The Sanderson x Giles Deacon fabrics range from embroidered linen to hard-wearing velvet and bold woven stripes, so knowing which cloth goes where makes all the difference. This guide works through the house room by room, with practical ideas for curtains, upholstery and cushions using fabrics from the collection.
Living room: upholstery that can take daily life
The living room is where fabric works hardest, so start with the cloths built for it. Aperigon Swag Fabric is a heavy, textured weave in a linen and cotton blend, strong at 20,000 Martindale and described as ideal for upholstery, curtains and cushions. Its large-scale Aperigon stripe, a Giles Deacon signature, looks wonderful running down the back and seat of an armchair or across a footstool.
If you prefer pattern on a sofa or occasional chair, Lakeland Paradis Velvet Fabric puts the collection's classic chintz on a hard-wearing, cotton-rich velvet. The roses, iris, carnations, poppies, cyclamen and pansies come from an early twentieth-century block print in the Sanderson archive, and velvet gives them a lovely depth. A tip: pick one patterned piece of upholstery per room and keep the rest plainer, so the eye has somewhere to rest.
Bedroom: soft florals and quiet texture
Bedrooms suit gentler pattern at the window and more detail close up. Lakeland Paradis Fabric has the same archive chintz recoloured with depth and shadow in the petals and leaves, which makes it a natural choice for full-length curtains or a gathered valance.
For a headboard or bolster that rewards a closer look, Mydsommer Pickings Fabric is a direct translation of Giles Deacon's walnut-ink botanical drawings, with embroidered pomegranates and poppyheads on a linen ground. It layers several stitching techniques over an all-over design of curling tendrils, so it is best used where you can appreciate the handwork rather than gathered into deep folds.
Bring in Cupid's Beau Fabric for cushions on the bed or a chair. It repaints the archive design Etchings & Roses in a botanical illustration style, with tiny insects scattered throughout and Deacon's illustrated bows and calligraphy, including his signature 'G'.
Dining room and kitchen: stripes and a relaxed print
Stripes bring order to a dining room. Regency Aperigon Fabric takes its name from the Ancient Greek 'apeirogon', an infinite polygon, and runs vertically in a tightly woven cloth with a satin sheen. Used on a pair of dining chair seats or tall curtains, a vertical stripe also draws the eye upwards and makes a ceiling feel higher.
For a kitchen window or a breakfast-room blind, Fringed Tulip Toile Fabric has an easier, lived-in look: a distressed, batik-style print of double-headed parrot tulips and roses in weathered form that mimics extract printing. Its softness pairs well with painted cupboards and scrubbed wood.
Hallway, landing and window seats
Smaller spaces are a good place to be brave. Dazzle Fabric is a textured, razor-edge stripe cut on the bias, a play on Deacon's Aperigon design inspired by a jacket from one of his runway collections. Each colourway plays on the tones of its core colour, so a window-seat cushion or a hall bench in Dazzle gives you graphic impact without a clash of colours.
When you need a calmer companion, Bantam Net Fabric has its colour woven into the weft as wire twists and diamond patterning over a softly textured ground. It is a smart choice for curtains, blinds and cushions alongside the bolder prints, and is a handy way to repeat a colour from a stripe or floral elsewhere in the room.
Mixing the fabrics together
The collection is designed to be layered. A reliable formula is one floral, one stripe and one textured plain-ish weave in each room: for example Lakeland Paradis curtains, an Aperigon Swag armchair and Bantam Net cushions. Keep one colour running through all three and the mix will look considered rather than busy.
Browse the full Sanderson x Giles Deacon fabrics collection to see every design and colourway together, or visit our shop in Somerset and the team will help you put samples side by side before you commit.
