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Upholstered Furniture

What’s the best upholstery fabric?

Kristen G. from Redmond called to say that she was looking at some fabric swatches and wanted to make sure the fabric would clean easily. Her choices were beautiful, but fragile and sensitive to spills, so maybe not the best choice for her use.  Her next question: “What’s best?”

“What’s best” depends on your use and expectations.  If you want something that is high style and finely tailored, you have lots of choices.  If you want a fabric that is budget and pet friendly and will last through the teen years, you have lots of choices.  If you want all of the above in one fabric you won’t have many choices, so the best choice for you will often be a balance between practical and pretty.

Durable, synthetic fabrics may be a good choice for high-use furniture, but offer fewer color, pattern and texture choices.  It is not uncommon for more expensive fabrics to be the most care sensitive.  Silk, moiré, metal weaves and hand-painted fabrics can be visually striking but may not be designed with durability in mind and probably shouldn’t be selected for high-use areas.

Finding the best upholstery fabric for your application will require you to make an honest assessment of your intended use, your budget considerations and how long you expect your furniture to last before being reupholstered or replaced.  Experienced design professionals, furniture salespersons and upholsterers can guide you with a fabric selection that will provide years of enjoyment.  We are happy to share our fabric cleaning experience as you consider your fabric choices – and future cleaning.  Just call us at 206.782.2268.