Lee Jofa | Caluya Print

Caluya Print is a printed cotton, and it has the easy, matte look of a good cotton cloth: soft to the hand, with a slightly dry surface that keeps colour calm rather than glossy. The design is large in scale, laid out across a wide repeat so that it reads as a single, drawn composition rather than a pattern of small motifs. In a room it behaves like a painted panel, with the pattern given room to breathe against the plain ground. We find that scale of print works best when it has space and when the rest of the room stays quiet.

The cloth is 100% cotton, 140.31 cm (55.12") wide. The vertical repeat is 95.2 cm (37.4") and the horizontal repeat is 140.31 cm (55.12"), which means the horizontal repeat runs the full width of the cloth, so there is no side-to-side match to manage within a single width. It comes from the Mindoro collection by Lee Jofa and is offered in one colourway, Palm. It is suitable for curtains and for upholstery.

We would use Caluya Print for a pair of full-length curtains in a living room or a bedroom, where the length of the repeat gives the design time to unfold down the drop. It also suits a single statement piece: a headboard, a deep armchair or a pair of bedroom chairs where the whole composition can be seen. Palm is a natural, garden-led colouring, so we would pair it with plain linen, pale painted joinery and a rug in a softer neutral, and keep other patterns small and tonal.

With a repeat of 95.2 cm, plan the cut carefully and order generously, because matching successive drops will use additional cloth. Because the horizontal repeat equals the width, each width is a full motif, so ask your workroom where the design should fall at the leading edge and at the hem. For upholstery, have the upholsterer position the main motif deliberately on the seat back or cushion, and request a paper template before cutting. As a printed cotton, we would line the curtains to protect the colour from sun and to improve the fall.