The common thread running through this season’s fabric story is color. Even after three years of indulging in rich colors, we still have a huge appetite for chocolate. Its longevity is boosted by its unusual pairings with slate blue, dusky pink and wasabi green.

And, there is another new color scheme just around the corner, says Amy Archer, a consumer behaviorist with Rowe Furniture, who conducts seminars at HomeWorld.

“There’s a whole palette coming up for the bold and the expressive,” Archer says. “And it’s a much hotter, sexier palette.”

That doesn’t mean you need to swathe your entire room in hot colors, she says. But inject some well-placed brilliant bursts, whether it’s a lamp base in fuchsia, a picture frame in aqua or an iconic chair in turquoise.

“Done well, it’s very, very beautiful,” Archer says.

Take a look on the following pages at some of the fun ways we’re using colorful fabric for headboards, lamps, wall art and more ...

>>A CONTEMPORARY LINE

Fabric shows off all its paces in this ultra-contemporary bedroom, where it delivers color, texture, form and functionality in one package.

This room is pulled together from the Panaz Bijoux collection, which has a rich range that allows for inspired mixing and matching.

Gail Dagdag, of Kreative Kamaaina, which carries Panaz fabrics, encourages her clients to use polyesters such as these because of their wearability, ease of cleaning and great looks.

“With polyesters you can get the wonderful look of silk sheers, textures, organza or velvet,” Dagdag adds.

The bedroom style starts with the taffeta-looking duvet. Its earthy colors are pulled into the pillows, which are dressed up with the pin-dot accent. The duvet’s lines are echoed in the headboard’s trio of fabric panels.

“It’s a contemporary, clean, relaxed room with that little bit of spark from the scarlet runner,” Dagdag says. The scarlet accents are clever touches, she adds, because they tie the room together. They also provide flexibility for the homeowner. “It would be so easy to change that color—perhaps to a plum—switch the ceramic piece and the runner and have a completely different room,” she says.

Swatch Watch
Duvet: Panaz Trevira CS Taffeta in Elegance 800 Beige.
Accent pillow: Panaz Trevira CS Taffeta in Grace 899 Sepia with Prima 899 Sepia.
Pillows: Panaz Trevira CS Taffeta in Grace 800 Beige and Grace 899 Sepia.
Headboard: Panaz Trevira CS Taffeta in Grace 800 Beige.
Runner: Panaz Trevira CS Taffeta in Prima 404 Henna.
Ottoman: Panaz, Aston collection leather-look vinyl in 900 Black.
panaz collection: Available at Kreative Kamaaina

>> SILK PARADISE

What’s not to love about silk? For Kaye Fawcett, of Fine Linens & Furnishings, silk is the ultimate in luxury and is heaven to work with. She loves its sheen, texture and elegant tones.

“It just makes a room more special,” she says.

photos by Augie Salbosa (left) and Hal Lum (right)

Fine Linens brought silk to the fore in this Diamond Head master suite. The bed is the dominant feature, so it needed to be the jewel in the room. Fawcett and interior designer Patty Johnson started with a rich Dupioni silk in a sable tone that plays with monochromatic golds and platinums.

Then, they added depth with a textured, platinum fabric on the large-scale, down-filled Euros and the small accent pillow. A high note is the floaty, sheer runner. Completing the luxurious look are the intricate details, including the covered buttons and the frog knot on the accent pillow.

The muted tone-on-tone bedding complements the bold colors in the room and is the perfect foil for the shot of turquoise and indigo outside.

“To me, it’s simple, it’s pared down, it’s clean,” Johnson says. “On the Mainland it’s usually more formal, more ornate; that embellishment is stripped away here in Hawaii.”

Frog knot pillow detail and silk samples, courtesy of Fine Linens & Furnishings.

Swatch Watch
Room design: Kathy Lee Designs.
Bedding: Fine Linens & Furnishings.
Duvet: Tapestria Dupioni silk in sable.
Down-filled, 30-inch Euros & small throw pillow with frog knot detail: Ann Gish, silk texture in platinum
Shams, runner & throw pillow detail: Maharam rayon polyester in bijou.

