Velvet

A house is not just visual - it should be sensual.
Designer Susan Ferrier, "Art of the Mix," Veranda (January - February 2014)

Using a bit of velvet is one way to add a sensual element to a home. The fabric reflects light beautifully and brings deep, rich color to a space . . .         

"Suzanne Tucker reupholstered the 18th-century English 's dining chairs in Pierre Frey's Paris velvet in a shade of quince taken from the wallpaper."

San Francisco home originally designed by Michael Taylor and updated by designer Suzanne Tucker.

Photography by Dominique Vorillon.

"Michael Taylor's Style Really Lasts" by Christine Pittel.

House Beautiful (January 2008).

"[Albert] Hadley once said, 'You want rooms to be usable and friendly. It's the way we approach all of our work.' A library in a New York apartment is just than. Hadley and Harry Heissmann made it feel relaxed yet refined by adding a custom bench with corner arms upholstered in Tiger silk velvet in Oro by Lee Jofa, a desk chair covered in Liberty's Papgeno from Osborne and Little, and a Stark rug made of vintage carpet fragments."

Interior design by the late Albert Hadley.

Photography by Christopher Baker.

"5 Unforgettable Rooms by Designer Albert Hadley"

House Beautiful.

" 'I constantly change the seat cushions on the sofa, trying out different looks,' says House and Home editor Suzanne Dimma. 'Here they were in velvet, but I have a patterned fabric, I have all white. I have natural linen, and I just change it up all the time. It's a good idea because it's not that expensive - you just re-do the cushions, not the whole couch."

Photography by Rob Fiocca.

"Suzanne Dimma's Sofa"

Canadian House and Home.

" 'We intended for the master bathroom to feel more like a dressing room than a bathroom,' [designer Paige] Schnell says. They designed the screen and covered it in a luscious Designers Guild cut velvet, Fredensborg. Its curves echo the curves in the Waterworks Empire tub."

Home in Mountain Brook, Alabama.

Interior design by Paige Schnell and Doug Davis of Tracery Interiors.

Photography by Jonny Valiant.

Interview by Mimi Read.

"All Dressed Up"

House Beautiful (March 2011). 

"Insecuress" offered by Stubbs and Wootton.
Black velvet with black grosgrain trim.

"A concrete soaking tub from Sonoma Cast Stone dominates the master bath; the Summer Hill ottoman is covered in a Suzanne Tucker Home cotton velvet."

Napa Valley, California, home of Don and Rela Gleason.

Architect: Bobby McAlpine.

Photography by Roger Davies.

Text by Therese Bissell.

"A Fine Vintage" produced by Robert Rufino.

Architectural Digest (November 2011).

Ralph Lauren Collection.

Photo via Pinterest.

"Comfort is key in the family room. A plush French leather chair is inviting after a big dinner. A velvet ottoman doubles as a coffee table."

Ottoman fabric: "Lido"/Mallard (2020/4). Rose Tarlow-Melrose House.

1930s Houston home of Lynn and Dave Mannon.

Interior design by Eleanor Cummings.

Renovation architect: Kirby Mears.

Photography by Fran Brennan.

Written by Jenny Bradley.

"Before and After: Remodeled Houston Home" produced by Helen Thompson.

Traditional Home.

"In the petit vestibule, a Louis XV ebonized table (estimate $2,700 - $4,000) is flanked by a pair of 19th-century armchairs covered in midnight blue silk velvet (estimate $11,000 - $13,000).

Christie's Paris auctioned the contents of Susan and John Gutfreund's apartment in the grand Hotel de Bauffremont on Paris's Left Bank on June 28, 2012.

Interior designer: Henri Samuel.

Architect: Alain Reynaud.

Photo: Christie's.

"Well-Lived: Susan Gutfreund's Paris Apartment" by Sallie Brady.

Veranda.

"In the dressing room, toy poodle Bunny sits atop a custom-made ottoman, the mirrored cabinet were designed by Raymond Lepore, and the Chinese Art Deco rug is from ABC Carpet and Home."

Manhattan townhouse of fashion designer Nanette Lepore and her family.

Interior design by Jonathan Adler.

"Living Large" by Kathleen Hackett.

Elle Decor (September 2008).

"Massive built-in bookcases supply the living area with a bold sense of scale. Deep velvet sofas and contemporary fixtures create a sophisticated space for entertaining."

Julie Leach's apartment on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Interior design by Julie Leach, founder of the lifestyle brand Chance.

