Country style with hessian

Hessian is the country decorator’s magic ingredient

There’s a robust purity in hessian that captures the essence of country style. The stuff of garden sacking and household supplies, this tough woven cloth spells hard-wearing serviceability, yet its natural quality also reflects the texture of haystacks and ploughed earth. Combine it with traditional elements of country decorating and it becomes the most versatile of furnishing fabrics, lending understated strength to daintier colours. Take inspiration from its organic character and set it against traditional surfaces such as plain wood, flaking stonework and rough-plastered walls. Match it with woven basketware and rush matting, and add decorative details with the natural hemp of garden twine and parcel string. Or use it as a background for fresh colours, contrasting its sober neutrality with the startling pinks and greens of the earliest spring blooms and the decorative shapes of flowers, ferns and foliage. Dress up its homely simplicity with buttons, bows, silk braid and embroidery, and offset its rugged weave with the smooth surfaces of glazed ceramics and sparkling glass.

•    Pile chairs and settles with cushions in a mixture of hessian, linen and other textured fabrics. Add understated decoration by stitching narrow pin tucks into the cloth, or binding the sides with simple blanket stitch or fraying the raw edges for instant fringing.

•    Use plain garden twine to make simple cushion fastenings, stitching a row of chunky wooden or leather buttons along one side of the opening, then attaching short lengths of twine to the opposite side so that they can be looped or tied around the buttons.

•    Let the rustic texture and organic style of hessian fabric inspire other natural accessories such as wreaths. Make a simple version by twisting stems of clematis or wisteria into a circle and decorating them with flower heads.

•    Use basic household sacks to create ready-made laundry bags and cushion covers. Stitch a deep hem around the open edge and thread a length of cord or hemp through it to provide a drawstring for the bag, or slot a pillow or bolster inside, then add a row of neat buttons across the opening.  

•    Make use of hessian’s heavy, loose-woven structure to create simple curtains that fall into natural folds.

•    Cut a length of plain hessian or subtly patterned linen into a simple tablecloth, set the table with woven rush mats, and contrast this textured background with gleaming enamel and smooth-glazed ceramics.

•    Offset the simplest hessian sackcloth with accessories in more luxurious weaves and occasional flashes of colour: soft woven silks, printed linens and bright cotton velvets.

•    Extend the hessian theme into the bedroom, where its simple serviceability will throw decorative fabrics and details into elegant relief. Use it to make neutral pelmets and bedcovers, offsetting prettier colours and softer layers.

•    Solid artisan-style furniture will match the rustic feel of hessian, and a splash of vibrant colour will give it a brighter, decorative feel.

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