>>COLOR BRIGHT

Fabric is not just for drapes and sofas. It’s art. It’s light. It’s fun. Eye-popping accents such as these can dramatically transform any space.

1) Petal Power: Light up your home with these petal-patterned, silk table lamps. Available in three sizes, starting at $117, DeZign Home.

2) Throw in the Towel: These funky, bright throw pillows were dishtowels in previous lives. The folks at Pacific Home have been selling the dishtowels for years, but started making them into pillows after a client fell in love with them and wanted more around her home. $105 each, Pacific Home.

3) Fabric as Art: Let the sun shine in with these pieces of Inhabit stretched wall art, “Eucalyptus in Sunshine” and “Mum in Sunshine,” $155 each, Pacific Home.

4) Silly Side: Embrace your silly side with these super-fun sculptural seats. The Silly Side chairs from Belgium’s Leolux are wrapped in a smooshy, flexible, latex-like skin that’s as strong as leather. Available in a shave-ice rainbow of colors, these Pallone models include a kid-size Puppy version. Starting at $1,395, INspiration Interiors.

5) Put a Sock on It: Good-looking—with a twist. This lampshade (at right) is actually a Lycra-like sock stretched over a plastic base. Ready to change your room? Just slip off the sock and pull on a new one. Palm-leaf pattern available in taupe or black. $165 (small) or $195 (large), Bali Moon Hawaii.

6) tie in color: Professional designers from Archipelago by Studio Becker used a wall tapestry, bright pillows, artwork and paint color to tie this room together. It’s a superb example of how to be light and fun, while using accents to dramatically transform any space. For more inspiration, visit Archipelago’s showroom at the Gentry Pacific Design Center.

7) Easy Breezy: Try these tropicalicious Cotton Dot throw pillows, $8 each. California king-size bedspreads are available, $48, Bali Moon Hawaii.

FACTOID: You know that bright, warm colors can energize and that cool colors can calm. But did you know that color choices are also tied into the national psyche? In times of peace and prosperity, our sense of security leads us to more muted palettes, says lifestyle consultant Amy Archer. In times of war and economic turmoil, we boost our mood with bright dashes of color.

>>MIGHTY MICROFIBER

The word polyester might make you cringe with the mental image of shiny old polyester pants. But, these days, polyester is the driving force behind a fabric revolution.

Polyester is at the heart of modern microfibers, strands of polyester that are 100 times finer than human hair. Woven into cloth, they result in a super-durable, feel-good fabric.

“Now polyester is one of the hippest cloths you can own,” says lifestyle consultant Amy Archer.

Perhaps the No. 1 reason to start loving microfiber is its resilience and durability. “Basically, you don’t have to yell, no! whenever someone walks near it,” Archer adds. “And that’s very seductive.”

A Japanese scientist invented the world’s first microfiber in 1970. His discovery was soon turned into a new cloth, a manmade suede called Ultrasuede. When that global patent expired, the doors opened on a whole new genre of cloth. Recent renditions of microfiber look like everything from denim to corduroy to linen.

In Hawaii, the demand for microfibers has almost exceeded that for other upholstery fabrics, says DeZign Home’s merchandise manager, Patrick Lee.

A big plus in Hawaii is that microfibers are cool to the touch, unlike other synthetics, which tend to feel a little sweaty, says Kate Lipsett, a design consultant at Homeowners Design Center.

Lipsett has been working a lot with a suede microfiber, making among other things, embroidered palm leaves that fit perfectly with an Island décor.

“We’re just in love with this stuff,” she says.

Swatch Watch
TOP LEFT: Decorative Fabrics embroidered Ultra Leaves pattern in camouflage, antelope and atmosphere, from Homeowners Design Center.
BOTTOM LEFT: Hiatt Furniture D’oro suede red, Decoro green brown corduroy, Italsofa orange padded microfiber, from DeZign Home.
RIGHT: Bosston Furniture herringbone pattern in blue, brown, beige and ivory, from DeZign Home.

