de Le Cuona | Old Hollywood – Candlelight

Old Hollywood in Candlelight is a linen and viscose blend, and the viscose is what gives it its character. Linen alone has a dry, matt, slightly textured face; the viscose adds a soft sheen that catches light and gives the cloth a gentle movement when it hangs or sits over a curve. Candlelight is a warm, pale tone, closer to a lit parchment than to a flat cream. In a room it behaves like a neutral, but one with some life in it, particularly in evening light.

The facts are as follows. The composition is 60% linen and 40% viscose, and the cloth is 140 cm wide. It carries a Martindale rating of 21,000 rubs, which is a serious figure for a cloth of this kind and puts it well within the range we are comfortable using on upholstery for regular use. The SKU is OLH6, and it is sold by the half metre, so you can order in small increments for cushions or for a trial piece. We have no repeat recorded.

We would use it in a few places. At the window it makes a full, soft curtain in a sitting room or bedroom, particularly when it hangs in generous folds against warm white walls. On upholstery, we would put it on a sofa or a deep armchair that is used daily, where the Martindale figure matters. For a pairing, we like it beside a darker, flatter cloth in a deep taupe or soft charcoal, and with natural oak or limed timber, which brings out the warmth of the colour without competing with it.

For making up, we would advise ordering a sample first and viewing it in the room at different times of day, since a sheen shifts the colour more than a matt cloth does. Linen blends relax a little with use, so ask your upholsterer to allow for this in the tailoring and to cut with the grain consistent across all panels. Line curtains to protect the cloth from sunlight and to help it hang. Order all your metres together so the dye lot is consistent.