This Spring and Summer, it’s bold and vibrant with glittery golds and indigo blues. With zingy colours that pop and icecream pastels. Indoor plants, floral patterns, bamboo and golds. This year is exciting.

Your colour palette may resemble a Gelati Bar this year. For furniture it’s pick a primary colour for your upholstery and mix and match with accessories – throws, cushions, wallpaper, curtains and drapes. Add pastel hued vases, dining chairs and tableware. Choose a pattern of vibrant colours for a single wall, or be courageous and do multiple walls.

2017 saw bold geometrics on cushions and rugs. Now see free standing wall units and partitions using such patterns.

Foliage and florals are back with a vengeance. Wallpapers with roses and other showy exotic flowers – combined with exotic tropical greenery. Fresh, vibrant, living.

But let’s consider fabrics. Here at Sulfaro our customers have a magnificent choice of fabrics from a full range of leading fabric suppliers.

For a designer its often somewhat imperious to select a wafting silk or a pure white linen. However good designers realise their clients must live with the fabric selected and it may be the fabric is determined by the potential use of the furniture, its location and the degree of traffic a room may experience. Often choosing an easy to maintain fabric is a better long term choice.

Here is a list of fabrics, both Natural and Synthetic reprinted from the Houzz.com.au website. It is a useful guide and at Sulfaro we consider it reasonably accurate and useful.

• Cotton is durable and resistant to wear and fading, but not as resistant to dirt and wrinkling. Cotton can go from casual to formal depending on the weave.
• Cotton blends are slightly more durable than cotton due to the mix of additional fibres.
• Leather is durable and functional. It wears well and gets better with age.
• Linen is resistant to pilling and fading. It provides a crisp and casual look to furniture. However, it wrinkles and shows dirt easily.
• Silk is elegant and adds a sophisticated and formal touch to furniture. Due to its delicacy, it’s best for light use and requires professional cleaning.
• Wool blends with synthetic fibre for easier maintenance. It’s durable while also being resistant to pilling, fading, wrinkling and soil.
• Acetate is developed as imitation silk, and is resistant to pilling and shrinking; however, it doesn’t hold up well for everyday use due to its tendency to wear, wrinkle and fade in the sun.
• Acrylic is developed as imitation wool and may pill easily if not of high quality. However, it’s softer than natural wool, and is resistant to wear, wrinkling, dirt and fading.
• Microfibre fabric is made from polyester fibres, is similar to suede, and easy to maintain.
• Nylon is often blended with other fibres, creating a durable fabric that won’t wrinkle or soil but may fade and pill.
• Polyester is usually found in a blend with other fibres, and is resistant to wrinkling and fading.
• Rayon, though prone to wrinkling, is durable and affordable.
• Vinyl is durable and a more affordable option compared to leather.

Functionality and Reality

Clever designers will select fabric that not only looks superb but also wears well, is easy to maintain yet synchronises well with the style of the furniture and the decor and feel of the room you have selected.

Houzz advises:

Neutral tones and floral prints work well in a traditional space, while bright colours and bold patterns give off a more contemporary vibe. Your lifestyle also dictates your design. Here are four quick questions to ask when choosing upholstery fabric:

• How long is this upholstery meant to last?
• How often will you clean and iron it?
• Where do you plan to use it – indoors or outdoors?
• Which style furniture pieces is this upholstery meant for?

Source: Houzz

Take the opportunity to design your own Lounge suite. With a wide range of styles, both contemporary and traditional available. Choose the sofa, armchair and dining settings you desire. Select from our incredible range of fabrics, leathers and materials – all carefully selected by Sulfaro from the world’s leading fabric houses.

Call now on 9872 4608 and book in an appointment to meet with our Sales and Design team, or leave your details here and one of our friendly staff will contact you to assist you with your enquiries.

Sulfaro’s showrooms are located at 650-652 Whitehorse Rd Mitcham, about 1km from the exit ramp on EastLink. We are open 7 days, check our website for details.

All Sulfaro Furniture is handmade right here in Melbourne using premium materials. Sulfaro’s craftsmen and artisans carry on the Sulfaro tradition established by company founder Nunzio Sulfaro – Quality, true elegant European design and genuine comfort.

Sulfaro. Premium Quality Furniture.

It’s simply the right choice.