The fabric of the sofa is as important as the design. Without the right fabric selection, even the most wonderful furniture designs can end up looking weak and ordinary. Talking about the best fabric sofa, different elements come into play and add up to understanding how to pick the perfect fabric sofa for your office or residence. Durability, maintenance, comfort, usage, color, pattern, and texture are a few of the most vital aspects you keep in mind before picking the most appropriate sofa option.
Pointing out one fabric type and categorizing it as the best fabric for a sofa is challenging and inappropriate. The sofa design, style, and usage are significant in understanding which fabric will work well on it. Some sofa fabric sets are creating a buzz in the interior design world. These include jewel-toned velvet sofa sets, suede sofas, leather sofa sets, and sofas adorned in jute fabric. Let's look at some popular fabric options for sofas and understand the above-mentioned factors regarding each fabric choice.
Leather Sofa
One important factor that must be considered in choosing a fabric sofa is its durability. It depends on the strength of the structure and the fabric quality used for upholstery.
A leather sofa is a good investment since a pure leather sofa tends to be quite expensive compared to the other fabrics, but the robust look and rich feel that leather can lend to a simple upholstered sofa is highly attractive. Leather sofas are a preferred choice for lounge areas and even the living areas. The tufted leather sofa is ideal for offices to create an impactful interior.
Procuring leather sofas definitely needs you to have a good budget for furniture. When the budget is a constraint, one can opt for high-quality laterite. Laterite can provide a similar look and feel for a sofa while cutting down on its cost drastically. Opt for high-end and quality laterite to ensure longevity.
Leather as a fabric is durable and can hold well over time. Most leather fabrics and finishes come with a stain-resistant finish and are perfect for comfortable living room sofas. However, this material is prone to scratches, and low-quality leather often cracks when exposed to humidity and temperature fluctuations. The color variety and texture added through the leather sofa helps enhance the visual appeal of the area. It also adds more depth and intensity to the interior of the place.
Velvet and Suede upholstery for sofas
Velvet and suede are two all-time favorite fabrics for creating elegant and plush sofa sets. These fabrics tend to possess a shine, making them ideal for a fabric sofa. They do not fade easily and add a rich luster that enhances the look of an upholstered sofa. They are also soft to touch and don’t lose the thread when used. Furthermore, they can withstand exposure to sunlight and are great for outdoor lounging and indoor placement close to a big window. The smooth finish and soft touch make these sofas very cozy to use for furniture. Their added quality to be folded and turned easily makes it possible to attain a flawless finish for complex designs.
velvet fabric
To ensure you get the best velvet sofa for your house or office, opt for high-quality velvet that leaves fewer marks and has a dense pile for an ultra-luxe look. The beautiful rich velvet sofa is quite a treat for the eyes in residential drawing rooms and living areas. While dolling up the interiors for commercial spaces like a salon, or a high-end retail store, opt for the best velvet sofa for a modish and eye-catchy look. These sofas are sure to create a high appeal and attractive vibe for any commercial space and are quite a favorite in the segment of furniture designing. They are amongst the most versatile fabrics for sofas that you can come across, and the color options available are endless.
suede fabric
Suede is also an amazing fabric for creating beautiful textured and matt finishes for sofa sets. If you love subtle and under-toned glam, you are sure to fall in love with a sofa upholstered in suede instantly. A fabric sofa in suede is smooth and soft to touch. It gets set well on furniture and creates amazingly comfortable, snug, and welcoming seating for sofas. The beautiful self-textured options in suede make the fabric look royal and lend a refined look to the upholstered sofas.
Cheap velvet sofa sets, as well as low-quality suede sofa sets, are a big NO for use in residential spaces. The quality and density of the fabric used in these sofas speak for themselves. Velvet and suede should be hand vacuumed at home regularly for better upkeep and maintenance.
Linen and Jute for the earthy and neutral look
Linen is a great and durable fabric, but it is difficult to keep it wrinkle-free and crisp at all times. As linen is more popular in lighter tones, the fabric sofa made with linen can be challenging to maintain, especially, to keep it stain-free in a house with kids and pets. Nevertheless, the earthy tones and the natural look that the fabrics bring to any furniture make them an all-time favorite for the casual look of sofas at home.
Another reason to pick linen and jute sofas for interior projects is that the look of these sofas easily fits into most interior themes and concepts. The neutral-colored linen or jute fabric sofa will help make the areas look more open and create an ambiance that remains evergreen. While bold colors can get overpowering and boring, after a while, the soft neutrals have the inherent quality of creating timeless elegance with great ease.
Cotton
Cotton is a light and breezy fabric that is highly durable. One may add a protective coating to the cotton fabric sofa to make it resistant to stains. But this still does not guarantee complete protection against spills and dirt. However, cotton is not the best choice for sofa fabric that needs to be placed in a high-traffic area; you can consider using it for making sofa cushions. Dark colors in cotton tend to fade over time when exposed to sunlight, so consider cotton only for an indoor sofa. For these reasons, we see cotton fabric sofas are less popular, and this fabric is used relatively low for sofas.
Wool
Wool is a natural fabric that is ideal for making sofas. It is durable and warm, and it is easy to spot clean sofas made with wool. The problem of piling and wrinkles does not come in the case of sofas made with this natural fabric. Wool is a great option for houses and offices in the colder regions as this fabric retains heat. For the same reason, it doesn’t work that well for sofas in any place in the hotter temperature zones.
Other things to keep in mind while picking sofa upholstery
Once you are clear about what fabric suits you the best according to the usage, durability, budget, and maintenance factors, it comes down to choosing the right color and pattern for the sofa upholstery.
Tips for picking a sofa fabric
Sofa for a small area
If you are picking fabric for a sofa that is to go in a relatively smaller room, opting for lighter colors and neutral-toned fabric can help make the space look open and big. Prints and patterns can be overwhelming and too striking for the eyes when the empty area around the sofa is less. In the case of a smaller-sized sofa, large patterns do not sit well.
The alignment of the chosen print is really important in a fabric sofa. If the design is such that the print is getting cut oddly, it will give you a sofa that looks chaotic to the eyes. So, here, a solid-colored fabric sofa is the best and most classy way of making a grand and impressive statement.
Sofa for larger areas
Bold colors and patterns go extremely well for sofas meant for large spaces. Another consideration is the overall color scheme of that area. The fabric sofa color must be such that it creates a good contrast to the surrounding walls. But if the place has a lot of dynamic artwork on the walls and colorful rugs to compliment it, pick a soft, light sofa fabric to create a good balance of color in the space.
Now that you know all about sofa upholstery, shop and explore now!