Brunschwig & Fils | La Coche Strie

La Coche Strie takes its name from the strie effect, a fine, streaked texture in which tone shifts softly in short lines across the cloth. It is a small-scale design with a quiet surface, and it reads as a lightly worked plain rather than a pattern. That makes it easy to live with. It adds depth to a sofa or chair without introducing a motif, and it sits happily beside bolder prints, checks and stripes. The surface has a soft, even hand that suits furniture you sit on every day.

The cloth is 100% Dralon, a branded acrylic fibre, and it is 55.9 in (141.99 cm) wide. The vertical repeat is 3.03 in (7.7 cm) and the horizontal repeat is 3.54 in (8.99 cm). Both repeats are small, so matching is straightforward and waste is limited. We have not been given a Martindale figure, so we would ask for one before specifying it for the heaviest daily use, such as a family kitchen sofa. We have not been told where it is woven.

We would use La Coche Strie on a pair of club chairs, a deep sofa in a sitting room, or a banquette where the cloth takes regular use. It also makes good curtains where you want body and a faint sheen of texture, and cushions to calm a busier scheme. We tend to pair it with a patterned linen or a small geometric in a related colour, and with a plain wool throw so the room keeps a mix of surfaces.

Because the surface texture has a slight direction, ask your upholsterer to run every piece the same way up so the tone reads evenly across the whole piece of furniture. Cut all pieces for one item from a single batch. For curtains, a proper lining and interlining will help the cloth hang with weight. Order a little over your calculated quantity so any future repair or extra cushion comes from the same run, and take a cutting before you commit to the full amount.