Does your living room need a little lift?
You can stabilize, modernize and exercise your right to choose when you redecorate your home with brand-new interior fabric.
The choices are abundant nowadays. You can decide on textures, colors, and patterns the likes of which have never before been seen on the market.
In fact, the vast array of choices out there can easily overwhelm — so it’s important to keep a few things in mind when shopping for the perfect fabric for your home. Personal style, tone and color scheme are vital elements to think about before making any decisions.
3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Buying Interior Decorating Fabric
Okay, so you’re bored with that old plaid sofa.
Whether you’re considering getting it reupholstered or just thinking of buying a new one, you need to ask yourself the three golden questions of fabric shopping.
1. Does This Fabric Work for Me?
This question comes first because it’s arguably the most important of the three. You definitely don’t want to be stuck with a fabric you don’t like. This won’t happen if a fabric fits your personal tastes. But more than just popping out at you, the fabric has to work within your home to deliver great results across the board.
Make sure you’re buying something that complements the style and scheme of the room. If your house is an ultra-modern homage to Joe Nahem, you probably don’t want to choose Victorian Era luxury curtain fabric.
Another important factor is the object which is being reupholstered. You don’t want to choose an awkward pattern even if it matches. If you have a large piece of furniture, it’s better to choose a neutral color than a bright one — you’ll enjoy it longer and you can change the room around it. The same goes for curtains which get a lot of light. You’ll want to choose something that won’t fade quickly.
2. Who Will be Using This Piece?
While it may not seem like the end-all, how much traffic your chosen piece of furniture gets is vital to choosing the right one. Think about the room and its day to day use. Do you have children? Dogs? Lots of guests? Then buy something sturdy. Choose something like distressed leather, which allows stains and scratches to go unnoticed.
If you’re the only one who will be using the piece, that opens up the door to choosing a wider array of fabrics — you can choose something a bit more luxurious like silk or suede. Architectural Digest explains in-depth how to go about choosing the correct fabric for upholstery.
3. Will This Fabric Really Last?
Modern fabric can be more durable than traditional fabric. This is because of textiles like polyester, which add length to the life of fabrics. Blended fabrics tend to last longer than pure ones because they are designed with the length of usage in mind, although leather is still the king when it comes to durability and strength. Forbes’ recently published an article outlining the best and worst fabrics to use on a couch.
Which curtain material fabric will last the longest and look the best depends on weight just as much as material. Too heavy and it will seem awkward and wear out quickly, too light and it will be wispy and shred easily.
How to Buy Fabric Like a Professional Designer
Now that you’ve got an idea of what you want, it’s time to do some purchasing. Starting at your local upholstery shop is a good thing—you’ll be able to see and touch the fabric before you buy it. Check it out for flaws and signs of weakness. Tug on it, stretch it, do whatever you need to do to test it out.
Ask for a sample to take home with you and set against the couch or window to see how it will really look in the lighting of your home. After you get acquainted with the fabric you can decide whether or not it’s right for you.
If the price is right, purchase in-store. If you want to do a little bargain shopping, it’s possible to buy discount upholstery fabric online — often for much better rates. Sometimes it’s possible to find the exact same fabric you saw in the store online for a better price.
So where can you find these awesome deals? Fabric.com allows you to search through different categories and designers. They even have free shipping on orders totaling more than 49 dollars.
The Joann store lets you buy online and pick it up at the nearest brick and mortar location, or have it delivered to your house. They have an online cache of coupons at your disposal as well.
Whether you’re interested in a complete home makeover or just a new color for the couch, use these tips to make your home into your own personal paradise.
