Maybe it’s the couches at your local coworking spot, or the accent pillows at a just-opened wine bar, but velvet is everywhere. As Curbed’s latest feature explains, velvet is the newly hip antidote to a modern, high-tech world that’s increasingly hard and smooth; it’s a warm and stimulating texture that draws on both old-fashioned luxury and contemporary design.
There’s no avoiding velvet’s original connotation as a luxury textile, but modern manufacturing has made velvet available to the masses at lower price points. And new, tightly woven “performance velvet” is created from solution-dyed acrylic in order to resist wear and tear, making it surprisingly resilient and family-friendly.
Still, velvet’s best attributes take center stage, no matter the weave: It’s plush, soft to the touch, and offers a rich color saturation. Below, see our picks for how to incorporate velvet into your home, from sumptuous pillows to lounge-worthy sofas.