With the country focused on the stars and stripes at the London Olympics, a rundown of the most compelling textile stripes currently in the market seems particularly appropriate. Stripes on wallcoverings and upholstery provide an outlet to play with multiple color palettes, texture and  pattern, without too much risk or thought. It’s the ultimate a win-win situation.

From understated to bold, today’s textile stripes make a statement that sticks.

1. River Aire Collection

DESIGNER: Kristie Strasen
MANUFACTURER: Place Textiles
PRICE: $115-$130/yard
65% linen, 35% lamb’s wool

Place Textiles’ Kristie Strasen has a keen eye for understated luxury, which can be seen in the stripes of her River Aire collection. The textiles have an amazingly soft hand and wonderful drape, perfect for both upholstery and drapery, and walls as well.

2. Palio
DESIGNER: Alexander Girard
MANUFACTURER: Maharam
PRICE: $82/linear yard
61% cotton, 39% solution-dyed post-industrial recycled nylon

Maharam has re-introduced Palio by Alexander Girard, originally designed as a printed textile for the Herman Miller Textile Division in 1964. Girard drew inspiration from his world travels, as well as from his fascination with traditional folk art. This playful take on a stripe reflects these influences, utilizing vivid color and simple geometry. Palio's motifs, colors and name are drawn from the famous bareback horse race held semi-annually in Siena, Italy. The motifs are based on the emblematic banners and flags of Siena's city districts or contrada.

3. Sway
DESIGNER: Trove
MANUFACTURER: Knoll Textiles
PRICE: $54/yard
69% cellulose and polyester, 31% recycled polyester

Trove’s use of geometry has always referenced nature’s organic and imperfect interruption of the mechanical or automatic. Sway is a study of the sustained movement of one gesture to create geometry. For this pattern for Knoll Textiles, the designers experimented using time as a measure for creating each painting. They would create paintings at varied units of time using stopwatches so that each line was a visual record of each measurement.

4.  Awning
MANUFACTURER: Carnegie
PRICE: $56/linear yard
Xorel

Xorel Graphic is a ground breaking wallcovering collection that merges digital printing with woven design. The collection opens the doors to endless design possibilities. Awning Graphic is the classic bold stripe with a woven twist, demonstrating the balanced influence of digital and woven.

5. Variant
MANUFACTURER: Designtex
PRICE: Available upon request
60% acrylic, 25% polyester, 15% cotton

Variant, from the Modern Perspective collection gets its appeal from the play of brilliant colors and variable pile heights. The resulting equation is a sophisticated textured stripe which creates interest in all directions.

6. Halina Strip
DESIGNER: Cr©ation Baumann
MANUFACTURER: Carnegie
PRICE: $$135/linear yard
Trevira CS

Lengthwise pleating and crosswise embossing result in a texturally sophisticated look with this fabric. The base of the Trevira CS weave is a simple dobby fabric, but the inclusion of a thick and heavy weft yarn results in sporadic, dense stripes alternating with transparent stripes. A pleating process introduces high and low folds into the fabric, which shortens the textile's original length by 50 percent. The heavier yarn does not follow the pleating folds and creates an irregular, sculptural effect.

7. Journey
MANUFACTURER: Mayer Fabrics
PRICE: $26.95 net
100% polyester

A versatile, Crypton treated textile, Journey from Mayer Fabrics allows a variegated stripe to introduce stylish texture and pattern into heavily trafficked areas.

8. Striped Collection (Panorama)
MANUFACTURER: Momentum
PRICE: $58/yard
Dimensions

Striped Collection from Momentum is a selection of upholstery featuring radiant color combinations and designs that are at once classic and modern. The extensive color palette was inspired by European fashion and colors such as coral and teal intermingle with navy, chocolate brown, and other rich neutrals. Each colorway in the collection is composed of six to nine different hues, which allows for limitless coordination opportunities in a multitude of interior environments.

9. Legacy
MANUFACTURER: Carnegie
PRICE: $95/linear yard
78% wool, 22% polyester

Part of the Tribute Collection, a compilation of fabrics and textiles inspired by Carnegie’s founder, Mr. Bob Goldman.  Legacy is a drapery that adds a sense of casual elegance to Tribute. Three colors are horizontally blocked across the fabric in a loose weave providing a relaxed and calm feel.

10. Ottoman Stripe
DESIGNER: Paul Smith
MANUFACTURER: Maharam
PRICE: $125/yard
92% wool, 8% nylon

Ottoman Stripe by Paul Smith is the latest textile in a comprehensive series of stripes designed by the British fashion designer in collaboration with the Maharam Design Studio. The stripe brings new dimension to a familial yet unique language of stripes by punctuating a lustrous worsted wool satin ground with intervals of horizontal texture in the form of a tightly woven ottoman rib weave.

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