One doesn’t have to be a furniture producer to realize that upholstery material can make all the difference. Upholster the same armchair in leather, in differently colored cloth with plain surface, or in ornamented fabrics with different patterns – and you’ll get quite diverse furniture pieces. Some of them may be a big hit at the market, some may prove to be not to everyone’s taste but find their niche anyway, and some may get a tepid reception, even though the design and material of the structure remain the same.
Well, it goes without saying that in high-end furniture manufacturing everything equally matters. Bellavista Collection knows it full well. Being a renowned producer of Italian luxury furniture, this brand built its success on a carefully picked selection of top-quality designer items. Quality of materials, impeccable craftsmanship, and brilliant design of each piece – that’s three pillars of the brand’s success.
When it comes to upholstery, Bellavista Collection always offers its customers a row of options. If you browse through the company’s website, you will find out that almost every upholstered item comes in both leather and fabric. In their turn, each of these materials may come in a number of options. Colors and patterns may differ greatly, but quality remains constant. Bellavista’s pieces are upholstered in only first-class materials, be it leather or any kind of fabric.
For example, MATILDE sofa, when displayed at Salone Internazionale del Mobile this April, had blue leather covers (this year, Bellavista is fond of various shades of blue). Two more variants available now include ornamented and light-colored plain fabric. All three materials harmonize perfectly with moka stained ashwood of the base. Thanks to the brilliant design by Attilio Zanni, all three variants of this sofa look equally grand and are much sought-after.
Leather and Fabric: Both are Excellent
Fabric or leather? That’s the question each buyer has to answer. The choice is mostly the matter of personal preferences, but there also are other factors that people have to consider. First, people often buy a piece to mix it into the existing interior, which affects the choice of upholstery. What’s more, each of the materials has its own strengths and weaknesses.
Leather furniture is always in vogue. It looks elegant and chic; many people enjoy its distinct feel to the touch. More pragmatic people will add that leather-covered pieces are extremely durable and very easy to look after. People with a passion for cleanliness will mention that natural leather upholstery won’t gather dust. No dust means no dust mites, which cause allergies.
High quality natural leather is by all means a unique product. This material always contains about 12-14% of water, which helps it quickly adapt to your body temperature, which means it will never make you sweat. You don’t believe it because remember bathing in sweat in a leather car seat? Well, that leather surely wasn’t natural. Most likely, it was some leather product, such as bonded leather. It might have been even vinyl, which sometimes is taken for leather and even passed off as it.
Those who prefer fabric upholstery have their own pro arguments. Some people say that fabric is more comfortable than leather, because furniture pieces upholstered in fabric feel softer.
Also, for those who live in tropical climates, fabric is more preferable than leather. Heat, direct sunlight and moist air are among no-nos for this material. Fabrics treated with special chemicals will be a much better choice if you live in a region with tropical or sub-tropical climate.
One more argument for preferring fabrics is that they come in an infinite variety of colors and patterns.
Fabrics: Some Like it Plain, Some Like It Ornamented
When it comes to fabrics for upholstery, there always is plenty of choices: solid-colored vs. ornamented fabric, bright colors vs. pastel shades or neutral tones, cool colors vs. warm ones, not to mention a variety of textures.
As for colors, it’s an open secret that when we look at some color for a long time, it evokes certain feelings and emotions. Although perception of colors is pretty subjective and often depends on our past experiences and the culture we belong to, there are more or less universal associations with colors.
Here are just the few ones. Have you ever noticed how quickly you calm down when looking at green leaves and grass? In most cultures green symbolizes nature, vegetation, crops – and growth, freshness, fertility.
Generally, blue, green, and purple colors, commonly known as “cool colors”, are said to have a soothing effect. And on the contrary, so-called “warm” colors – red, orange, and yellow – generally are perceived as lively, joyful and energizing.
Or let’s take black and white – the most extreme ends of the color spectrum. Black, apart from being the color of mourning in the Western culture, is habitually associated with sophistication, confidence, luxury, and conservatism. White is believed to symbolize purity, innocence, aspiration, new beginnings, and accomplishment.
If we add white to the bright colors, we’ll make them ‘pale’ or ‘light’ – in other words, turn them into pastels.
The effect of pastel shades quite predictably is milder and softer than that of undiluted colors; in general, they feel more tranquil and peaceful. That’s why pastel colors, along with white, are good for bedrooms and other places where you want to relax – say, for a beach house.
Look, for example, at JOSEPHINE DORMEUSE. It looks like the quintessence of relaxation – partly thanks to the white fabric it’s upholstered in. However, this remarkable dormeuse sofa is available in leather as well – like the most of upholstered pieces from Bellavista Collection.
It’s pretty difficult to choose among options of upholstery when you are looking through the items from Bellavista’s website. They all are designed so skillfully that look equally beautiful. Since Bellavista always chooses only the best fabrics and leather for its furniture, you can be sure that the upholstered piece will serve you for decades, whatever you pick.
