Black and White Upholstery Fabric

What to Look for in Black and White Upholstery Fabric

There are so many beautiful fabric designs out there that rely on this monotone color scheme, but as with all fabrics, ensure your choice is wise by looking at these considerations:

Quality of the Upholstery Fabric

Ensure that you choose a high-quality upholstery fabric that is rated for wear. Choose an appropriate rub rating based on where you will use the fabric.

If it's a high-use area, such as your dining room chairs, lounge sofas, or children's room chairs, you would require a rub rating of at least 20,000 to 25,000.

Surface Quality for Crispness

Black and white fabric with a soft surface texture will likely become fuzzy with moderate wear and use. This could result in the pattern becoming distorted and the material looking grimy.

With black and white patterns, the risk of destroying the pattern with wear and regular cleaning can outweigh the beauty of the original design. Therefore, choose a fabric that won't chap or pill.

Eye Strain of High Contrast

When looking at a small sample of a high-contrast black-and-white pattern, it may seem like a great choice for your home. However, remember that the contrast effect increases the larger the size of the furniture item. So that beautiful black and white zigzag fabric can become a recipe for migraines if you don't consider it carefully. Perform the squint test to see how much contrast a pattern has.

When looking at the fabric, close your eyes halfway and squint at the pattern. If the design is still clearly visible, the contrast is too high, and you would have to use it on a smaller-size upholstery project (instead of covering your whole sofa with it).

Minimize eye strain by matching the pattern with areas of plain white and black or another suitable color. Black and white fabrics with a 50/50 percent black-to-white ratio will have the highest contrast. A fabric with black leaves on a white background will be less of a strain when the black outweighs the white in a 75/25 ratio or more.

Using Black and White Fabrics

An ebony and ivory fabric is useful as a focal point in the room, but overdoing it can create a visually challenging space. Carefully consider the visual impact of the pattern you choose, the size of the area being upholstered, and your lifestyle. If your family loves to eat pizza on the sofa, it's not the best color to use for the couch, as it will involve regular.

Use this fabric color combination for more formal settings. Choose a fabric that will keep the crispness of the pattern intact, and consider whether a black-and-white design is ideal for your lifestyle.

Building a Decor Scheme with Black and White Fabric

Complement fabrics in black and white with plain areas where there are different tones of black and white. Adding some gray can help soften the harshness of a 50/50 contrast fabric. To create a decor scheme with no additional colors other than black and white, the size of your pattern will affect the harmony of the space.

Large patterns are strong and dominant, while smaller prints with high contrast can also become visually unpleasant. Rather opt for fabric where either black or white is prevalent in a 75/25 ratio. Thus, 75% white with 25% black patterns for a more peaceful background.

Cleaning and Care Recommendations

Clean your black and white fabric as per the cleaning recommendations for the specific material. With black and white patterns, it is essential that you dab at spills-never rub them. Rubbing or excessive friction will fray the fabric pile, creating fuzzy designs. Take care to brush or dab in the direction of the fabric to best maintain the crisp patterns.

A basic solution of a few drops of detergent, a tablespoon of vinegar, and a cup of cold water is ideal for lifting and cleaning most spills.

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