de Le Cuona | Vienna Velvet – Charleston

Vienna Velvet in Charleston is a plain cotton velvet, which gives it a softer, more matte pile than the shinier velvets you often see. Cotton velvet takes light differently, so the surface looks deep and slightly chalky and the colour shifts gently as you move around it. Because it is plain, it works as a backdrop or as a quiet focal piece, and it has enough body to hold a shape. In a room it gives a feeling of comfort and weight without turning formal.

The facts are straightforward. It is 100% cotton, 140 cm wide, and it carries a Martindale rating of 100,000 rubs, which puts it among the most hard-wearing cloths we handle and makes it a sensible choice for a family sofa. It is sold by the half metre, with a minimum of 0.5m, so you can order precisely what a cushion, a stool or a pair of chairs needs. The supplier is de Le Cuona, and the reference is VIE5. We have not been given a repeat, as this is a plain velvet.

We would use Charleston on a sofa that will be sat on daily, where its abrasion rating gives real confidence, and on a pair of deep armchairs. It also makes heavy, generous curtains with a rich fall, suited to a bedroom or a snug where you want to cut out draughts and noise. For pairings, we like velvet beside a rougher cloth, such as a washed linen or a boucle, and against painted panelling, so the surfaces are not all competing in the same way.

For making up, velvet has a pile direction, so ask your upholsterer to run it the same way on every piece, otherwise adjacent panels will look like different shades. Allow extra metres for cutting with the pile and for any piping. For curtains, line and interline, and have them hung with a generous heading, as velvet is heavy and needs a sturdy pole or track. Order all your metres together, and ask for a larger sample first to judge the colour in your own light.