Kirkby Design
2,411 fabrics from Kirkby Design in our library, across 79 collections. Narrow them in the finder, then feel the shortlist at the Heybridge showroom.
- Where
- Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England
- Known for
- Graphic contemporary upholstery cloths and wallcoverings
About Kirkby Design
Kirkby Design is one of the six brands of The Romo Group, and dates itself only loosely: its own about page says it has been going for over a decade. The group behind it was founded in 1902 by Robert Mould, who started a small furniture manufacturing business in Nottingham, and it is still family run in its fifth generation from Sutton-in-Ashfield.
Upholstery cloth is what Kirkby Design is mainly known for, alongside contemporary drapery fabrics and wallcoverings. It works in texture as much as pattern, using constructions such as wool, chenille boucle and quilted velvet, and mixes bold designs with quiet ones. It has also run some genuinely unusual collaborations: with Jon Burgerman, Tom Dixon, Eley Kishimoto, and with Transport for London, reinterpreting the moquette patterns from the Underground.
Moquette is a serious upholstery cloth and it is no accident that it turns up here. If a piece is going somewhere punishing, a Kirkby texture is often the one that survives it while still looking designed.
Sources, checked in July 2026: kirkbydesign.com/company/about-us, kirkbydesign.com/brands, romo.com/company/about-us
The collections we hold.
Every one of these is in the library, tagged and searchable. Open a collection in the finder, or ask us to bring the book.
Sahara Iii
106 fabrics
Smooth Iii
88 fabrics
Crush Iii
85 fabrics
Ice Ii
56 fabrics
Chelsea Ii
54 fabrics
Soho
48 fabrics
Pergola
47 fabrics
Utility
47 fabrics
Picnicoutdoor
46 fabrics
Fabric collections and photography courtesy of the fabric houses we hold.
The palette, as it actually falls.
Counted across the whole range we hold, not chosen. Each swatch opens the fabric it was taken from.
grey
355
beige
221
taupe
192
teal
191
blue
172
green
154
cream
153
terracotta
143
brown
133
olive
121
What it is, and what it will take.
- Mostly polyester
- 36% of the compositions we hold lead on polyester, then cotton, viscose, linen
- 140 cm wide
- the usual bolt width here, on 48% of the range
- 6,000 to 190,000 rubs
- Martindale figures published on 2,123 fabrics, 1,588 of them rated 40,000 and over
- Pattern
- plain (1,340), textured (431), geometric (336)
- Made for
- upholstery (1,338), curtains and upholstery (842), wallpaper (134), curtains (97)
- Types
- Fabric (2,202), Wallpaper (134), Outdoor (75)
What this house publishes with every fabric, as a share of the ones we hold:
- What it is made of 94%
- Width 94%
- Pattern repeat 36%
- Rub test 88%
- Care 99%
Where we use it.
Houses that sit well beside it.
- Romo2,909 fabrics in the library
- VillanovaContemporary prints, weaves and wallcoverings
- Zinc Textile1,209 fabrics in the library
Bring the room, we will bring the books.
Send a photograph and a rough size and we will reply with a personal quote, using an average price fabric.