4 Upholstery Details That Can Make Your House Look Cheap, According to Design Experts
Just as there are upholstery details that can make your house appear more expensive, there are characteristics that can detract from the look and feel of your home. While it’s simple to assume that more affordable upholstery will automatically look cheaper, in reality, it comes down to styling over price. Choosing the right textiles, layering items correctly, and paying attention to the tiny details can make all the difference in how a chair, sofa, or loveseat presents.
To save you from accidentally downplaying your home’s charm, we chatted with a few interior design experts to determine the four fundamental mistakes to avoid when shopping for and styling upholstery. Keep reading to learn more.
Synthetic Fibers
A telltale sign of cheap-looking fabric? An unnatural shine. “Texture and quality are very important to us, and we would always advise using natural fiber fabrics over a synthetic, to avoid shine and ensure that the most luxurious finish is achieved,” says Harlequin Design Director Claire Vallis.
House of Hackney’s U.S. Decorating Consultant, Maggie Samson, agrees. “Steering clear of synthetic fabrics is essential—after all, who wants to risk their cozy new sofa becoming a potential fire hazard?,” she quips.
High-shine faux leather isn’t the only ill-advised textile. Designer and Evars Collective CEO Nancy Evars, of DECORATE by Nancy Evars, says that faux suede can be really tricky, too. “Faux suede and faux leather can easily come off looking cheap if you don’t source the really well-made ones,” she warns.
Too Many Layers
There’s a fine line between a cozy interior and one that looks a little too lived in. While layers of texture can be great at building a scheme, Vallis says that too many throws or pieces that feel ‘throwaway’ can cheapen the appearance of a home.
To avert such a disaster, Vallis suggests paying close attention to the details that make your space special and focus your effort there. Take your sofa, for example. As the center of your living space, you want to accent it, not overcrowd it. Of course, if you’re a maximalist, then you may want to ignore this tip altogether.
Trendy Upholstery
There’s something to be said about adopting a classic capsule wardrobe and the same goes for upholstery. “If you choose upholstery for your home based on what’s trending at the moment and not what fits into your scheme, it will show and look cheap or out of place,” Samson says. “When you opt for textiles that look like they were meant to be there, your signature style will shine through and that effortlessness looks expensive.”
This isn’t to say that you can never embrace an upholstery trend. Rather, Samson says that overdoing it or trying to pair them with a totally different scheme can detract from their allure. “Trends may lose their charm and appear out of sync if they're not thoughtfully harmonized into your existing room,” she explains.
Boring Upholstery
Nowadays, so many pieces of upholstered furniture feature eye-catching tapes, trims, nailed detailing, and/or statement legs, that when you opt for a unadorned piece, it can seem like a budget option (and not in a good way). That’s not to say you can’t buy an affordable piece of upholstered furniture, though. Instead, Evars just says that if you do, you may want to consider customizing them with tapes, welts, or trims: “It's the easiest way to elevate your upholstered pieces,” she reveals.
Samson agrees. “We’re all for creative freedom at House of Hackney, and a great way to keep the cost of upholstery down is to do it yourself,” she says. “Things like headboards and pop-out-seat dining chairs are surprisingly simple to re-cover, with the help of easy online tutorials online, and the finished piece radiates high-end charm, standing out beautifully from the big box stores' alternatives. Your personal touch makes all the difference.”
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