Hard-wearing, everyday fabrics

If your sofa needs to cope with family life, pets and regular use, fabric choice matters just as much as what sits underneath.

We select a small range of fabrics specifically for durability, resilience and ease of living – while still working with our natural upholstery build of rubberised horsehair, wool, cotton and natural latex.

Four hard-wearing fabric swatches: orange velvet, charcoal velvet, grey wool and olive velvet

Good options to start with include:

Performance Velvet – 100,000 rubs
Natural Weave – 60,000 rubs
Wool & Flax – 50,000 rubs
Cotton velvet – 50,000 rubs
Soft Linen – 40,000 rubs
Vintage Linen – 40,000 rubs
Everyday Weave, House Linen, House Wool and Wool Bouclé – 35,000 rubs

Rubs are the Martindale test: how many times a fabric can be rubbed before it shows wear. Every fabric in our range is rated at 35,000 rubs or more.

Most of these fabrics get their durability from their fibres and weave, and the way we construct the sofa beneath the top cover – not from chemical finishes. The two exceptions are Performance Velvet, which has a fluorine-free stain-resistant finish, and Everyday Weave, which has a PFAS-free water-repellent finish.

Natural Weave, a linen and cotton blend woven in Yorkshire, is our hardest-wearing natural fabric. Cotton velvet is hard-wearing too but, like all cotton velvets, its pile crushes and marks easily – lovely to live with, but worth knowing before you choose it.

Drop us a message and we’ll guide you through the best choice for your home, including the colourways available.

Talk to us about hard-wearing fabric options