When people enter your home, your furniture is one of the first things that can draw their attention. The fabric of an upholstered furniture piece encompasses both style and quality. Depending upon the material, the fabric can potentially be more durable, luxurious, or even easier to maintain than some others.

Picking a "durable" upholstery fabric for living rooms is imperative, if you constantly entertain guests!

Wool Wool is an excellent fabric for more active areas, such as a living room or play area. Wool has the beneficial characteristics of being sturdy and durable. Usually wool is mixed with a synthetic fiber, which makes the cleaning process much easier, and reduces the risk of the fibers felting together. Wool and wool blends provide great resistance to fading, soiling, wrinkling, and piling. Leather Leather is a pretty durable and tough material. Leather is not prone to soiling and scratches though. Over time, leather will develop a more “weathered” or “worn” appearance. If you have a household with young children and pets, you might want to consider another upholstery fabric material.  Leather can be gently vacuumed, usually wiped with a damp cloth, and cleaned with leather soap. Silk This fabric is a beautiful gem, but is extremely delicate. This fabric is highly recommended in areas where only adults will occupy. If silk fabric becomes stained or soiled, it must be professionally cleaned. Silk is very temperamental; and prone to water spots if you try to clean up the stain yourself. Linen Linen tends to work best in areas with only adults, a perfect example being a formal living room. Linen is very vulnerable to soiling and wrinkling, and is will not withstand heavy wear. On the other hand though, linen is wonderful at resisting fading and piling. Cotton Cotton is another wonderful option for virtually any room in your house. This type of fabric provides a good resistance to wear, piling, and fading. Surface treatments and blending cotton with other various fibers tend to create more weakness in the fabric. The weave and finish of a cotton fabric strongly determine the durability and strength. Canvas is extremely durable and more casual, whereas damask weaves tend to be on the more formal spectrum.