Tips for Designing Custom Upholstery

Posted on June 17th, 2021 by Grossman Furniture.

While finding furniture that’s perfect for your home seems easy enough, it can be a bit challenging if you’re opting to go with a custom piece. Whether it’s a brand-new sofa for your living room or a cocktail ottoman, choosing custom furniture and picking the right upholstery can be a creative endeavor that’s fun and fulfilling if you know where to start. Before you dive into the inventory at our furniture store near Cherry Hill NJ, read on for some tips for designing custom upholstery that will help you create the ultimate look for every room of your home. 

Plan Ahead

As you explore the tips for designing custom upholstery, it’s important to plan ahead before you dive into the process. Get some inspiration from online design blogs, magazines, real interior designers, and Pinterest boards. Finding the right source of inspiration will make it easier for you to decide which material, texture, and color, or pattern you like best. Don’t forget to take measurements of the room and get a clear idea of the size that your new custom furniture should be. If the room is small, it might be best to stick with either a solid fabric or at least something in a neutral colorway. Upholstery that is too bold or too busy can make a smaller living area feel cluttered and crowded. Use your sources of inspiration as a guide to help you along the way so you can start designing your custom upholstery in confidence. 

Tips for Designing Custom Upholstery: Colors and Combos

Consider the type of mood you want to create through your furniture when choosing a custom upholstery color. The hue of your new furniture can have a significant impact on the look and feel of your space. Lighter colors can help to make rooms appear larger, while darker colors are ideal if you need to hide stains from kids or pets. The goal is to choose a color that’s versatile enough to match the rest of the room as your wall color, window treatments, or flooring styles change. If you decide to go with something in a pattern, make sure that it will coordinate with the rest of the furniture in the room. Larger designs are great for bigger pieces like a beautiful CR Laine Sofa. Smaller patterns are best on smaller furniture, such as an ottoman or an accent chair. Explore as many color and pattern combinations as you can to ensure that they’ll work the rest of the items and the rest of the designs in the room.

Quality Fabrics Matter

Aside from your color or pattern choice, it’s also important to choose a material that will last and feel comfortable to the touch. Make sure you select a material that’s versatile enough to keep clean and maintain, especially if you live in a household with kids or pets around. Water-repellant material like distressed leather is a great choice since it’s easy to keep clean while still adding a luxurious look to the room. Durable fabrics are also recommended, since they can usually handle lots of wear and tear without ripping, snagging, or wearing out. Brands like Huntington House offer a range of custom fabrics to choose from including heavy-duty linen, 100% cotton, and viscose blends, just to name a few. Engineered fabric tends to last longer than natural fabric, so keep that in mind if you’re upholstering something that will be used often, such as a recliner or sectional. Always ask for sample swatches so you can test the way the fabric feels and see how well it handles wear and spills before you decide.

Consider the Shape of Your Furniture

The shape of your furniture can impact how you design custom upholstery. For example, any pieces that have curves or a curvaceous silhouette will look best with a solid color for the fabric or leather. Since most custom upholstery is cut from a single piece of fabric, adding it to a curvy or ornate shape will make patterned fabrics look awkward and possibly uneven. Choose rich, solid tones and classic neutrals for major pieces like sofas and sectionals. Bold, intricate patterns are great for smaller accent items like ottomans and club chairs. A neutral color is also better on staple pieces because they will be the focal point of the room. If you upholster your main living room sofa or sectional in a busy pattern, it could easily overtake everything else and create a scattered, chaotic look. No matter what you decide, remember that you’re committing to a color, material, and style that you’ll have to live with for many years. It’s important to choose something that works well with everything else in your space and won’t clash or cause it to look unattractive years later. 

Don’t Forget Pillows and Cushions

When you’re choosing furniture with custom upholstery, many brands offer the option to customize accent pillows, too. Have some fun when you decide what type of fabric you’d like for the pillows, especially if the piece is going to have a solid color rather than a pattern. Ideally, you should choose pillow fabrics in a similar colorway, but you can still have a little bit of creative leeway when it comes to picking out pillows in a playful pattern for a fun contrast. Alternatively, if your new custom upholstered furniture will be patterned, consider choosing accent pillows in a solid color instead. You can also add pillows in the same fabric to give the piece a more coordinated, cohesive look. The wonderful thing about pillows is that you can always remove them later or replace the covers with something new when you’re ready to make a change. Whether you’re buying a brand-new living room set or just want to add a custom accent piece, keep these tips for designing custom upholstery in mind so you can create the ultimate look for your unique home.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 17th, 2021 at 9:01 pm and is filed under Custom Furniture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.