the slides are about interior decoration . use of soft furnishings in hotels, curtains, style of curtains, loose covers, cushions, bedspread, runners, how to make hotel rooms more attractive

1. SOFT FURNISHINGS
CURTAINS, LOOSE COVERS, CUSHIONS, BEDSPREAD,
Dr. Bhavya Khamesra

2.  Soft furnishings include curtains, loose covers,
cushions, bedspreads and quilts.(not carpets).
 -They have colour, pattern and texture and add to
the interior decoration of the room.
 - They give protection, warmth, and comfort
 Fabric/ material used are of prime importance.
Natural fabrics like cotton, silk, velvet, wool are
used. Nowadays synthetic materials like terelyne,
acrylic, rayon are also used.

4. CURTAINS
Functions of curtains are:
 Give privacy
 Darken the room
 Bring character by colour, pattern and texture
 Reduce heat loss
 Reduce noise levels inside the room

6.  The life expectancy of the fabric depends on the
exposure to sunlight and degree of soiling , these
causes fading and rotting of fabric and colours.
 Curtains have high fire risk due to combustible
material. A fire retardant finish should be given
 Curtains should hold shape properly and drape
well. They can be suspended from a horizontal rod
or a transverse track made of metal, wood or
plastic.
 The width of curtains should be 1.5 times that of
width of window. The curtains may extend to both
sides of window.

7.  They may be of height of window, from window top
to floor, from ceiling to floor. These all have different
effects on the look of the room.
 They are fixed to rod by hooks or rings.
 The base of curtains should remain at least 1.5- 2
cm above the floor so that do not get dirty.
 Different pattern on fabrics are used to give
different effects.

10.  Good curtains are usually lined. Lining means heavy
curtains have a light curtain attached to it. Heavy
curtains face the room side. Sheer/ light curtains face
the window side/ sunlight. Light curtains are of light
colours (white/ cream/ baize) as light colours do not fade
 During day time only sheer / light curtains are drawn.
During night for privacy heavy curtains should be drawn.
 For public areas, lobby, restaurant rich, colourful,
expensive and heavy curtains are used. For room light
colours, less expensive material can be used. For
bathroom curtains made of plastic / glass are used.

12. NON DRAWING CURTAINS
These cannot be drawn like fabric curtains. These are
of following types:
 Roller blinds roman blinds
 venetian blinds
 Shades bamboo shades
 wooden shutters
 Screen fabric on wooden frame

15. PELMET, VALENCE, SWAG
 Palmet: they are rigid, made of wood, hard board.
May be painted or polished. They are used to hide
the rod. Now a day’s pelmets are not used.
 Valence: a valance is made of frilled or pleated
material and hangs from a valance rail.
 Swag: it is a draped finish to hide the curtain
heading and is frequently completed with a tail.

17. NET CURTAINS
 They are sheer or light curtains. It softens or
diffuses the light coming in the room.
 There should be sufficient weight at the bottom for
proper drape. They are 2 to 3 times the width of
window.
 White/ pale: patterned / plain material of cotton /
manmade fabric are used to make net curtains.

18. NET CURTAINS

19. CARE AND CLEANING OF CURTAINS
 Keep rod and track free from dust with help of
broom / vacuum cleaner.
 Shake the curtains often. Use vacuum cleaner to
suck the dust.
 Reverse the position of curtains frequently.
 Have lined curtains dry cleaned. Have unlined
curtains laundered.
 Solvent spray extraction machines may be used.

20. LOOSE COVERS
 Loose covers are detachable / removable covers
fitted over upholstered chairs, stools, and sofa.
They give a clean fresh look to the room but needs
maintenance.
 They are used to protect the original fixed
upholstery.
 They are tailored or fixed under chair. They are
fastened by hooks and eyes, zip, touch and loose
fasteners.

21.  Closely woven fabric is preferred for loose covers
as it does not allow dust to filter through. The
material should not crease easily.
 They are available in a variety of patterns and
texture.
 They can be laundered or dry-cleaned.
 Antimascarrars: they are used to protect
upholstered furniture and shield the arms and back
of sofa.

22. CARE AND CLEANING OF LOOSE COVERS:
 Shake and tidy frequently,
 brush or suction regularly
 Attend to repairs
 have laundered or dry-cleaned as required

23. CUSHIONS
 They are used to increase the comfort of chair or
sofa. They come in various shapes, size, and are
filled with down, kapok, foam, plastic, cotton. The
shapes can be rectangle, square, cylinder.


24. BLANKETS
 Blankets provide warmth in bed. Often white/ pale/
light coloured blankets are used.
 Top/ edges/ border are often binded. They have
good insulation, ease of cleaning, and non
inflammable. They are made of wool, synthetic
material or mixtures or cotton.
 Cotton blankets are used in hospitals.
 Take precaution against moths and rodents. Repair
ends immediately.


25.  woolen
 Are attacked by moth
 Are warm /
inflammable
 Have to be dry-cleaned
 Synthetic-acrylic/
nylon
 Are warm light in
weight
 Have low moisture
absorbency
 Can be laundered/
washed

26.  QUILTS
They are light bed coverings but expensive .They
are placed under bedspread.
 DUVET
They are used extensively. They have replaced
blankets. They are generally filled with synthetic
fibers or polyester fibers.

27. BEDSPREAD
 They are used to cover bed during day. They are
removed during night/ evening service, folded
 and put away. Their colour and pattern must suit the
décor of the room and match / contrast the
 colour of curtain and carpet
 They may be fitted on bed or it can be of throw over
type. They may have frills/ pleats to within
 an inch of the floor. Materials like satin, velvet,
tapestry, candlewick are used to make
 bedspreads.


29. RUNNER