Furniture Upholstery...Know Before You Shop!

When you start shopping for new furniture, you’re sure to have lots of questions. First, ask yourself a few questions like: “What types of spills may I be facing?”, “How much wear and tear will the furniture get?” “How long do I want to keep the furniture?” Then, before you head out to the furniture store, take a look at my run down on some off the different upholstery options you have.

Natural Fabric Upholstery
Nothing offers you the versatility in texture and color like traditional fabrics. The fabric textures out there are almost endless, but a few of the basics are:
Cotton Fabric has a cool, soft, comfy feel and it is also durable and stain resistant.
Silk Fabric can be soft and smooth or it can have a crepe texture, which is slightly crinkled.
Wool Fabric is a fuzzy woven fabric usually with multi colored yarns in a range of styles.
Linen Fabric is fresh and elegant and offers bolder textures.

Synthetic Fabric Upholstery
Microfiber/Microsuede is fiber with very thin strands that can be made to look like suede or leather, and makes very attractive furniture. It is one of the most well know synthetic fabrics. Fabrics made with microfibers are very soft and can repel water. Microfiber is known for being easy to clean with water, but you have to pay attention to the manufacturer’s code. Microfiber furniture will commonly come with a tag that has a code that tells you how to clean it. The tags will say, W, S, S-W, or X.

• W means you can use water based cleaning solution.
• S means you have to use a "solvent" based cleaner
• S-W means you can use S or W type cleaners

If your tag has an S on it, be careful because cleaning it with water can cause water rings. Before you buy, make sure you know how to clean the product you are getting.

Natural Synthetic Blends can offer you some of the durability and stain resistant features of synthetic fabrics, while keeping the look of natural fabrics. There are many combinations and all offer slightly different features.

Leather
Leather furniture stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter giving added comfort to the home. Leather softens and becomes supple over years of use. Leather is tear and puncture-resistant. Such factors as durability, strength, quality, and color-fade resistance put leather furniture in a class by itself. In addition to clean ability, dust and dirt stays on top of leather and can be kept to a minimum, very important for those suffering from allergies and people with pets. Leather does come with a slightly higher price tag than most fabric upholstered furniture.

Hope this helps you narrow it down to the furniture covering that is right for you!

Happy Furniture Shopping!