Photography by Patrick Cline,

Art direction by Michelle Adams.

"Urban Oasis" written by Robert Leleux.

Lonny (June - July 2012).

" 'Because the library is small, it lent itself to a rich jewel-box treatment,' Watson says. Woodwork is painted a deep, saturated color, Farrow and Ball's Hague Blue, and the ceiling is tented with a Michael S. Smith Indian block fabric, Jasper. Upholstered in a blue Schumacher silk velvet very close to the color of the walls, the tufted U-shaped sofa - which is all one piece - is where her two teenage children watch movies. 'We call it Big Blue,' she says."
Nashville house of antiques dealer Jeannette Whitson.
Interior design by Jeannette Whitson, Garden Variety Design.
Photography by Simon Watson.
"A New Nashville House With an Old Soul" by Barbara King.
House Beautiful (June 2013).

"In the library, a zebra-skin rug and a velvet club chair conjure an air of old-Hollywood glamour."

1920s Spanish Colonial in Los Angeles's Brentwood neighborhood.

Interior design by Estee Stanley.

Photography by Patrick Cline.

Art direction by Michelle Adams.

"Hollywood Remake" written by Robert Leleux.

Lonny (August 2012). 

"Robert reupholstered this settee in a Fabricut chartreuse velvet. 'It needed to a be a bit more funky,' she says. 'I'm a little too young to have too many staid antiques.' "

New Orleans home of perch owner, Caroline Robert, and her family. The Beaux Arts home was built in 1906.

Photography by Patrick Cline.

Art direction by Michelle Adams. 

"Historic Style" written by Shawn Gauthier.

Lonny (May - June 2011).

Designer Colette van den Thillart uses this dining room as her home office. "A blue lacquered wall and ceiling fresco are just two of the rich details that give this room personality. The striped tablecloth and green velvet chair adds contrast. Gold shell-shaped lights shine on book spines for easy searching."
Colette van den Thillart's London home.
Ceiling fresco by Angel Interiors.
Photography by Chris Tubbs.
"Photo Gallery: Amazing Libraries"
Canadian House and Home (January 2011).

"The bride wears a white plumed fascinator and a 1950s sculptural collar by Line Vautrin, while the groom dons a vest in Gainsborough velvet from F. Schumacher and Co."
Wedding reception of New York interior designer and stylist Kelly d'Halluin.
Chateau de Breteuil.
Photography by Mallory Samson.
"Parisian Countryside Wedding" by Tom Woodham.
Veranda.

"Menu cards were sealed with a wax impression from the d'Halluin chevaliere, or family crest ring, banded with a velvet ribbon, and embellished with a lamb's ear."
Wedding reception of New York interior designer and stylist Kelly d'Halluin.
Chateau de Breteuil.
Photography by Mallory Samson.
"Parisian Countryside Wedding" by Tom Woodham.
Veranda.


Chesterfields, the Somerset County, New Jersey, country home of John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross.

Interior design by John Dransfield and Geoffrey Ross.

Photography by Patrick Cline.

Art direction by Michelle Adams.

"Time-Honored Style" written by Robert Leleux.

Lonny (June - July 2012).

“Armchairs upholstered in linen velvet by Quadrille, a custom-designed ottoman by Jonas Upholstery, and a Claude Lalanne bronze bench used as a cocktail table in the library; decorative artist Jean Carrau painted the paneling to resemble pine and treated the knots with gold leaf.”

Interior design by Brian McCarthy.

Photography by William Waldron.

Text by Mitchell Owens.

"The Transformers" produced by Anita Sarsidi.

Elle Decor (December 2007).

" 'In this room, I started with a rug that had been in the Evans family,' says Angie. 'I loved how the colors in the rug picked up the hues in the bottle cap portrait [by Molly B. Right] above the mantel.' From these elements, she chose a luminescent peach shade for the walls. For more dimension, she layered in texture and interest with vintage pottery and artful lamps. The rich brown velvet curtains, which came with the house, frame the windows' architecture and ground the room."

Home of author and singer/songwriter Carolyn Evans and her husband Ray.

Interior design by Angie Hranowsky.

Renovation architect: Gordon Nicholson.

Photography by Laura Moss.

Styling by Natasha Louise King.

"Charleston Single House Makeover" by Sandra S. Soria.

Southern Living (March 2011).

"The four-poster bed in one of the guest bedrooms, which is not antique, is expected to earn $810-$1,300. At the foot of the bed sits a 19th-century red velvet doghouse (estimate $940 - $1,200)."

