Hard Fibers VS. Soft Fabrics

In home design, specifically in the dressing of windows, there is a choice between soft fabrics and hard fibers and that choice is often the backbone of what will become your home’s entire aesthetic. Because windows are the vistas from which we view our lives, their appropriate adornment defines the aperture and tonality of any  room.

What is a hard fiber window treatment?

Hard fiber window treatments can be easily categorized as shutter-style treatments, though not all hard fibers treatments are shutters. There is a wide range of HF (hard fiber) treatments available in  grasscloth, woven wood shades and more. The best  hard fiber window treatments are made completely of natural wood types be it bamboo, cedar, papyrus or cypress. These premium materials offer the most natural textures and patterns.

This is not to say that the same beauty of natural wood cannot be replicated with cost effective man made materials. Components such as PVC and plastics also qualify as hard fiber treatment materials. More malleable than the completely natural fibers, manmade hard fibers manifest in more extensive variations such as shutters, blinds or shades.

What are the benefits of having hard fiber?

The benefits of hard fiber window treatments which you can see more here can truly reveal themselves over the course of time. As they are protective against UV damage that can quickly diminish the beauty of lacquered or wood flooring.Hard fiber window treatments are  lower maintenance to keep looking pristine: just wipe with a dry or damp cloth. Finally,hard fiber treats boast enhanced durability. Tougher than silks or satins, hard fiber window treatment are better suited to the wear and tear. Hard fiber window treatments boast a clean modern aesthetic and timeless classic quality.

What is a soft fabric window treatment?

Soft fabric window treatments are often exactly as they sound: always in textile materials, they are pliable to the touch, luxurious and dramatic. Fabric window treatments make a big impact in any space they hang. These types of window treatment range from transparent silks or light catching linens to sumptuous velvets. Soft window treatments have a enormous range of texture, thicknesses and variety as every nation in the world has a fabric that in sits at the heart of their own individual cultural identity. Because of this, if it can be loomed or worn, it can in be used as material for a soft fabric window treatment.

What are the benefits of having soft fabric 

The true power of soft fabric window treatments lays in their incredible tactile ability to evoke history, place, culture or mood. When we think of the golden hallways of Versailles and the spectacular arched windows and view ways there, that vision is always accompanied by the decadent velveteens and embroidered silks which frame and billow in those resplendent views. Fabric window treatments possess a kind of transportive power that hard fiber windows could seldom ever achieve. Because soft fabrics are affect by the environment, they move in wind and seem to change color or tone with the daylight, they feel more alive, intimate and connected to place. We can wrap ourself in fabric, as children many of us might have used a fabric drape as a playful hiding place. This connection to our sense of touch and even nostalgia is what makes fabric window nothing only able to draw out emotions in a space but truly evocative of narrative

written by Claudette Davis 

Social Media Specialist

For Jacoby Company