Whether you’re looking to purchase something brand new or you want to freshen up your perfectly good furniture to fit your changing interior decoration, you should stop and think about the upholstery that your furniture will be covered in before you make a move. The right upholstery can be beautiful as well as easy to maintain in the environment you’ve created but some types of material may be unsuitable for your home. Learn about the pros and cons of each material so that you can choose upholstery that will please your eye but won’t stress you out during house cleaning.
High Traffic Areas
Children, pets, or even guests that are prone to spilling can be detrimental to your upholstery if the material doesn’t suit this kind of treatment. One mishap with a glass of wine or a juice box that is squeezed a little too hard can mean a stain that never goes away if the material on your furniture is difficult to clean and you’ll be heartbroken over the marring of your carefully chosen interior design.
Synthetic fabrics are inexpensive, come in an expansive number of colors and designs, are easy to clean, and offer upholstery that is resistant to virtually anything that your children, pets, or guests will throw at it. When guacamole spills on the couch during an extreme hand gesture on football Sunday, the dog jumps on the chair to join you while you’re reading, or your toddler rolls over on his snack crackers after falling asleep with the bowl in his hand, you won’t gasp in horror at the damage that might have been done. The dip can be scooped or scrubbed, the dog hair will come right off, and those snack crackers won’t get crushed all the way into the fabric when you synthetic material as your upholstery. It won’t be as soft and comfortable as some others but you’ll have much more peace of mind about the beauty of your furniture.
Wool is more expensive than synthetic fabrics but if you have it treated, it can exhibit similar resistance to stains and it is naturally durable so it can last for years…even decades. The material is courser than synthetic fabrics or other materials so it is often overlooked as an option but the extra cost and sacrifice of softness is well worth it in the end.
Low Traffic Areas
If you have a formal dining room or parlor in your home, there are some fabrics that you can choose that look amazing and will be safer from stains and tears in the area that is rarely used.
Silk is strictly a no kids and pets fabric! It looks and feels luxurious but it is very expensive and nearly impossible to clean. If there is a spill and something marks the fabric, it’s likely that the mark will be there forever. The extra cost is really only worth it if this furniture will be used carefully.
Cotton is very porous and has similar issues when it comes to cleaning but the softness of the fabric and the fact that it’s usually less expensive than silk can make it ideal for an area like a library or study. You can have cotton treated by professionals to help lessen the risk of staining and tears and dark colors can further deter such things from showing should they happen to occur.
Consider Carefully
While it’s true that you can simply change your upholstery if it becomes stained or torn beyond repair but do you really want to have to do that on a regular basis? Think about who will be using your furniture, where you will place it, and how often you’ll probably have to clean it before you make final decisions about upholstery. Visit Wolf Gordon for more ideas and the help of professionals that are dedicated to making your next upholstery decision your most satisfactory.
