Lelièvre | Frénésie 2 Fabric

Frénésie 2 is a plain-woven polyester cloth, a fine, close, even weave with a soft chalky hand rather than a shine. It reads as a flat, quiet ground fabric, the kind that sits back and lets furniture, art or a bolder neighbouring textile do the talking. At 322 centimetres it behaves more like a piece of soft furnishing than a dress fabric, and we think of it as a ground cloth first.

It is woven from 100 per cent Trevira CS polyester, so the flame-retardant performance is built into the yarn rather than applied as a finish, and it will not wash out over the life of the curtain. The 322 centimetre width is genuinely wide, wide enough to railroad most drops without a join. There are 23 colourways, from the near-whites (Blanc, Ecru, Créme) through soft neutrals (Orge, Grès, Sable) into muted taupes (Loutre, Argile, Gazelle) and on to stronger notes such as Mauve, Ocre, Jade and Grenat. With this many options we would usually start from the neutrals and bring in a deeper shade only where the room can carry it.

We reach for this on full-length curtains in a bedroom or sitting room where the brief calls for calm rather than pattern, and on wall panels where a large flat expanse of colour needs to read as one uninterrupted plane. It pairs well against a patterned cushion range, or against timber and stone finishes that need a soft, matte backdrop. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Because the roll is 322 centimetres wide, most window widths can be railroaded, the fabric run sideways, so a pair of curtains comes off one continuous length with no vertical seam and no pattern to match. We would still ask for a metre extra on a full-length drop for turnings and heading tape, and we always line it for drape and to protect the yarn from direct sun.