Fabric sofas: what are they, how to choose and take care of?

The interior of a modern apartment is a harmonious combination of rationalism, functionality and original design ideas. To give the rooms coziness and create an atmosphere conducive to rest and meeting guests, straight fabric sofas are chosen for furnishing. They are presented on the market with a huge selection of models, so they are easily selected for the design of any room.

A fabric sofa is considered the most common type of furniture that is used in the arrangement of premises. In the manufacture of such sofas, a variety of materials are used, differing in texture, color, quality and price. Most often, furniture is upholstered with artificial textiles that are fireproof and moisture resistant. It is a budget material that is perfect for the upholstery of sofas in living rooms and kitchens.

If the financial capabilities of the apartment owners allow, then it is best to purchase furniture in which the upholstery is represented by natural fabrics. They are highly environmentally friendly, breathable, but unstable to pollution and the negative effects of sunlight. In addition, natural textiles are very demanding to care for, some fabrics cannot be cleaned. In this regard, experts recommend choosing sofas, decorated with blended fabric.

The most popular fabrics that are chosen as upholstery for textile sofas include the following varieties.

• Cotton. It is a lightweight, natural material that is well ventilated and stained. Its disadvantage - with active use, the service life is no more than 5 years.

• Velor (velvet)... It is characterized by the presence of a short pile, since it contains artificial threads. Suitable for finishing structures of complex shapes.

• Jacquard. It is a patterned fabric with high strength. The advantages of the fabric are rigidity (the sofa retains its shape perfectly) and the invisibility of dirt and stains. Minus - the price is above average.

• Chenille. This is a fabric containing fluffy threads. It features a complex weaving pattern and a huge selection of colors.

• Microvelor (flock). It belongs to the most common upholstery fabrics. Its base is made of polyester and cotton, and the pile is made of nylon. It has a lot of advantages: visual appeal, long service life, easy maintenance. There are no downsides.

• Matting... This fabric is made from cattail and polyester fibers. Thanks to this combination, the material is tough, resilient and dense.

As for the choice of color palette, the upholstery of fabric sofas can be both plain and with drawings, geometric patterns. Models in blue, pink, blue, gray and beige shades are perfect for bedrooms; a white sofa will help to add sophistication to the interior.

To increase your appetite and tone, you need to install bright yellow, orange or red sofas in the kitchen. For living rooms, it is necessary to purchase furniture of more restrained and noble shades - an excellent choice, for example, would be dark brown.

Fabric sofas can differ not only in the material of manufacture, but also in the design features. They are both conventional and transformable. The latter type of sofas is equipped with special mechanisms that allow you to organize a sleeping place. Folding models are quickly transformed due to the presence of devices such as "click-click" or "book". The constructions are unfolded using the accordion and American clamshell systems, and rolled out thanks to the Eurobook and Dolphin mechanisms.

Straight fabric roll-out sofas are considered more durable than corner models. They can reliably serve their owners for more than 10 years without requiring repair of the folding mechanism. Such compact sofas quickly turn into a comfortable bed, for this it is enough to pull on the strap located at the bottom under the seat.

Besides, the sofa can be designed for rest (sitting), sleeping (single, double) and at the same time for rest and sleep... Therefore, when choosing a fashionable sofa for arranging a particular room, it is important to take into account the characteristics of each type.

Good quality furniture not only reliably serves for a long time, but also fits in the original interior of the room. This applies to both straight and corner fabric sofas. To choose them correctly, it is important to consider the following nuances.

• For children's rooms it is best to purchase two-seater models upholstered with natural fabrics (cotton, linen, chenille). Their upholstery material must additionally have such protective properties as resistance to getting wet, pollution.

• For living rooms Flock-upholstered folding sofas are ideal. In order for the furniture to blend harmoniously with other interior items, experts recommend giving preference to fabrics in restrained shades, black and white.

• For bedrooms a good choice are transformer models made of mixed fabrics. Products upholstered in jacquard, velor and chenille look beautiful in bedrooms. In this case, the design should be multifunctional and supplemented with linen boxes.

Despite the fact that manufacturers produce modern models of high quality fabric sofas, in order to extend their service life, certain rules of care should be followed. Furniture will last longer if:

• clean regularly using a regular brush or vacuum cleaner;
• timely blot the spilled liquid, preventing the spread of stains;
• after wet cleaning the sofa, you can sit on it only after the fabric is completely dry;
• the new detergent should not be tested on the entire upholstery of furniture at once, its effect should be checked in a small area;
• it is advisable to put sofas of bright color in rooms where the windows are closed with thick curtains, this will save the fabric from burning out in the sun.

For information on how to choose the upholstery for the sofa, see the next video.