The Colour Edit: How to Choose the Right Fabric Tone for Your Space

The Colour Edit: How to Choose the Right Fabric Tone for Your Space

Colour is the language of emotion in interior design. It can lift a space, soften an atmosphere, or bring harmony where there was once imbalance. At Saint and Poet, we believe that choosing the right fabric tone is one of the most personal and transformative design decisions you can make — it’s how a room begins to feel like your own.

Understanding Tone: The Subtle Science Behind Colour

When it comes to upholstery fabric, tone is everything. It’s the balance of warmth and coolness within a colour that determines how it interacts with light, space, and mood. Warm tones such as ochre, terracotta, and soft rose bring energy and intimacy — perfect for creating rooms that feel inviting and full of character. Cooler tones like sage, teal, and sky blue, on the other hand, introduce calm, depth, and clarity.

The magic happens when tone is used thoughtfully. A south-facing living room drenched in sunlight might call for muted hues that diffuse the brightness, while a shaded hallway can come alive with richer colours that add warmth and contrast.

Choosing the Right Colour for Your Space

Before falling in love with a shade, take a moment to consider how your room behaves throughout the day. Natural light shifts dramatically, and what looks like calm blue in the morning can turn cool and moody by evening. Order fabric samples, observe them in both daylight and lamplight, and see how the tone changes.

Think about the function of your space, too. Vibrant multicoloured upholstery fabrics work beautifully in social rooms — bringing playfulness and artistic energy — while subtle, tonal designs lend a serene sophistication to bedrooms and reading corners. You can explore our full All Upholstery Fabric Collection to see how colour transforms across texture and design style.

If you’re drawn to eclectic expression, our Multicoloured Upholstery Fabric Collection is the perfect starting point. These designs balance contemporary vibrancy with a timeless artistic sensibility, giving you colour variation without chaos — perfect for creating a space that feels dynamic, layered, and deeply personal.

Texture Changes Everything

Colour doesn’t exist in isolation. The material it’s printed on can completely alter how it’s perceived. A soft linen base diffuses pigment, resulting in a gentle, matte appearance that feels organic and lived-in. Velvet, by contrast, deepens and enriches colour, catching the light in subtle shifts that make a room feel luxurious and tactile.

Our Kintsu Velvet Upholstery Fabric Collection illustrates this beautifully. Available in both velvet and linen variations, it shows how tone and texture can change the emotional language of the same design — one sumptuous and opulent, the other quietly expressive. It’s proof that the right basecloth can elevate not only the look but also the mood of a space.

Designing with Colour Emotion

Beyond trends and tone charts, colour is a deeply emotional choice. Ochre is radiant and optimistic, bringing energy to dining rooms or creative studios. Green restores calm and balance — ideal for living rooms and bedrooms that invite rest. Blue evokes peace and reliability, while soft pinks and rose tones bring a sense of comfort and warmth.

Our Fresco Upholstery Fabric Collection embraces this painterly approach to colour, layering natural tones with artistic brushwork to create fabrics that feel both expressive and effortless. It’s the perfect collection for those who want to build character through colour rather than overwhelm a room with it.

Finding Your Perfect Tone

The right fabric colour is more than an aesthetic decision — it’s the foundation of atmosphere. A single tone can make a minimalist space feel rich and layered, or a traditional room feel fresh and modern. What matters most is how the colour interacts with light, texture, and your own emotional connection to it.

At Saint and Poet, we see fabric not as a finishing touch, but as the starting point for self-expression through interiors. Whether you lean toward moody teals, sun-washed ochres, or abstract multicolour prints, each hue tells a story — and it’s yours to write.

If you loved exploring colour and tone, you might enjoy our previous post, The Art of Texture: How Upholstery Fabric Brings Depth to Modern Interiors, where we dive into how fabric surfaces can shape the feel of a room as much as colour itself.