Opinions on Fabric....Yes or No?

10 years ago

First time poster on this forum, but not new to GW. I've been a regular lately over at Kitchen & Appliances & have received super advice & feedback for my kitchen reno, which is still ongoing. But, I've decided to make my life even more complicated these days! I'm planning on reupholstering 2 rooms of furniture, my living room & tv/office room. I ran across some fabric the other day that I am in love with & am wondering if it would be good on my couch in the living room. It's an old Duncan Phyfe, one of the more plain ones. Not very ornate. I'm not sure if the fabric I found is good for a couch, not just mine, but any couch. I'm horrible when it comes to visualizing what it's going to look like. I'd love to hear your opinions of it.

What do you think?

Thank you for your help.

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Comments (3)

tibbrix
10 years ago
My opinion is that that pattern is way too busy for a sofa. Of course, taste is subjective, and ultimately what matters is what you want in your living room.

But my own sense of that fabric is that it would be better maybe for a couple of throw pillows on the sofa. I tend to like more conservative fabric for sofas, then use pillows and throws to make the sofa decorative. Personally, I think it looks better, but there is also a practical reason for that, which is that, it is a lot easier and less expensive to switch out pillows and throws than it is to recover a sofa if your style changes. And going with an unusual pattern like the one in the photo raises the risk of that happening, ie: the sofa can look outdated pretty quickly.

Don't know what the room looks like, obviously, in which this sofa is going, but if it were me, I'd probably find a conservative, but somewhat textured (i.e.: herringbone, tight railroad pattern) fabric that matches the brown of the twig-like part of the design in that fabric...or perhaps that blue, which is a beautiful blue (but blues can be difficult to match), and use this fabric on a couple of pillows.
User
10 years ago
I am more wondering about the scale of the pattern. It looks like there is plenty of open space between the paisley and I would worry that all that solid expanse would really show dirt. I also think the colors are beautiful and maybe it would be better suited for accessories such as a table covering or pillows
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bicyclegirl1
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you Tibbrix & sheilaaus122. Great advice! You reconfirmed what I was thinking....the pattern is not good for a couch. I'm not sure the pattern might not be too big for a pillow tho. I have some pillow inserts & will take that to the store to see how it would look on the size I would do. I have quite a few antiques & my decor is kind of a rustic sophisticated french....if there is such a thing! I've been all monochromatic for a long time w/ all whites/creams w/ a little brown thrown in from brown transferware I have & still love. But I'm so ready to add color now & just love the colors in this piece, so I'll see what I can do w/ it.

Thank you again & please stand by because I'm sure I'll be back needing more opinions & ideas!

Susan