Buying a new boat and taking it out onto the open water can be thrilling! However, boats can be expensive and time-consuming to maintain. If you own a boat – whether for commercial or personal purposes – you need to invest in marine upholstery that lasts and doesn’t add to your boat maintenance to-do list.

Keep reading to learn all about marine upholstery, including the requirements for marine upholstery and the best fabric options. Don’t furnish your boat without reading this information!

 

What Is Marine Upholstery?

Marine upholstery refers to the fabric used to coat the furniture on boats. Usually, this fabric must be water-resistant to prevent damage, staining, and wear-and-tear over time. Since boat upholstery is exposed to damp conditions regularly, the material must be resistant to mould. The salt from seawater is also highly damaging to fabric and can quickly cause deterioration, so marine upholstery should be an easily wipeable surface.

Boats already require a significant amount of maintenance, so you need to opt for a marine upholstery fabric that will be low-maintenance and durable.

 

What Are The Different Types Of Marine Upholstery?

Here are your best options to help you decide which trendy fabric to use for your marine upholstery.

 

Vinyl

Vinyl is a popular choice for marine upholstery because it is water resistant and low maintenance. You can easily wipe down the surface of vinyl upholstery with a damp cloth to remove any traces of salt and keep the fabric free from mould.

Additionally, if your vinyl upholstery becomes torn, you can quickly restore the fabric. You don’t even have to replace it! Most fabric stores will offer vinyl repair kits that allow you to seal any tears or holes in the fabric.

Vinyl has the appearance of leather and comes in a wide range of styles and colors – so you can purchase vinyl that matches the existing features of your boat’s interior or exterior.

 

Acrylic

One alternative to vinyl is acrylic fabric, however, it is not entirely waterproof, so you should opt for a laminated acrylic fabric. Or, if you already have your sights set on a particular fabric, you can easily have it laminated by a fabric professional to make it more waterproof and durable.

When you have a fabric laminated, this also makes it fire-resistant, which is a massive bonus for marine upholstery. The only downside to choosing laminated acrylic for your marine upholstery is that it can be more expensive than other options.

 

Heavyweight Canvas

Heavyweight canvas is often used in marine upholstery because the fabric is highly breathable. If the stuffing of your nautical furniture becomes wet, then the heavyweight canvas material will allow it to breathe and dry out. Interweaving threads form to make canvas material – typically crafted from cotton threads – to create a material with small gaps in between, adding these handy breathable properties.

Although heavyweight canvas is inexpensive for marine upholstery, it isn’t as durable as vinyl or acrylic. Since it is made from cotton, you cannot remove any salt on the surface, leading to fabric deterioration. Additionally, since it can become wet, it is more susceptible to mould.

 

Marine Upholstery Foam

When using padding for marine upholstery, it’s crucial to select a type of upholstery foam that will not become damp and encourage mould growth.

Our preferred material is outdoor reticulated foam – it is perfect for marine upholstery as it does not collect water. The water simply runs through it without collecting inside the furniture (which can be unpleasant for those who wish to take a seat).

 

Stainless Steel Staples And Eyelets

When applying marine upholstery, it’s essential to consider the staples and eyelets. The staples secure the furniture’s material, and eyelets are small holes in the fabric circled by metallic rings – similar to those you would see in curtains.

For marine upholstery, you must ensure that the staples and eyelets are made from stainless steel to prevent rust and guarantee your marine upholstery has a longer life.

 

Summary

Now that you know about the best fabrics for marine upholstery, you can start choosing different styles and colours to suit your boat’s interior. Set sail in a chic cabin. Contact us at Sydney Upholstery to learn more about marine upholstery fabrics, and we can help you find the best style for your boat’s design.

Leather is rich in texture and complexity and can elevate your living space. However, each type of leather is vastly different, with its own set of strengths and weaknesses.

Want to know how to choose the best leather for your upholstery? Keep reading below. This guide will highlight the various leather options so you can make the best decision for your lifestyle and home.

 

What Are The Different Types Of Leather?

Getting the right type of fabric for your upholstery is essential. To help you make the best decision, here we weigh up the strengths and weaknesses of each leather.

Full Grain Leather

Full grain leather is the best quality you can buy. Why? Well, full grain leather is made using the highest quality hides with no visible blemishes. Full grain leather is your first stop if you’re looking for the luxury option.

When artisans make full grain leather, the manufacturer does not thin the hide, making this type of leather extraordinarily thick and durable. It is resistant to damage from machinery during the manufacturing process. However, full grain leather can be challenging to upholster furniture due to its thickness, as it can be tricky to bend and shape it over corners.

