What to think about when choosing a fabric for uphostery

What to think about when choosing a fabric for uphostery :

When choosing to reupholster a favourite chair or sofá or any other piece of furniture there are many types of fabrics to choose from. Patterns, plains, textures, high durability, fibre types … Which is the one for you ?

What to think about and what to look for

Style and setting

What is the style of furniture and where do you want to put it ?

Is it casual, formal, trendy or classical ?

If you want to follow the latest fashion, is it something you want to be living with for a few years to come.

Plain or pattern ?

When choosing a pattern, the size of the design is something important to consider a smaller piece such as dining chair won’t show a large pattern to it’s full potential.

When mixing and matching different patterns it’s important that each pattern is on a different scale.

Why ? It stops patterns blending and making the room look too busy or confusing.

What about the character of the furniture ?

Do you want to keep the look it has but freshen it up or maybe you want a dramatic change ?

A classic style piece of furniture can look stunning brought up to date with a plain design, striking colour or even an animal print.

Which tones to go for

If you want a warm tone to your room then you need to be looking at undercurrents of yellow orange or red. Warm colours bring a sense of intimacy and comfort.

Cool colours ( hints of blue or white ) help create a sense of space and depth.

A very important factor that you need to look at is the type and durability of a chosen fabric.

Ornate embroidered designs are best saved for the rarely-used “accent”chair, for example, such as one placed in a guest bedroom. A stronger fabric for everyday domestic use.

All our fabrics come with recomendations for usage and information such as the “Martindale test” ( a test that mechanically measures the rubs of a fabric. In other words the durability) or the pilling test.

More helpful things to look out for are features such as water repellence, stain proof and fire retardant.

If you have pets look for a fabric with a tight weave, it helps prevent pet fur ingrading itself into the material.

Lastly, if you have allergies this is something else you need to take into consideration when making the final choice.

To view some of our recent upholstery jobs please go to our gallery