Redecorating the house often means a lot of decision making; Not only do you have to choose the right paint colors for the walls and the right flooring for your room, but you also have to choose matching furniture, accessories, and upholstery materials.
If you’re just choosing a new upholstery fabric or drapery material to replace the existing fabrics in your home, the task may be simpler, but there are still an overwhelming number of options available to you. In all situations, getting sample watches of fabrics that interest you is vital to getting a great result.
The first reason this type of swatch material is so important is that it is a great help when ordering discount designer fabrics online or from a catalog. Although shopping this way often means much more convenience, the downside is that you can’t always get an idea of the product’s color before it arrives in your home.
One reason for this is that colors are often difficult to display correctly and accurately in print and digital, and in any case, fabrics tend to look different in various types of light anyway; Although that ‘cream’ fabric may look ‘cream’ in natural light, artificial light can bring out a completely different color look.
For this reason, obtaining material samples is crucial to allow you to see what the color of the fabric really is like in your home and how it looks in various natural and artificial light conditions. Many times the color will be correct, but in other situations it may be completely different than what you expected.
It’s also important to get fabric swatches first, as it allows you to get an idea of the fabric’s texture and durability, which can be helpful for many reasons. If you plan to upholster your furniture, you most likely want the material to have a certain feel and be durable enough.
Others want to be able to embroider and embellish their fabric, whether it’s to make custom curtains or create unique cushions and pillows for the home. Obtaining a fabric swatch allows the orderer to try other personalization techniques on the swatch to determine if it is appropriate or not.
Some discount designer fabrics may be too thin and flimsy to support an embroidered pattern, while other premium fabrics may be too stiff and strong to allow for significant customization. Therefore, it is absolutely essential to have a true idea of the fabric before placing a full order.
Lastly, it is crucial to order fabric swatches before placing a final order because it is possible to compare different types of fabric side by side. Often our choice of fabric comes down to how many of our criteria they meet. It is very difficult to know if we have succeeded or not if we cannot see how the fabrics are compared to others that interest us.
With this in mind, ordering multiple fabric swatches at once allows us to make a meaningful comparison of several different types of material on our short list. This will also allow us to designate a ‘backup’ option, should our original option turn out to be unavailable for some reason.
For the above reason, it pays to get samples of your favorite upholstery or drapery material, whether it’s discount designer fabrics or value options. Doing this will help you accurately assess the color and quality of the material, compare it to other fabrics, and determine whether or not it is suitable for the purpose for which you intend to use it.