Full grain leather does not undergo any buffing processes, so when you buy full grain leather, you get to see every detail and unique feature of the hide used to make the leather.

 

Top Grain Leather

Top grain leather is similar to full grain leather; only it has been thinned and buffed. The thinning and buffing processes make top grain leather easier to work with, as it moulds around corners more easily.

Although top grain leather is easier to work with, it does not offer the same level of durability as full grain leather. The buffing process also alters the surface of the leather, meaning you will not get the same rich detail.

Top grain leather is the better choice if you’re looking for a coloured finish. Leather artisans can easily dye and colour top grain leather to create a more desirable finish.

 

Corrected Grain

Corrected grain leather is a beautiful embossed type of leather. Some artisans choose to recreate the texture of full grain leather by embossing top grain leather.

How can you tell the difference between top grain and corrected grain? Top grain will have unique flaws and intricacies, whereas corrected grain will be completely uniform.

 

Aniline

Aniline leather is leather that has been treated with transparent dye without losing its original colouring. Aniline is the right choice if you want an authentic and rustic leather look.

Since aniline reveals the original colouring of the leather, you can use only the best and most high-quality leather as aniline leather. This is a coveted type of leather; only 5% of leathers are suitable for aniline treatment.

The thin layer of coating on aniline leather makes it more fragile, which means that it will be subject to damage and staining – so if you’re opting for aniline upholstery, be sure to treat it with care! If you love your aniline leather, it will love you right back. Aniline leather ages like a fine wine, showing more character and complexity as the years go by.

 

Semi-Aniline

Semi-aniline leather is treated with dyes that make its colour more uniform and increase its durability. If you opt for semi-aniline, you will get a cheaper material with more durability – making it a more sound investment for commercial spaces with many visitors and households with pets and children. Your choice in fabric should be based on your lifestyle (you don’t want to be replacing your upholstery in less than a few years!).

The coloured dye used on semi-aniline leather does decrease the visibility of some of the natural marks and intricacies of the leather. But, the protective top coat on semi-aniline leather will give you peace of mind when sipping coffee or red wine during after-work drinks or with your friends on the sofa.

 

Summary

The best leather for your furniture depends on your budget, lifestyle, and preferences. Contact Sydney Upholstery today for assistance in weighing up your options for commercial and household use. We’ll make sure you choose a leather that you can enjoy for a long time!

To the outside world, upholstering can seem like a one-person job. However, working on commercial or residential projects requires a team. We think it’s only fair to give you a sneak peek of our process and how they work in with us.

When upholstering or reupholstering bespoke pieces, whether in a home or a cafe, we use the support of both joiners and architects to ensure the project is completed flawlessly. Dependent on each project, some will be ripped down to the bare bones and rebuilt, whereas other projects will be created from scratch.

Architects

Architects are the ones who create the initial ideal and ensure it’s a supportive structure. We specifically work with designers and architects to create a prototype that captures the vision of a project. We then work together to develop and further evolve the initial product.

All supporting structures must be built with Australian building codes when executing a custom design. Specifically, architects will be brought into commercial areas such as cafes, pubs and libraries to create seating specific to the space. When completing larger commercial jobs, we rely heavily on architects for plans. 

Once the architect has created a unique design, this is when a joiner is then brought in to execute the design.

Joiners

Once architects have created the supportive structure, joiners are the ones who then make the design come to life. Their job is to create a piece of furniture or seating created by the architect or client. Not only this, they are integral when designing a substrate. They are the ones who provide a frame or template for us to begin the process. We bring in joiners when we have custom pieces that need to be created, as they are fantastic at creating specific pieces. If a piece of furniture is older, we often bring a joiner in to see how it can be best restored. Often, joiners will be brought in once a piece is broken down and built back to its original frame.

They work to bring the client’s visions and architects’ drawings together. Sydney Upholstery works with joiners who make custom pieces that can’t be bought off the shelf.

Upholsterers

Finally, this is where we come in. Once the architect has created the idea, the joiner has made it come to life. We then cover it with the requested fabric. As upholsterers, we can use any fabric to suit commercial heavy-grade fabrics, leathers, and various foams. We have a fantastic relationship with all major fabric wholesalers and work with them to advise our clients on which fabrics will work the best specific to the project.

In terms of delivery turnaround time, Sydney Upholstery will always work to honour our deadlines. We’re conscious of business hours when we work in a commercial setting. To accommodate this, we usually pick up the project in the evening or during closing times and have it delivered within 24-48 hours.

If you’d like to know more, or maybe we’ve sparked your interest in having that old chair reupholstered, get in touch with our friendly team today.