Have you ever sat on the tube looking at the seat opposite and thought to yourself "I need that in my life?" Nope, me neither - yet Kirkby Design have collaborated with Transport For London to recreate five of their traditional geometric patterns into furnishing fabrics for the home. This collection has been out for a few months now and when I first saw this in the Romo showroom last year I admit, I dismissed it as a gimmick, so was certainly surprised to see it turn up in the workshop this week. An interior designer who we regularly work for had shown it to a client who instantly fell in love and they ended up building an entire scheme around it. We are using "Marylebone" in Lime for piped scatter cushions on a grey Minotti corner sofa which, despite my initial reservations about the fabric, I know will look great in this particular setting.
Kirby's take on these iconic designs are printed onto a much softer, more luxurious velvet than the traditional spiky moquette favoured by TFL and most of the colourways are far more usable so it is growing on me but ultimately I'm still not convinced. They are, however, ideal if you have incontinent family members as their ability to hide stains is unrivalled.