I’m having a new wedge-shaped sectional built for my Mahalo Lounge. I need to choose the upholstery fabric. It needs to play nice with my 60 yards of barkcloth pinch pleats — and I’m planning a leopard print rug underneath. What color to choose? I started my hunt by looking for a burnt orange — or coral orange — or a red orange — or even a rust — that would pick up on the blossoms in the drapery pattern. I online-shopped and ordered ’til my eyes about bugged out. Above: All 49 oranges, laid out by manufacturer. Let’s take a look at the seven finalists >>
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Midcentury modern upholstery fabrics in orange from Knoll:
Above: Knoll Rivington designd by Dorothy Cosonas in Paprika.
Before I started my upholstery hunt, I had no idea it was so easy to order upholstery samples from major manufacturers. Knoll is a big name — they have gorgeous fabrics — at a surprising number of price points, both high and low — and they make it super easy to order samples.
The Knoll Rivington in Paprika is a strong contender. The color really seems to change in the light.
Above: See how the fabric looks on these vintage Thonet chairs reupholstered by Modern Chair Restoration— oh my! Thanks for the permission to show your photo, MCR!
The weave is really nice — and bespeaks tropical.
As I said, Knoll was fantastic about sending samples — nice big pieces, and they came within a day or two. Following are photo of all the orange(ish) Knoll fabrics I ordered to give a try. I was super impressed:
Midcentury modern upholstery fabrics from Maharam:
Above: I was also super impressed with the easy access to upholstery samples from Maharam — and the fabrics were gorgous, too! Contenders:
Above: Maharam Teatro in Heat — it’s a yummy velvet..,
And above: Maharam’s Outback by Kvadrat 466061 in Color 641. But: It’s not really a contender, because it’s way too lipstick red in real life. But oh my goodness, I adore this fabric, so I had to show it! It’s sort of more loosely woven than a boucle, with a wee bit of gray threads in it that give it just that little extra something in dimension. Comes in a bunch of rich colors. I so wish I had a place to put this — hmmm, maybe I need to make a coat out of it!
Above: All my Maraharm orange upholstery samples.
Midcentury modern upholstery fabrics from Designtex:
Above: Designtex is a company that I learned about from ModernFabrics.com, which often has remnants, including in substantial yardage. For this project, I found three samples on the Designtex website that are finalists. Designtex was also very easy to order from.
Above: Designtex Adler — my sample is Tomato – a great looking- and feeling fabric — a wonderful boucle-type weave and lots of great mid mod color colors.
Above: Designtex Hint in Carrot — a soft chenille with 100,000 Wyzenbeeks, so seems like it would last forever. Lots more color-colors in this line, too.
Above: Designtex Bark Cloth — in Red Orange — designed by West Elm. 100,000 Wyzenbeeks, some more great colors.
Above: All the orange upholstery fabrics that I ordered from Designtex.
Midcentury modern upholstery fabrics from Kovi:
I also learned about Kovi from ModernFabrics.com, which carries remnants.
Above: Kovi K5605, a nice woven with coral, orange and persimmon-colored threads made my list of finalists.
Above: Other Kovi orange upholstery samples that I ordered.
Thanks also to Modern Fabrics, Camira, and HBF Textiles — I also ordered orange upholstery samples from them, and many were super nice, but they did not make my finals.
But: Maybe I should go green?!
Ack. After thinking I MUST go orange… and ordering all these samples, I then got the idea that a large orange sectional might present too much of a contrast — rather than act as a secondary complement — to the many many linear feet of green-dominant pinch pleats in the two rooms. So then, I began ordering greens. Story to come.
Meanwhile:
What do you think of these oranges, for a 101″ x 101″ sectional?
If I choose orange upholstery — which one?
Initial thoughts on orange v. green?
- Follow all my stories on the design of my Mahalo Lounge here.
Nancy says
Hi Pam —
As your sister in the love of leopard, I am with you as well where the orange finalists are concerned. I’m a former rep of high end commercial textiles and you won’t go wrong with Design Tex, Maharam or Knoll in the quality department. You probably already know that the Wyzenbeek test is usually referenced in terms of commercial use and 100,000DR is considered the high water mark in terms of long term use/abuse for hotels, restaurants, offices, etc.
Kathy says
No contest for me, the Kovi. It has enough texture to keep it interesting without going overboard. The shade of orange is neutral enough be a background for accessories yet strong enough to stand on its own.
Vic says
I like the Knoll Rivington the best, followed by the Bark Cloth . I love everything green and think a deep green would be awesome and a bit more subtle. Do you want the drapes to be the focal point or the sofa?
Whatever you pick, relook at the rug sample with it. I am not a fan of the leopard print with those awesome drapes, and with the orange you may go over the line from tiki chic to tiki cartoon.
Lori says
I really like the Adler. The darker tone doesn’t overpower the orange in the drapes.
Robin, WA says
My picks would be the Designtex Bark Cloth or the Knoll Rivington. The Designtex Adler is nice too. I would not go green. Orange couches are the bomb.
Karen says
I like the Knoll and the Kovi the best.
Martha says
Going with a green sofa is going to make your room look much cooler and would also “tame” the leopard print rug. A sage(ish) green with Maharam Teatro covered pillows would look amazing!
Lynne says
I have an orange sofa, and I love it. Go orange. I also have a bright green sofa. No contest, the orange is my favorite, and when it gives out, I’ll get another orange one. You’ll have enough green in the room with your plants and drapes.
My computer is just miserable when it comes to color, so I won’t comment on exactly which swatch from your finalists. These are my weeding suggestions:
Eliminate anything that reads red or pink, or yellow-ey.
Toss anything that looks like carrots, the crayon called “orange” or road cone orange. Too childish, pick one that is deep and dramatic and rich looking. It will look better in the daylight and fab in the subdued lighting of “the lounge”.
Fabric feel against your skin. No matter how drop dead gorgeous it is, if its scratchy or pokey or rough on the inside of your arm or leg, ain’t nobody gonna want to sit on it anyhow.
Markie says
oooh love the Adler… i think the orange is great… but 101 inches is a big piece. you gotta love it!
J D Log says
I would go the Kovi it looks a true orange not a wishy washy orange.
So many colours are neutral never be afraid of colour like so many people seem to be these days. Besides it looks warmer and more tropical for those bleak winter days