Buying Discount Designer Fabrics
The right fabric can make or break your project. Picking the
right fabric is the most important thing you can do to make sure your
decorating project will be successful. Mistakes are costly--take
the time to do it right.
In this article, we will focus on how to buy discount upholstery fabric
and drapery fabric; how to choose the right type of fabric for your
project; and finally, an overview of designer fabric sources.
FABRIC MANUFACTURERS
Upholstery fabrics and drapery fabrics are manufactured by fabric mills.
The high-end fabrics with the most unique designs come from Europe.
Increasingly we see fabrics being imported from China and India.
Companies such as Kravet, Robert Allen, Fabricut, Duralee etc. are not
manufacturers themselves. They are what we call fabric
distributors. They buy fabrics from the mill, package it and
resell it to the consumers. They also license famous designers to
design a particular collection and sell it under the designer name.
These companies are extremely good at coordinating the fabrics,
packaging it into a design template and then reselling it to the trade
or the consumers.
Generally you can not buy fabrics directly from the mills unless you are
a wholesaler. Also, most mills only sell at 50-yards roll.
The most popular fabric manufacturers to the design trade are
Kravet, Robert Allen, Fabric and Duralee. The more popular fabrics
with the consumers are Ralph Lauren, Laura Ashley and Waverly.
Then you get the more high end, expensive lines such as Donghia, Beacon
Hill, Corragio etc... that are quite expensive and is used more often in
high end design projects.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT UPHOLSTERY AND DRAPERY FABRICS FOR YOUR PROJECT
When picking out fabric for your project, there are two things you need
to think about--form and function. What will you use it for?
How often will it get used? What kind of looks you are trying to
convey?
Upholstery Fabrics
The most commonly used
upholstery fabrics are chenille, cotton, linen, micro suede, mohair and
wools. See our
guideline for the appropriate upholstery fabric to use. Drapery Fabrics
Silk, sheer, cotton,
linen, velvet are most often used in drapery fabrics.
See our guideline
for the appropriate drapery fabric to use.
HOW TO BUY DISCOUNT UPHOLSTERY FABRIC AND
DISCOUNT DRAPERY FABRIC
Generally there are a few ways you can buy discount upholstery
fabrics and wholesale drapery fabrics. If you use an upholstery or
a drapery person, you can buy the fabrics from him or her. Markups
can vary quite a bit with these workrooms, so shop around. If you
have a pattern number and a manufacturer, comparison shopping is very
easy.
You can also buy fabrics from your designer. Depending on the
agreement with your designer, you may or may not have to pay a mark up
from his/her cost. We generally feel that if a designer gets an
hourly from you, a mark up should not be necessary. If there need
to be a mark up, it should be extremely reasonable.
Otherwise you end up paying the full manufacturer's retail price, which
can be quite high.
You can also buy fabrics from an on line vendors such as
wholesaledesignerfurniture.com. Companies like this buy fabrics
directly from the source and you can be sure that it's always first
quality. Because the fabrics are purchased directly from the
distributors, you are protected if there is any flaws with the fabric.
Most fabrics are usually ship within 24 hours of ordering unless they
are back-ordered.
Another source of fabrics are the discount upholstery shops. In
Los Angeles, for example, downtown LA has a large section of fabrics
vendors who sell fabrics very inexpensively. The drawback is that
they are usually lower-end and the selection is quite limited.
Quite often you see the same fabrics are sold in different stores.
Stores tend to compete more on prices than uniqueness. However,
if your project is simple and you are looking for, say, plain white
linen or cotton for slipcovers and such, it will do just fine.
Request Pricing
for the following upholstery fabric, drapery fabrics and decorative
wallpaper:
*Note that our minimum order is 10 yards. We can not get
discontinued fabrics. If you know an item is discontinued, please
do not submit a pricing request.
Beacon Hill
Barbara Barry
Brunschwig & Fils
Corragio
Cowan & Tout
Duralee
Fabricut
F Schumacher
Highland Court
Laura Ashley
Lee Jofa
Kashmir
Kravet
Robert Allen
Ralph Lauren
Osborne & Little
Pierre Deux
Pindler and Pindler
Scalamandre
Stroheim & Roman
Thomas O’ Brien
Waverly
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