Types of upholstery fabric: pros and cons

Choosing the fabric for a sofa or armchair often seems a secondary question after shape and size. But it's the upholstery that decides how long the furniture will keep its looks and how comfortable it will be to use every day. Let's look at the main types of fabric, their pros and cons — and how the choice works in the MeBelle catalogue.

Natural fabrics

Linen, cotton and cotton-backed velour are pleasant to the touch and look refined. However, they need more careful looking after and lose their shape faster under heavy use.

• Pros: natural texture, breathable, pleasant to the touch.
• Cons: stain more easily, can fade, need gentle cleaning.

They're well suited to armchairs and sofas in rooms with moderate use. You can see the armchair models in the catalogue.

Synthetic and blended fabrics

Chenille, basket-weave fabric (rogozhka), microfibre and polyester are much more practical. They're more resistant to abrasion, fade less in the sun and are easier to clean of stains.

• Pros: hard-wearing, practical, a wide range of colours and textures.
• Cons: the cheapest options can look plainer than natural fabrics.

This is the best choice for families with children or pets, or for furniture in heavy everyday use.

Fabrics with a protective treatment

A separate category is treated fabrics that repel liquid and stop stains soaking into the fibres. This doesn't make the upholstery "invulnerable", but it makes care much easier. We debunked the myths around them in detail in the article "Anti-vandal fabrics: myths and reality", and collected the basic cleaning rules in the guide "How to look after your sofa".

Three MeBelle fabric categories: ECO, PRESTIGE and PREMIUM

To make choosing easier, all fabrics in the MeBelle catalogue are divided into three levels depending on weave density, durability and texture. Below are the collections in each category with sample colours. Hover over any swatch to look at it more closely — just as in the configurator:

CLASSY sofa VINCE sofa MODE sofa

How to choose a fabric for your lifestyle

Go not only by colour but by the real conditions:

• You have children or pets — practical synthetic or treated fabrics (ECO/PRESTIGE).
• A living room for guests — you can allow yourself a more delicate natural fabric.
• Lots of sun — choose fade-resistant materials.

For kitchen chairs the choice is different from a sofa: water, grease and crumbs decide it there — we covered it separately: velour, basket-weave fabric or eco-leather for a kitchen chair.