Sourcing Notes Creating a thread with textiles Interior designer Sean Symington on British textile archives, unexpected combinations and an instinct for bringing a scheme to life. Sean Symington Interior Designer October 15, 2026 | 3 min read I’ve always been confident at mixing layers and textiles, although I think the more experience you have, the better you get. It’s like practising anything. I do feel with textiles that you need a jumping-off point. A brand like Zardi & Zardi, for example, has wonderful large-scale prints, like Primavera, with multiple colours. We’ll use a fabric like that to start with, then layer on top of it. When I see an amazing textile, I get so excited; I instantly start to visualise what I can put it with. I could probably spend hours pulling things together, thinking about what could go with it and drawing out the colours from the fabric. That’s definitely my forte. “I do feel with textiles that you need a jumping-off point.” Interior Designer, Sean Symington Pattern and texture layered throughout a Knightsbridge townhouse by Sean Symington. Photography by Chris Wakefield. The right combination Layering and putting it all together is the part of the design process that excites me most. Each piece is an ingredient, like baking a pie; it’s about looking at all of it together. What’s so great about British textiles is the archives they draw from. Allyson McDermott is a great example; her Chinoiserie panels are incredible, and her patterns look as though they’ve been around for 100 years. I hate the word rules, but when it comes to layering textiles, it’s about mixing scale, pattern and texture: having a large-scale organic print next to a geometric, a floral with a stripe, a mixed with a plain. Organic and geometric textiles, and cushions in contrasting scales of pattern, by Sean Symington. Photography by Chris Wakefield. “Each piece is an ingredient, like baking a pie; it’s about looking at all of it together.” Interior Designer, Sean Symington It’s hard for me to choose a favourite fabric, but I love Teyssier Firenze. It’s an amazing flame stitch with the most incredible colours, and it looks different in every interior. Oddly traditional in a way, but you can make it anything. I recently discovered Zigzag by Virginia White at the textile showroom LineUp in Chelsea: it’s different from what I would normally go for, but the emeraldy, grassy green and motif is fantastic. I also like Speronalla Marsh’s woven plains; the colours are great and the texture is amazing. Ultimately, though, when we’re specifying a fabric, it always comes down to how it complements the scheme. Sourced by Sean Symington LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DESIGNER The House Upstairs The Penny Sofa By Sean Symington £4,200 Virginia White Collection Zig Zag Woven – Fabric Enquire Speronella Marsh Trama – Verdura – Fabric Enquire Zardi & Zardi Primavera – Wallpaper Enquire Teyssier Coralie – Fabric Enquire Teyssier Pagoda Garden – Fabric Enquire Allyson McDermott Howick Hall – Chinoiserie Enquire GP & J Baker Poppy Sprig – Denim – Fabric Enquire GP & J Baker Tuffley Enquire Teyssier Firenze – Fabric Enquire GP & J Baker Symington Stripe – Green/Blue Enquire The House Upstairs The Penny Ottoman By Sean Symington £1,695