Upholstered furniture – what do Italian factories offer?

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Genuine leather is divided into categories depending on the thickness, density and nature of the processing. It can be dense or soft, natural tones or rich glossy colors.

Most Italian factories divide leather into two categories – soft-grain leather Skin and heavily tanned leather to…Sometimes several types of leather are available for finishing for the same model. For example, many Cattelan Italia beds are available in thick Cuoio leather and soft Pelle leather.

Some factories do not polish the leather to emphasize its naturalness. Stabs, scratches, insect bites and natural irregularities – these small details become part of the design, giving each piece its originality and emphasizing the natural origin of the material. This technique is widely used in the Mantellassi factory.

Photo: Leather surfaces of Mantellassi furniture.

Glowing skin

Genuine leather can be of any bright color. The production technology involves applying a thin, wear-resistant polyurethane layer to the surface. At the same time, the leather retains all the tactile sensations inherent in natural material.

Exotic Leather

As a rule, leather obtained from cowhide is used to decorate furniture. Some factories also carry out finishing with special materials (crocodile, ostrich, iguana skin). This coating is available in one go and significantly increases the value of the product.

Faux Leather

Faux leather or eco-leather is a modern alternative to natural leather. Outwardly, it is slightly inferior to natural material. Modern technologies allow you to give artificial leather any shade and texture.

A clear plus of eco-leather is a more affordable price than natural leather. Also, the advantages include high wear resistance and a large canvas area, which allows you to embody interesting design ideas.

Textile

Italian factories that produce furniture in series, such as Calligaris, usually offer a catalogue of textile upholstery divided into categories. Textiles in different categories differ in density, texture and nature of colours. This approach is also applied by the Flou factory.

Factories producing furniture of the highest category cooperate with manufacturers of high-quality textiles. For each order, fabrics for finishing are selected individually. It can be tapestry, jacquard, satin, velvet, silk or any other decorative fabric. Most often, upholstery for sofas and armchairs can be ordered from the supplier along with other matching interior textiles. In this case, furniture, windows and walls can be decorated in a single way.

One of the factories that implements this approach Brown Paw.

Photo: Bruno Zampa Aurea furniture and wall decoration textiles selected from the same collection.

Removable textile upholstery

For many Italian sofas, beds, armchairs and chairs, not only fixed but also completely removable upholstery is offered. As a rule, it is a little more expensive, but it allows you to easily clean. This is especially true for light-colored fabrics.

You can also get 2-3 sets of removable covers in different colors and textures and change them according to your mood.

In the photo: part of the removable textile upholstery of the Flou bed.

Technological fabrics

Owners of pets and just practical housewives will be interested in dirt-resistant upholstery. Many factories, including Calligaris, offer entire lines of textiles with water- and dirt-repellent impregnation. You can pour water or juice onto such a cloth, and then brush off the drops. Even on a snow-white sofa there will be no stain.

Pictured: Teflon-coated, dirt and water-repellent fabric.

Textile upholstery for upholstered garden furniture

In outdoor furniture, only technological fabrics with special properties are used: increased resistance to ultraviolet light and temperature extremes, resistance to wetting and dirt, increased tensile strength.

For example, the Gervasoni factory offers a wide range of outdoor furniture fabrics, which include textured textiles, breathable mesh, dense fabrics with unusual weaves and elegantly impregnated textiles that look a little different from “home” fabrics.

Photo: Examples of textiles used by Gervasoni in outdoor furniture.

Customer supplied flooring

In some cases, the finish for future furniture has already been purchased as part of a design project. In such a case, in order not to overpay, you can order upholstered furniture, the so-called “technical upholstery”.

Read a story from the director of BeyazYastık Gallery about the designer of a custom upholstered ottoman.

Some companies apply another approach – it is possible to send fabric from the customer to the factory for finishing by Italian artisans.