>>Chocolate, anyone?

Toss your sofa some eye candy with these rich, dark throw pillows. This is an easy way to treat your home to some delicious chocolate fabrics. Pick a flavor. Or a few.

left column, from top:
• Roman Stripe pillow (sand), $57, DeZign Home.
• Sequins, $57, DeZign Home.
• Zen leaf pillow, $47, DeZign Home.
• Caramel and cream Italian square pillow, $107, DeZign Home.

middle column, from top:
• Champagne Zen leaf pillow, $77, DeZign Home.
• Chocolate with sage Zen leaf pillow, $77, DeZign Home.
• Maria throw pillow, $14, Bali Moon Hawaii.

right column, from top:
• Green-fringed water lily pillow, $35, Archipelago by Studio Becker.
• Eastern embroidered floral, $17, Bali Moon Hawaii.
• Istanbul silk pillow, $120, Pacific Home.

>> BUILD YOUR OWN SOFA

Need a sofa to fit an unusual corner in your living room? Want an arm on the left of your sofa, but not on the right?

SoHa Living carries the Vanguard line of furniture, which lets you build your own sofa right down to the arm and foot style and the type of finish on the wood.

“With the sectionals, there are so many different configurations, it’s endless,” says Matthew Figueroa, SoHa Living.

The proverbial icing on the cake is Vanguard’s upholstery fabric, which comes in everything from solids and stripes to florals and paisleys.

“Chocolate and light blue—that’s definitely going on right now,” Figueroa says. “And a lot of people like the really subtle prints.”

Swatch Watch
left to right: cotton Sassy pattern in seaglass; rayon-polyester Bonbini pattern in blue topaz; Polyester-cotton printed pattern in poppy; Cotton-linen Cruise pattern in bay, by Vanguard Furniture, available at SoHa.

>> DESIGN LIKE THE DESIGNERS

Choosing the upholstery for your room can seem overwhelming at first. Aside from deciding on the color scheme, how do you work your fabrics together for maximum impact?

Margeaux sofa and slipper chair, from DeZign Home.

To make things easier, remember the decorator’s simple rule of 60-30-10: That is, use 60 percent of a dominant color, 30 percent of a secondary color and 10 percent of an accent color.

Note how the concept is played out in the picture to the left. Sixty percent of the furniture is in the dominant sky blue; 30 percent is in the chocolate and blue print on the slipper chair and square throw pillows; and a punchy 10 percent is in the solid chocolate accent pillow.

Swatch Watch
top to bottom: Duralee Fabrics Aqua Coral, from Johnny Mango at the Gentry Pacific Design Center, Bermuda Bay Tropica and Kast Fabrics Green Peridot. Courtesy of Archipelago by Studio Becker.

WHERE TO GET IT

Archipelago by Studio Becker 560 N. Nimitz Hwy., Suite 121A 536-7739 www.hnl.studiobecker.com Bali Moon Hawaii 66-145 Kamehameha Hwy. 637-0012 www.balimoonhawaii.com C. S. Wo gallery 702 S. Beretania St. 543-5388 www.cswo.com DeZign Home 455 Ward Ave. 791-3330 www.dezignhome.com Fine Linens & Furnishings 614 Cooke St., Suite 201 589-2737 Gentry pacific Design Center 560 N. Nimitz Hwy. 599-8284 www.gentrycenter.com

Hawaii Home Interiors 1130 N. Nimitz Hwy., Suite A-132 526-4663 www.HawaiiHomeInteriors.com Homeowners Design Center 1030 Kohou St., Suite 201 847-0216 www.homeownersdesign.com INspiration 98-1005 Moanalua Road 484-0245 www.inspirationinteriors.com Kreative Kamaaina 1804 Hart St. 841-8731 Pacific Home 420 Ward Ave. 596-9338 www.pacific-home.com SoHa living Ward Center 1200 Ala Moana Blvd. 591-9777 www.sohaliving.com