian flair thanks to a collaboration with Alfred Shaheen. Shaheen was a giant in the garment industry, being one of the main forces behind the tropical design movement of the 1940s and 1950s. His innovative textile prints were ahead of their time and are still fashionable to this day.

Suburban Home's Alfred Shaheen Surf & Sand Outdoor Collection blends nostalgic tropical motifs with state of the art 100% spun polyster fabrics for outdoor use. It looks like the third time is the charm for Suburban Home, their outdoor collections get better and better.

Price Point: $30 per yard.

* Bridgeport - All Purpose - book # 2760


Duralee's Bridgeport Collection features warm and neutral contemporary colors with a variety of textures, including our favorites: 36106, a small scale diamond matelasse, and 36103, an octagonal geometric. The 100% polyester construction provides a soft hand, while providing durability (50,000 double rubs) and ease of cleaning.

Price Point: $60 per yard

* Denmark Solids - All Purpose - book # 2759


Now, this is how you make a solid collection. These faux linen texture solids (60% cotton / 40% polyester) are sophisticated and very chic. Most solids come off as monochromatic- but these provide depth of color and lots of detail in the construction. There are so many can't miss colors to choose from, we like Laguna, Raspberry, and Charcoal for the fall.

Price Point: $42 per yard

* Sunderland Collections - book # 2762


Duralee updates the lodge look with the Sunderland Collection. This print and woven coordinate collection features stags, birds, paisleys, and a great flax floral print. Inky colors make the various prints come to life, especially 42107 & 42108.

Price Point: $40+ per yard

Well, there you have it. A taste of things to come from Duralee. They've really outdone themselves in 2010 and each new collection makes me look forward to what's coming next!

DwellStudio by Robert Allen

Robert Allen's DwellStudio dispenses with the brand's traditional formal conservatism and creates a fashionable mix and match collection drawing inspiration from past and present. This modestly priced collection will surely be a big hit because it is unique and versatile. From trellis designs made of snakes (you have to look close to catch that detail!) to plush velvet circles in enlarged scale, and two of the most compelling bird prints to come along in sometime in Vintage Plumes and Sketched Aviary- there truly is something for every modern home.

Drapery Row is processing the collection now and will have all of the patterns available this week, until then, whet your appetite for this amazing collection by viewing the following video clip on YouTube!


Christiane Lemieux, Creator and Founder of DwellStudio describes the Collection.

Is Indoor/ Outdoor Fabric Safe for Indoors?

There seems to be a little confusion over this issue, so I will do my best to explain the types of outdoor fabrics that are suitable for indoor use.

The term Indoor/ Outdoor fabric- or the more designer oriented term Al Fresco- is used to describe fabrics, typically polyester and acrylic fabrics, that are suitable for indoor and outdoor use.

Why the distinction?

In the past outdoor fabrics had a distinctive texture (hand) which felt synthetic and uncomfortable. Some brands used to use chemicals such as formaldehyde to treat their fabrics. At first blush the very thought of putting formaldehyde in your home seems like a no-no... and in large concentrations you are probably right, but the US EPA website says that formaldehyde is in everybody's home due to its use in building products such as pressed wood and adhesives as well as in household appliences. Choosing to put more of this material in your home is your call. Household plants and good ventilation should help clean the air. A member of the Sunbrella team commented that they no longer use this chemical and that their products are safe for indoor use.

Today's outdoor fabrics are different. For the most part, the old ways of creating stiff plasticky outdoor fabrics has died out. Newer products are softer and more practical for use inside and out.  Using outdoor fabrics for indoor use makes perfect sense in high sunlight areas, high traffic areas that need constant cleaning such as rental homes and places where children play, as well as spaces such as basements that tend to be a little moist.

The outdoor fabrics we choose to sell at www.draperyrow.com all meet exacting standards and are considered among the best fabrics on the retail and designer markets.

http://www.draperyrow.com/indooroutdoor.html

Oh, No they Didn't!

So I went to a major dept. store yesterday- they claim to be America's #1 source of home decorating fabrics and treatments. They were advertising 65% off of their fabrics so I asked for a quote on a generic looking cotton print... the kind you'd find all day and night at a fabric store for about $20. I gave the associate a story about how my wife was going to redo our living room windows and that she found a fabric she liked, but it was outrageously priced ($80 per yard). He was duly confident that the fabric in the store was cheaper and went through about fifteen steps on his computer to fetch me a price (none of the custom fabrics have price tags- a cynically dishonest approach that I loathe). Turns out that the generic pattern cost $68 per yard.

$68 a yard for a generic cotton fabric. No name designer. No name pattern. At a dept. store who's nitch is slightly above Sears and decidedly below Macy's.

$68 a yard is obviously overpriced- which I thought- is the reason that they can offer it for sale at a stupidly transparent 65% off.  At 65% off this generic print would be $23.80. Not a deal- but not gouging. Unfortunately, $68 WAS the 65% off price. Which is to say, there really was no sale at all. Nobody would pay $193 per yard for this, or any other fabric at this store. While this price is perfectly reasonable for exotic hand printed designs from the world's top mills- it's beyond the pale for a cruddy generic print.

Who would buy this? At $193 per yard you are looking at about $1200 per window in fabric. Or $36,000 if you were doing all thirty windows at your house.

Obviously, this type of operation is intentionally deceptive- so do your homework before you make a purchase. There are great deals out there- but perhaps- not at your local mall.

Pattern of the Day: Etched Aviary by Robert Allen

Now this is what I'm talking about. A beautiful linen and cotton print that features birds all over! Not since Clarence House's spectacular Les Oiseaux Enchantes have I seen a bird print that really raised my feathers.

Etched Aviary was designed by Dwell Studio and is available exclusively through Robert Allen. The composition is fantastic- a soft linen/ cotton blend that allows for plenty of detail. The piece I have withstands the temptation to wrinkle pretty well, and I can only imagine what this beauty would look like in a window or made into fashionable slipcovers and pillows.

Robert Allen is selling through their stock pretty quickly, as of my last check into these things- so I'm sure that this has become the favorite bird pattern of many designers. What a stunning print.

Etched Aviary is available now: Drapery Row - Etched Aviary