How to choose a fabric for your sofa

Choosing the fabric for a sofa is as much an aesthetic question as a practical one, since there are several aspects to be taken into account. On the one hand, you might feel the need to make the most of your living room according to your taste and furnishing style and so the choice of upholstery and colour is first and foremost an aesthetic question. On the other hand, choosing a the fabric for your sofa also means paying attention to a number of normal family dynamics, such as the presence of small children or your four-legged friends – all factors that can orient us towards one option over another. Therefore, you shouldn’t only focus on your taste, but you should also keep in mind the style of your furniture, the sofa model and your personal habits when using your furniture.

Sofa fabric: the choice of material

Choosing a fabric for your sofa fulfils both an aesthetic and protective function and this alone may prompt us to select a specific material. For example, if you’re trying to decide between leather or fabric upholstery you can read our dedicated guide. Our first piece of advice is to find a compromise between these two functions as there is no solution that is absolutely better than another. Indeed the wide personal choice available is very subjective and should also call into play the personal habits of all family members – including dogs and cats (if present).

Calia Italia offers a wide range of leather or fabric covers for its sofa, armchair and footstool collections.

In general, removable fabric sofas and stain-resistant fabric sofas are recommended options to ensure the durability of your sofa, making them easy to clean and resistant to unsightly stains. Alternatively, materials such as velvet or leather require more care and attention and are ideal for those who live alone or as a couple, without children, or more generally for those who pay more attention to certain habits such as eating on the sofa. If you’re really into taking care of your sofa, the aesthetic satisfaction you can get could be really top-notch!

Sofa fabric: the importance of colour

When choosing a fabric, the colour of your upholstery has a major influence. Though you should take into account the general furnishing style of your living room, you should also consider the size and model of the sofa or armchair you are dealing with. There are some aesthetic considerations that can help you choose. For example, lighter colours give the impression of things feeling larger and wider while darker shades tend to make the things feel smaller.

As far as your furnishing style is concerned, black and white and more generally neutral shades are optimal for minimal Scandinavian style and modern living room furniture whereas warm and bright colours work well for a rustic and country style. Once again, Calia Italia allows you to choose from a variety of colours for each sofa model in our catalogue. Simply order it when purchasing and you will have your perfect sofa in fabric and colour!

Read our complete guide on how to choose a sofa colour here to find out more!

Ideas and tips to avoid mistakes

So considering what we’ve said so far, let’s try to explore some suggestions to help make choosing the fabric for your sofa a lot easier. Natural fabrics can boast a wide range of colours and textures and have a good level of practicality. Microfibre fabrics are the most durable and require little maintenance but since they absorb less moisture in the summer they work better with a sofa cover.

In terms of other coverings, we would highlight microfibre for having the main advantages of being soft and pleasant to the touch, breathable, stain-resistant and durable. Finally there’s leather, which requires great care and symbolises the sofa fabric par excellence for its ability to combine beauty and comfort.

If you want to change the upholstery of your sofa, read our dedicated guide and discover how you can breathe new life into your living room!

How to match

Matching your accessories is anything but a secondary issue when trying to make your sofa perfectly harmonious with the rest of your living room furniture. Our first suggestion is to choose two opposite shades, such as a cold and a warm one for perhaps your sofa and armchair. This will allow the contrast to create a dynamic situation in the overall aesthetics of your living room. For those who have chosen a patterned fabric for their sofa, such as those floral ones that are always in great demand, to break up the contrast we can choose plain-coloured cushions in neutral shades or the same shade as the sofa base.

If you’ve gone for a single-colour sofa, you could play with all the nuances of that shade by matching the furnishing accessory to the various other elements in the room. There are so many possible solutions but starting from the choice of sofa fabric gives you the possibility to transform your living room by harmonising the entire environment from an aesthetic point of view – without forgetting the many practical and functional benefits deriving from the choice of a particular covering.

You just have to take a look at the Calia Italia collections to find the right sofa for your living room and choose the best cover for your needs.