Overblown Wilderness
Forget feminine Laura Ashley sprigs or polite repeating patterns, florals are in for winter and they're moody. Full-blown, oversized blooms are dark and dusty, colours are deep, with lush and untamed patterns in saturated plums and bruised blues. There's a gothic fairy-tale quality, with a whimsical edge that lends itself to billowing curtains and oversized cushions bringing focus and accent to neutral schemes.
Inspirational: John Lewis's Chelsea Floral furnishing fabric injects an English garden, Arts & Craftsy feel to the wilderness theme, with blowsy foxgloves vying with vibrant berries and lustrous foliage.
Vintage Explorer
Retro travellers' trunks and framed specimens are proving popular in décor, so it's no surprise that textiles hint at escapism, too. The muted colours of vintage maps appear on soft furnishings that are as at home in the kitchen as the bedroom or living room. Duck-egg blues and terracottas combine into a gentle palette made arresting by illustrative detail. World Map furnishing fabric from John Lewis is so crisply detailed and legible you might actually learn something. Not to be underestimated as a boys' bedroom staple, vintage map prints can be grown up when teamed with leather and industrial-chic pieces.
Inspirational: Annie Sloane's Vintage World Map is double length, making it perfect for curtains and blinds.
Bohemian Opulence
The idea of opulence can be off-putting in a domestic context – it might get a bit exhausting living in a seven-star Dubai hotel suite every day of the week. But paired with eclectic bohemianism, opulence is tempered, softened and made more accessible. Bohemian style feels individual, thrown together and just-on-the-good-side of chaotic. Infused with intense jewel colours, this kind of opulence has warmth and saturation, not hard-edged bling and glitz.
Repeating patterns and geometrics draw on Moorish influences, while tactile textiles softened through age predominate.
Inspirational: Winter reds simmering down to corals and ochres combine with warm greys in Romo's Danton range of upholstery fabrics. Stripes, geometrics and perished florals work together with subtle embroideries and textures for a luscious echo of North Africa and the east. Visit: romo.com for a list of Devon stockists.
Folksy
Of late, the artisanal crafter has stepped out from behind big manufacturing in all arenas, textiles included. Patterns drawing on folk or ethnic motifs carry with them a strong sense of the maker, be they technically handmade or not. Batik and ikat, tie dye and block print are all having a bit of a moment, bringing a sense of desirable imperfection and each-piece-is-different one-offness. Unsurprisingly, folk patterns are redolent of nature and wildlife. Based in North Devon, textile designer Sam Pickard matches plant-inspired graphic shapes with tactile linens.
Soft Touch
The plush textures of nature – wool and sheepskin, velvet and hide – epitomise curling up in semi-hibernation. Eminently touchable, these fabrics radiate comfort and warmth. Best known for its ubiquitous sheepskin boots, Aussie brand UGG has diversified into home textiles, maintaining the laid-back feel of ultimate relaxation. Sheepskin rugs feature, as do woollen cushions, blankets and neutral throws. Velvets, of course, take the touchy-feely trend to the 'nth' degree. Black Edition offers the Zkara range of decorative velvets, nailing two trends in one by combining the tactile with opulent lustrous colours shot through with foils.
Inspirational: Osborne & Little's Mikado range (main picture) of luxuriously piled cotton velvets offers vibrant colours from peacock to raspberry. The ultimate in snuggly luxe. Osbourne & Little fabrics are available from Cool Calm and Collected in Barnstaple, Strummer Pink in Honiton and Annterior Design, Ivybridge and others: visit osborneandlittle.com for further details
