Soft furnishings are perfect for livening up the home. They come in a wide range of material and a kaleidoscope of colours. Depending on the soft furnishings you choose, you can create a home with a predominantly spring, summer, autumn or winter feel.

The soft furnishings themselves cover everything from curtains, fabric wall panels, seat coverings and bed linen. You can purchase cheaply or get some designer items or of course combine.

For a springtime look the colours need to be fresh to reflect the new life that the season produces. Colours will include things like daffodil yellow, the blue of a clear sky or a carpet of bluebells, and the green of new shoots and young leaves. Designs can be reflective of the natural world – things which remind you of new life – bunnies, newborn birds, young leaves and more. The fabric need to be fairly light – silk works well and add a touch of the luxury.

The summer time is where you want the lightest materials, both in weight and colour. Chiffon is good for this. Whites look good, especially white netting for the windows – as it billows in the breeze it is reminiscent of holidays in the sunshine. The white will also help reflect the light inside the room. A summer season room can also use lots of colours to mirror the riot of colours occurring in people’s gardens – bright poppy crimson, vibrant purple, hot fuchsia pink – you get the drift. Checked patterns are good as they remind people of picnic rugs, and cloth with fresh flowers on are also very summery.

Autumnal rooms mirror the falling leaves and the earth returning to brown. Russets, gold and oranges are fantastic colours. Fabric becomes a bit heavier to keep out the cold and add a sense of luxury. A heavy Shantung silk will work very well. Motifs on cloth could include mature leaves and nuts.

A winter room will require quite heavy materials to keep the warm in. Velvet will be perfect as it is also soft, snugly and deluxe and leather is likewise fantastic. Colours associated with Christmas go down well – deep red and dark green particularly. Chocolate brown is also a good winter colour as is a rich purple. Motifs can include holly, robins and other iconic Christmas images or you can go for bare trees.

Whatever soft furnishings you choose for a room, remember that because they aren’t fixed, they can effortlessly be changed. If you can afford it you can have a set of light curtains for spring/summer and some heavier ones for autumn/winter. You could also buy a few soft cushions that are particularly suggestive of the season and swap them when the season has finished. If you do that, remember to store the fabrics suitably until the season comes around again the next year.

Don’t forget that whatever soft furnishings you choose, they need to go together with the home furniture and style of your room. If you have designer furniture, the fabric accessories should reflect that and if you have chunky pine furniture, they should be in keeping with that.

Enjoy your accessorising….