de Le Cuona | Duchess Paisley – Delicate

Duchess Paisley is a paisley treated with restraint. The motif is the traditional teardrop form, but in Delicate it is set in a soft, low-contrast colouring, so the pattern reads as a texture at a distance and only reveals its drawing as you come closer. That is the quality we like. A paisley can easily become busy in a room, whereas this one holds back. It brings movement and a sense of age to a plain scheme without announcing itself, and a wool and cotton cloth has a body and a softness that a printed cotton alone does not.

The cloth is 75% wool and 25% cotton, 150 cm wide, and sold by the 0.5m. The vertical repeat is 57 cm and the horizontal repeat is 38 cm, which is a reasonably generous scale and one worth planning around. The reference is DU4, supplied by de Le Cuona, and it is recommended for curtains. We have not been given a Martindale figure or a country of manufacture for this entry, so we have not quoted either. Please ask if either matters to your project and we will confirm in writing.

We would use Delicate for curtains in a bedroom or a sitting room, where the wool gives a soft, substantial drape and some welcome warmth at the window. It would suit a pair of full-length curtains on a pole, hung generously, in a room with plain painted walls. A paisley of this scale also works for a pair of curtains flanking a bay. For pairings, we would look at undyed linen on a sofa, a plain wool in oatmeal or stone for cushions, and a quiet stripe on a chair.

Because of the 57 cm vertical repeat, allow extra length so the pattern can be matched across each width and set to fall consistently at the head. Your workroom should plan the cut drops before ordering, and we would add a margin for matching. We would line these curtains, and interline them if the room is cool or the windows are large. Check the full quantity is from one batch, and order a sample first to judge the colour in your own light.