To find the latest trends in furniture upholstery, look at the pages of men’s fashion magazines. “Menswear is influencing upholstery,” said Scott Jussila, an associate at Room & Board, a furniture store with an outlet in Washington. “It’s just a different take on menswear. The lines are very clean and simple. Weaves that look like men’s suits come in upholstery-grade fabrics.”
| Resources |
| Room And Board |
| roomandboard.com |
| Baker Upholstery |
| http://baker.kohlerinteriors.com/baker |
From the formal vested suits of the 1930s to sleek slim cuts made popular in the 1960s, elements of men’s fashion are popping up in furniture showrooms. This includes classic checks, tweeds, pinstripes and rope strips in wools, flannels, cotton and linen blends. Smokey grays, navy blues and bold browns cover sofas and side chairs.
Putting a room together is as simple as coordinating a business suit. The sofa represents the suit, the main attraction.
Cream-colored occasional chairs or a chaise lounge work as the backdrop, similar to the dress shirt. Pillows, ottomans or accent chairs in bright bold colors complement sofas in the same way the tie accessorizes a suit. Instead of cuff links and double-breasted buttons, button tuffs and nail heads on upholstered pieces finish the tailored look.
“You might have a neutral sofa, in gray otter and purple or orange accent pieces,” Jussila said. Room & Board’s Selby Collection sofa, in Deirdre weave gray with button tuffs, evokes the classic elegance of a Louis Vuitton suit.
Upholstery has stepped it up a notch, Jussila said, “in the same way food stepped it up a notch in the last 10 years and fashion followed. Now it’s time for upholstery.”
Although leather remains popular, more people are ordering larger pieces in every shade of gray and using leather or cowhide on chairs or even rugs.
“The current trends in upholstery fabric colors are grays, from cool platinum to warm charcoal, light and fresher golds, saturated accents and pops of color to give an emotional connection, such as vivid orange, turquoise, quince and subtle lavender,” said Thomas Woller, business unit manager for Baker Upholstery, which has showrooms and dealers in the metro area. Everything is about texture and blending materials into interesting weaves, he said, from subtle crepe textures to bold multidimensionals and weave patterns. Even printed fabrics are finding their way on to more interesting ground cloth.
“We may even see contemporary designs being printed on barkcloth-type fabrics that were originally popular in the mid 1950s, when textured prints first came into the market place,” Woller said.
Because there is so much emphasis on texture, rather than pattern, Woller said many combinations of different yarns are being used together to give sheen and life to what would normally be a plain fabric.
“Upholstery is what creates the warmth in a room, period,” Woller said. “Upholstered products are not just important in creating warmth; it is the thing that makes a living area functional. Everything else is there to support the use of the seating.”