Christie's Paris auctioned the contents of Susan and John Gutfreund's apartment in the grand Hotel de Bauffremont on Paris's Left Bank on June 28, 2012.

Interior designer: Henri Samuel.

Architect: Alain Reynaud.

Photo: Christie's.

"Well-Lived: Susan Gutfreund's Paris Apartment" by Sallie Brady.

Veranda.

"Richly hued velvet headboards contribute a dose of masculine comfort to the guest room's rustic decor."

Late 1700s weekend retreat of Ari Heckman and Will Cooper.

Interior design by Ari Heckman.

Photography by Patrick Cline.

Art direction by Michelle Adams.

"Sag Harbor Sanctuary" written by Robert Leleux.

Lonny (November 2012).

"Hot pink steams up the Master Bath adjoining the Master Bedroom and Dressing Room, while Sherle Wagner's gold-plated marble vanity personifies the ultimate in luxury."

Matador costume, Europa. Scroll armchair, Windsor Smith Home Collection. Hot Pink Silk Velvet Fabric: Scalamandre.

Master Bath designed by Windsor Smith. 

Greystone Estate.

Photography by Peter Vitale.

"Well-Designed: Greystone Estate" by Deborah Sanders and Catherine Lee Davis.

Veranda.

"The master bedroom is pure creme fraiche, starting with the white Berber carpet. An ivory mohair headboard from Elitis cozies up to two layers of curtains. The zippy fuchsia velvet Louis XV chair adds pop. Painting above it is Much Magenta by Wolf Kahn."
Interior design by Amanda Nisbet, Amanda Nisbet Design.
Photography by Pieter Estersohn.
"Amanda Nisbet's Jewel-Toned Manhattan Apartment" by Carol Prisant.
House Beautiful (March 2008).

"Floor-to-ceiling columns bring grandeur to the library. Sofa in Prelle silk velvet with pillow in Holland and Sherry fabric. Armchairs and curtain in Le Manach fabric."
Interior design by Robert Couturier.
Litchfield, Connecticut, home of Robert Couturier and Jeffrey Morgan.
Photography by Max Kim-Bee.
Written by Emily Evans Eerdman.
"Elegant Connecticut Retreat" produced by Carolyn Englefield.
Veranda.

"The master bedroom also includes a Marie Antoinette chaise upholstered in a
de Gournay silk velvet."

Los Angeles, California home of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.

Interior design by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard.

Photography by Roger Davies.

Text by Fred Schruers.

"Like Night and Day" produced by Carlos Mota.

Architectural Digest (June 2011).

"Sitting Area: Cameron Collection chaise in Rose Tarlow-Melrose House leather. Fauteuil in Clarence House silk-velvet. Art by Cole Morgan. Rose Tarlow-Melrose House table."

Photography by Brian McWeeney.

"Well-Lived: George Cameron Nash's Dallas Apartment" by Nancy Perot Mulford.

Veranda.

"An English Chippendale bench fronts a French console."

Animal-print fabric on bench: "Tiger Velvet"/Natural (Number 36510.00), Brunschwig and Fils.

Milton, Massachusetts, condominium of interior designer Charles Spada.

Interior design by Charles Spade, Charles Spada Interiors.

Photography by Bruce Buck.

Text by Pamela J. Wilson.

"Viewing Pleasure" produced by Estelle Bond Guralnick.

Traditional Home.

"Artwork arranged atop a radiator behind an orange velvet couch."

Hudson, New York, home (built in 1890) of Juan Carretero and David Usborne.

Interior design by Juan Carretero, Carretero Design. 

Photography by Genevieve Garruppo.

"Artist in Residence" written by Sarah Storms.

Lonny (December - January 2014).

A flocked-velvet stool on an Oriental rug.

Southern California ranch of Ruthie Sommers and her family.

Interior design by Ruthie Sommers.

Photography by Coral von Zumwalt.

Production and fashion styling by Sarah Storms.

"Once Upon a Time in the West" written by Melissa Goldstein.

Lonny (December - January 2014).

"Minton garden stools stand before a gilt-wood sofa covered in a velvet from Stark in the salon; the armchair is by Jacob Freres."
New York City duplex of interior designer Jean-Paul Beaujard.
Interior design by Jean-Paul Beaujard.
Photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna.
Text by Judith Thurman.
"Romance Language" produced by Robert Rufino.
Architectural Digest (September 2011).