When a lining is not just a lining, but so much more

There are a range of lining textiles available, so it’s essential to understand its purpose when making your choice.

For example, if you plan on sleeping until midday a blackout (or blockout) is the best option as it will completely block light filtration, allowing you to rest in blissful darkness. Blackouts are especially popular in hotels and the homes of shift workers or young children.

Once upon a time, blackout linings were desperately practical. Available in white or off white with a three-pass coating on the back (three layers of acrylic based flock). Nowadays, there are endless colour choices, allowing you to amplify the tone of a sheer or complement your interior or exterior wall colour. In addition tmeasureo acrylic backings, silicone offers practical benefits such as washability and because dust won’t stick to silicone, it is great for those with dust allergies.

Completely blocking light, enhancing your drapery’s thermal and acoustic performance, and adding volume and UV protection to the face fabric, linings are an incredibly effective addition to any interior.

Alternatively, if you’re not seeking a midday sleep in but desire a simple solution for your living and shared spaces, a quality dimout (or triple weave) will significantly reduce light.

A dimout will bring body to a face fabric, provide excellent sound and temperature regulation, and offer excellent washability without a coated finish.

Like coated linings they have recently ‘come of age’ and in addition to practical plains that live behind your drape, dimouts are available in interesting weaves and even prints to provide fantastic design opportunities and allow the lining to become the hero at the window.

Growing in popularity in residential and commercial interiors, a double track system allows the face fabric, such as a sheer, and the lining to be installed on separate tracks. This technique provides an element of control over how much light enters the space.

Here you may like to introduce a lining with surface interest as it may occasionally be used on its own or install it facing into the room if the sheer is on the window side and left permanently drawn for privacy (hello urban dwellers).

When you next consider how to address the tricky subject of draperies you can feel confident that variety abounds, because gone are the days of boring lining options. Play with texture and tone to bring another element of interest into your space in the most subtle yet functional of ways.

Read more: How to choose the right lining