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Such an exotic word, passementerie. French, of course, so we stumble over the pronunciation, (păs-mĕnˈtrē), and wonder what? In my Seattle interior design practice, I absolutely love to use trims. Here are the various types of trimmings and how you can use them. ( All images courtesy of Samuel and Sons)

• FRINGE - border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips

• BORDERS, TAPES, BANDS - tapes disguise unruly sewing or may join two fabrics

• GIMP - disguise ugly staples on an upholstered chair

• TASSEL TIEBACK - Tassel tiebacks offer an alternative and keep draperies secured to one side

Samuel and Sons is my favorite resource for trimmings or passementerie.. Truly they lead in design for trims with a ready inventory for projects. You can custom design a trim if you desire to make a personal statement. And speaking of statements, the ads placed by Samuel and Sons are showstoppers too!

The ultimate resource for trims-Samuel and Sons

Tags: Faith Sheridan Design Group, interior designer Seattle WA, passementerie, Samuel and Sons, trims for upholstery and draperies
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Over a year or so ago I started to use tape trim on chairs for a fresh interior design detail. As an interior designer I check out my subscriptions and notice them liberally applied in magazine photos. Tapes are a departure from welts and stuffy gimp.

Pink trim with small nailhead

At Hickory Chair I provide a drawing to customize upholstered dining chairs for my clients such a as the chair shown. Each chair design is distinctive and are hand made according to my specifications. Suzanne Kasler’s Amsterdam Side Chair featured above is antique ivory covered with natural linen and pink grosgrain ribbon secured with petite nail trim spaced every third nail in lieu of welt trim.

Samuel & Sons Passementerie is a leading importer, designer, and distributor of fine trims for interior design. Exclusive collections are created with materials such as silk, wool, glass and jade. Samuel & Sons is headquartered in New York City and was founded in 1982.

More from Samuel and Sons

The next time you consider recovering upholstery let your imagination take hold and turn to tapes as a decorative element.

Tags: design detail, passementerie, Seattle interior designer, trims for upholstery
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My love affair with Houles trimmings is longstanding. They are a splurge worth every $ spent! The French word for trimmings is passementerie.
The fine art of passementerie, defined by the French as the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings, has spanned centuries upon centuries. In ancient Egyptian times, silver and gold threads were woven into braid. Tassels that adorned robes in ancient China were also used as handles to lift the robes showing no weapons were concealed underneath. In Jacobean times, fringes and tassels were used to soften the hard and harsh interiors of their homes. Elizabethan household inventories also detailed bed curtains trimmed in fringe and braids.

In Marie Antoinette’s day, passementerie lavishly decorated the king’s bedchambers and the queen’s boudoir as well as their clothing. It is said that Marie Antoinette commissioned a tassel in the shape of a bird cage—including the bird. After the French Revolution, passementerie was reserved for the military only. Napoleon I, however, gave rise to the art again by having the passementiers weave the much-heralded Napoleonic Bee into the braids and gimps of his day.
Today we see trims in all decorating styles from the chic and shabby home, eclectic vintage, lush Victorian, modern city, easy country, and all styles in between.

Houles is one of the leading providers of trims with great diversity. The photos say it all. Tres chic!

Tags: Houles trims, passementerie, Trimmings
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