Why Household Undergarments Are So Important

Most of us would not even consider clothing ourselves without first donning our undergarments. These undergarments help shape us, hold us, contain us, smooth us and protect us and our valuable wardrobe. So why are we so half-hearted and laid back when it comes to the undergarments of our home?

“Carpets, curtains, pillows, tablecloths, mattresses, even lamp shades all have their undergarments that function just like our sartorial undergarments do,” designer Wendy Monette has pointed out. “Just as you would wear a slip to prevent a dress from shifting, riding up and wrinkling, a good quality carpet pad prevents your area rug from sliding, shifting, wrinkling and developing lumps, ridges and waves.”

Seamus Leahy of Beauvais Carpets recommends an “anchor” of 1/8-thick solid, rubber padding for flat weaves.

“The thin rubber pad grips both the floor and the carpet and is especially good for thin, flat-weave carpets that would otherwise crumple and slide,” he reported.

A good quality pad will also increase the longevity of the carpet, preventing abrasive wear and breakdown of the carpet fibers. For a lusher, softer feel, Mr. Leahy recommends DuraHold, a padding that features a sandwiching of a rubber bottom and a thicker hair and jute top.

But these thicker grip pads are appropriate only to thick, heavy area rugs. If the area rugs are thin and they are placed on a thick pad, wrinkles will occur and the edge of the carpet will “smile,” or lift up. Traditional hair and jute 40-ounce padding has always been used by expert carpet installers to help prolong the life of the carpet by providing an undergarment layer between a hard cement or wood floor, which would wear out the carpet’s backing. Lower-priced synthetic hair and jute is more commonly used now due to economics. And it still provides a softer cushion and insulating warmth. The thicker pad also smooths out the lumps and gouges in the floor when installing broadloom wall to wall.

The padding not recommended by professionals is the rubber mesh-type, which is cheaper but disintegrates quickly, wrinkles easily and does not give richness of look that the thicker, better quality, solid rubber pad does.

Curtains have their undergarments too: a lining and interlining. If your curtains have a flaccid, limp look to them, if they are thin and skimpy, odds are they have no lining or interlining.

When you view curtains in the shelter magazines that flow, that have body, substance and grace, most likely they have a cotton lining on their back and a thicker flannel interlining sandwiched in between the backing and the main fabric. These linings help the main body fabric hang smoother, adding body to the curtain treatment, enhancing the drape of the curtain, and like a good satin slip, smooths the crinkles and wrinkles.

Both linings protect the main body fabric from bleaching and deteriorating structurally.

Heavy curtains, in the English mode, that are designed to keep out the drafts, are quite out of fashion now. Though beautiful and quite appropriate in the great houses of London, these thick curtains interlined with a heavy table felt, called “bump,” feel quite claustrophobic to our current sensibilities. Bump, though, is an appropriate interlining when the drapery reaches above 12 feet, which is now seen in some homes that stack their windows to dizzying heights.

Your sleeping pillows, too, have undergarments. There’s nothing more unattractive than seeing through the thin sheeted pillowcase and beholding a water-stained pillow.

Pillow protectors to the rescue! These easy-to-unzip-and-remove protective cases are washable and also give an extra opaque layer, saving wear on your valuable down pillow. If your low thread-count sheets are very thin, these pillow protectors also cover the striped ticking thoroughly. And like any good undergarment, they smooth the lumps, crinkles and wrinkles. And just like interlining, these also add body.

A good, high thread-count lining for seat cushions and throw pillows is also essential to prevent the feathers from popping through.

A great trick I learned from noted designer Gary Crain follows in the undergarment theme. Table skirts are almost always lined, but to give extra richness, bounce, body and fullness, Mr. Crain always laid a quilted mattress cover over the table before covering it with the tablecloth—a thick heavy beach towel or a blanket can give the same effect of a voluptuous rounding of the table’s edge.

The enriching of the bed could be another article in itself, but suffice to say that the mattress alone does not cut the mustard in terms of appearing full, inviting, soft and filling out the bottom sheet. The industry has met the challenge head-on with mattress covers. No matter how flat your mattress appears, for very little dinero, you can plump it up to perfection with a little underdressing.

The world of lamp shades is always a designer’s bugaboo, and with the lean economy drying up some of the best workrooms, the art of the well-made lamp shade is quickly making itself scarce. Good news though is that some vendors have remained and continue to show us that lined and interlined shades can exist.

A well-made lamp shade’s undergarments lie in the interlining that prevents the ugly harp, shade frame and shadowed lightbulb from silhouetting themselves. The interlining (as will all the other household undergarments mentioned so far) contributes to the longevity of the shade, the softness and richness of the light and the full substantial appearance of the lamp shade itself.

Homeowners, in trying to cut corners, might forget and eliminate the home’s undergarments. Just as your Spanx, bras, slips, boxers or briefs are an integral part of your wardrobe, to help you look your best, your home’s undergarments are just as important to your visual comfort. And just like so many of the uplifting and restorative bodily effects of the above-mentioned unmentionables, undergarments for your home will also go a long way in prolonging the life of your furnishings and fabrics.

Or simply put, don’t short-sheet your home.