Choosing the Best Material for Your Sofa
Which fabric to choose is one of the biggest decisions to make when selecting your new couch as the fabric affects many things such as how easy it is to clean, durability, fade resistance and more. Here is a guide to different types of sofa fabrics as well as their advantages and disadvantages:
Types of Fabrics
There are lots of fabrics to choose from, but these fabrics basically fall into two categories – natural and synthetic. As a rule of thumb, natural fabrics can be harder to clean than synthetics and less durable. Harder fabrics such as leather are more durable and therefore give advantages over the long run.
Natural Fabrics
Cotton is a common natural fabric, it provides good resistance to wear, fading and pilling, but it is hard to clean and wrinkles, however it can be blended with other fabrics to counter these problems. Leather sofas are extremely popular. Leather is one of the most widely used fabrics for seating, it provides strong durability and comes in many colours and finishes, it is also easy to clean and gets softer with age. Linen is commonly white and therefore soils easily as well as wrinkling easily. However linen does resist pilling and fading but it does need to be professionally cleaned to avoid shrinking. Silk couches are uncommon and very luxurious, as well as great to look at, but they do need to be professionally cleaned if they are soiled. Wool is another common natural fabric and often has patterns woven in, it is sturdy and durable. Wool is usually blended with a synthetic fabric to make it easier to clean.
Synthetic Fabrics
Acetate is an imitation version of silk and resists pilling and wrinkling, however it isn’t very durable and therefore shouldn’t be selected if the couch is going to be used frequently. Acrylic has been developed as imitation wool and makes a great material for sofas; it is durable, easy to clean and resists wrinkling. Nylon is rarely used alone and is usually blended with other fabrics to provide excellent durability, it doesn’t soil easily or wrinkle, but it does pill and fade. Olefin is an uncommon fabric that is very fashionable, and a great choice for a couch that is likely to get a lot of wear. Like nylon, polyester is usually blended with other fabrics to reduce fading, and increase wrinkle resistance and toughness. Rayon has been developed as an imitation silk and is a lot more durable, it does wrinkle however but high quality rayon is excellent for upholstery. Vinyl has been developed as an alternative to leather, it is less expensive and easier to care for which makes it a great choice for living rooms and kids rooms.
Whatever fabric you choose, know that you can find all sorts of sofas online ranging from leather sofas to reclining sofas so have a look to give you a better idea of what’s available.
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