The design of the furniture that is getting upholstered is one thing, but the material that is used to upholster the framework is what really makes it!

It is a good idea to understand your main options and what you need to look for when selecting a fabric for upholstery.

Leather remains one of the most popular natural materials. It can be vaccumed, damp wiped, cleaned using the correct products, and touched up when it starts to become a little worn. There are now a vast amount of colour choices when it comes to leather also.

Fabric is a good choice when looking for a material as depending on the make up of the material, the durability differs.

Faux leather is also called vinyl, which is a great substitute for the leather look if your budget doesn’t allow for real leather. It can be just as durable but can not be colour matched when it comes to covering up scuffs and scrapes etc.

If you are searching for a material for an upholstery project, you need to look at the ‘Martindale’ rub test.
This is the amount of times it has been tested before it starts to show wear and tear.

For a domestic upholstery job, there tends to be less traffic within the space, so the rub test can be lower than it is for commercial.

For commercial use, we advise 50,000+
For domestic use, we advise 25,000+

Depending on usage, you could go lower, but this would be at your own risk, anything lower than 25,000 ideally if for curtains and cushions etc.

When talking commercial projects and upholstery, the fabric will also need to be CRIB 5 – this is the code for the UK standard fire safety and it is needed for anything that is fixed and fitted within the space for fire safety reasons!

If you need help deciding what is best for your project, please do contact us we are more than happy to help!