Outdoor fabrics used on indoor furniture

Technological advancements and changing lifestyles mean more furniture options for you and your customers.

Upholstery Journal | October 2008

by Janice Kleinschmidt

Gina Wicker scoffs at the notion that her mother called the place in their house with the sofa the “living” room.

“We were never allowed to go in there,” she says. “It was off-limits to the kids.” Today’s living rooms justify the name, thanks to the transition of outdoor fabrics to interior aesthetics.

“When people hear ‘outdoor fabrics,’ they think ‘stiff,’ ‘boardy,’ ‘plasticky,’” says Jeff Jimison, vice president of sales and marketing for Shuford Mills of Hudson, N.C. “They tend to think of fabrics they might have found on outdoor furniture 10 to 15 years ago.” Now, performance fabrics such as Shuford’s Outdura are woven just like indoor fabrics, with finishing techniques that create softness and draping. “You really can’t tell the difference between indoor and outdoor fabric,” Jimison says. The differences being that “outdoor” fabrics are fade-, moisture- and stain-resistant and are easy to clean.

Pretty is as pretty does

“We only use solution-dyed acrylic fibers; the color is locked in, so it can’t be bleached out,” Jimison says. “Even acetone can be used as a cleaning agent without damaging the fabric. We put a water- and additional stain-resistant finish on the fabric, so it repels spills, like water, orange juice and wine.”

Even high-end furniture makers and upholsterers are jumping aboard. “People can spend $12,000 for a sofa and it’s not cleanable,” notes Wicker, design director at Glen Raven Inc., which manufactures solution-dyed acrylic Sunbrella. “I think as Sunbrella becomes more prevalent in that market, furniture makers are saying, ‘You know, it makes perfect sense if we make that sofa in Sunbrella.’

“Customers are finally understanding our story,” Wicker continues. “It has taken a long, long time with interior designers. Every time we are at a trade event, about 50 percent of the designers there have never seen velvet, window treatments and decorative products made with performance fabrics.”

Let the sun shine in

Since its debut in 1961, Sunbrella has become well known and respected in boating and coastal communities, where awnings and cushions must withstand the rigors of the sunny, wet and active marine environment. More recently, the fabric sells particularly well in residential areas of the Midwest and New England states. Wicker attributes that development to “the trend toward atrium windows and open floor plans where a lot of light is allowed to penetrate into the house.” In Florida and California, where strong ultraviolet rays often pass through glass walls, fade resistance is a key selling point, but that alone doesn’t address the “living” room issue.

“We really sell the customer on cleanability,” Wicker says. “Sunbrella warranties its fabric to the worst-case scenario: three years outside in Phoenix, Ariz. It will last longer than you want it to in some cases.”

Since developing proprietary pigment technology with Monsanto years ago, Glen Raven has used advancing technology to tap into the interior market in the last few years. “We have taken the same fabrics used in awnings and created chenille and bouclé yarns,” Wicker says. “We have changed our weaving construction to make the fabric less boardy.” Because faded detailing can make an otherwise quality piece of furniture look cheap, Glen Raven recommends upholsterers also use Sunbrella trims and thread that can withstand the elements, as well as bleach.

Shuford’s Outdura began as a line for the casual furniture industry in 2003. Now, it comes in more than 1,200 colors and patterns. “We introduce 300 to 400 new styles every fall,” Jimison says. “We have a strong domestic business with traditional residential furniture manufacturers, and we have a growing international customer base. These fabrics are becoming very popular in Europe.”

“We are online right now looking for hot pink outdoor fabric,” says Sarah Hardy, manager of Michael’s Custom Built Inc., an upholsterer in San Rafael, Calif. “Performance fabrics have become a huge trend. “My collection has more than quadrupled in size.

“I think what happened partly is technology, because it used to be that outdoor fabric came in canvas and awning weight in limited colors,” Hardy says. “They came up with a furniture weight that’s softer and more flexible. I have even gotten velvet.

“If I have somebody come in and they’ve got dogs or kids, and they can take the furniture out and hose if off, that’s pretty major, as opposed to something that’s ‘don’t spill on it; don’t eat around it.’”

The price of performance

Although Hardy caters to a high-end clientele in the San Francisco area, she cautions that performance fabrics sometimes cost too much when customers weigh their options. “I have gotten over $100, even close to $200 a yard, so some people will turn back because of the price,” she says.

However, Jimison says performance fabrics are no different from other fabrics when it comes to a range of price points. There are indoor-only fabrics also in the $100 to $200 range. And Wicker notes that furniture manufacturers are recognizing economic value beyond the longevity factor of performance fabrics. For the past few years, she says, they have been buying inexpensive fabric from China, but have to buy more at a time, which results in warehousing expenses, and have been disappointed in the quality.

“Several manufacturers have done surveys on whether people would pay a couple hundred dollars more for a sofa with Sunbrella than silk, cotton or linen,” Wicker says. “Overwhelmingly, results show people are willing to pay extra for furniture that lasts longer.”

Seamless living

Consumers aren’t just looking for performance fabrics that have the right look and feel for interior applications. The growth of “outdoor living rooms” has further spurred a focus on designs that create a seamless transition between the indoors and out.

“People don’t want to sit on some outdoor fabric,” says Lance Keziah, executive vice president of fabric sales for Crypton Super Fabrics of West Bloomfield, Mich., which manufacturers In & Out at its North Carolina plant. “There are beautiful fabrics out there, and the hand of the fabrics is such that you don’t know they’re performance fabrics anymore.”

In business for 15 years, Crypton, which also makes dog beds and has partnered with William Wegman and Michael Graves for designs, holds 14 patents on technology and introduced In & Out two years ago. The 200-SKU line includes polyester, solution-dyed acrylic and polypropylene.

“Every yard of fabric we make is highly cleanable, stain resistant, resistant to mold and mildew, and has an integrated moisture barrier,” Keziah says, adding that In & Out is approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as disinfectable, and the company has garnered independent certifications for making green products through a green chemical process.

While sunrooms, family rooms and dining rooms comprise the largest segment of the market, performance fabrics are even working their way into bedrooms, especially for children and for window treatments. And manufacturers continue to tap into new applications. Glen Raven, for example, has a line of 118-inch-wide sheers, and Crypton is working on wall-covering applications.

“This is a segment of our business that is rapidly growing, and we are spending a lot of attention and money on the In & Out portion of our business,” Keziah says.

So let the kids be kids, the dogs be dogs, and the living room be the “living” room.

Janice Kleinschmidt is a freelance writer based in Palm Springs, Calif.

Comments

Comments are the opinion of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Upholstery Journal or Industrial Fabrics Association International.

• 

  awnings phoenix

  Aug 18, 2010
  9:50 am CDT

  Interesting

  That is a good idea. It sure is going to make all of your funiture more durable and able to take stains and other things better than indoor fabrics. And hey, you can also use those pieces of furniture in a sun room or outside.

• 

  Gramj

  Oct 11, 2010
  2:59 pm CDT

  outside furniture

  Having an alternative to the old plasticy outside furniture coverings is incredibly nice. You can use awnings to cover regular furniture that you want outside, but whether is unpredictable. Having a comfortable alternative that can handle indoor and outdoor atmospheres and maintain comfort in the fabric is awesome. It has always appealed to me to get a porch swing, but haven't yet because of the plasticy cushion options were such deterrent.