So, pour yourself a cup of coffee and take your seat. I hope what you read below will be of your interest. Perhaps after today, you can start to look at the sofa you sit on and the furniture in your home a different view. 
Furniture is just a furniture for people in the street. It is a tool to relax while eating or drinking when sitting on it. Similarly, many household products including curtains, cushions, tulles are just like any other item for us… However, there is a big difference in the perspective we look at furniture to use in our offices or private spaces.
Furniture and home textile manufacturers have divided themselves into groups. While some of them only make products for home use, some of them offer products for office use and some for public spaces such as hotels, schools, hospitals, airports…
Performance-based fabrics, accessories and materials are mostly used in groups other than products for home use. However, we can easily understand that we should use products with these features in the home environment and that this is not a luxury when we examine these technical features. The sector defines these products made of high-performance properties fabrics as “CONTRACT” or “PROJECT” products.
In fact, we can say that many products called “contract” products have features that make us think that they should be in our daily lives.
For example, one of the biggest problems brought to us by today’s metropolitan life is the necessity of living in high-rise buildings with a lot of people. We may have to witness the joy or sadness of our neighbor next door as if they were right next to us even if we don’t want to. But did you know that this problem can be almost eliminated with 100% natural wool fabrics which can be considered as a “contract” product?
As a result of laminating the wool fabric to a felt, we can use it as a wall covering in various sizes, shapes, colors and we can have a product that is both more elegant and has the ability to absorb ambient sound so we can make it a part of our daily life. Moreover, we can have breathable, flame resistant, radiation absorbent, non-conductive, repellent of flies, insects, snakes and pests, anti-stress, anti-allergic, moisture-resistant places that kept cool in summer and warm in winter due to thermal properties of that product.
The production processes and features of “Contract” products from raw materials to finished products are actually products that we all want to be accessible for use in our homes. Let’s take a look at what we can earn by paying a little more for products that can build a more comfortable living space for us not only in our offices or public areas but all areas of our homes:
Fabric features:
There are a few things to consider when it comes to choosing fabrics. How it looks, how durable and useful it is and how sustainable and maintainable it is. These are the questions that are usually at the top of the list.
Another consideration when choosing an upholstery fabric is whether it is made from a natural fiber or synthetic fiber or perhaps a combination of both. As a result of your choice of wool, polyester, poly-propylene, cotton or linen fabrics, the composition of this fabric will affect everything from how to clean, its pilling resistance, abrasion resistance, lightfastness, fade resistance and its ability to withstand heavy use.
“Contract” fabrics meet different specifications including fire retardancy and are also produced with special processes that provide waterproof or easy-to-clean properties. The key here is that if you want to buy furniture for tough conditions, you need to make sure it’s upholstered with a “Contract” quality fabric.
So, let’s take a look at the standards accepted by the industry in this regard. Let’s try to understand how the performance of a product can change with yarn, weaving, dyeing, finishing processes and special additives used on the fabric on it.
Standards come in two forms;
- a) Standards that are not legally enforced by law but that we have for a commercial necessity and for the purpose of offering better products in terms of competition.
- b) Technical specifications that must be met in order to certify special products to be used in contract and interior design projects (such as high resistance to sunlight, friction and flame.)
We can focus on three types of performance fabrics to make it easier for you to find the right fabric to provide you with a more comfortable and reliable living space:
- Standard project fabrics
- Fabrics that have increased performance treated with special processes
- Natural and special fabrics that first class raw materials used and passed over production processes
Standard Project fabrics;
Fabrics cost you less but with high rubbing resistance and flame-retardant properties. It means that fabrics with high rubbing fastness have a longer usage time and that more difficult for animals such as cats and dogs to wear out. The flame-retardant feature will allow you to leave your place with minimal damage in case of a possible fire evacuation.
Fabrics with increased performance that produced with special processes;
Fabrics has improved features like stain-resistant, water-proof, anti-microbial, anti-mildew, UV resistant etc. that are obtained with special chemicals during the finishing of fibers or fabric itself. Although these features may seem like gains that we are not accustomed to using in our daily lives, in fact these can be even should be found in the simplest home furniture. Hotels, restaurants, airports, and other commercial areas all use such products.
Natural and special fabrics that first class raw materials used and passed over production processes:
Fabrics that you can get the highest quality you can have but are comparatively the most expensive. These fabrics are produced for the toughest conditions that may occur. These make a safer living space for us in many challenging conditions while offering us comfort.
Besides the high security feature of hotels, restaurants, airports and other commercial areas such fabrics are preferred for longer-lasting projects. These features must be tested and certified in an independent laboratory.
Performance Standards:
- a) British Standard BS5852-fire safety regulations applies to all ‘medium hazard’ environments. We need to make sure that any project product meets this standard.
- b) Tensile strength and shrinkage levels are also important issues of contract fabrics. Disappointment and unwanted surprises can be avoided by checking the certified values in the test environment.
- c) Light fastness BS EN-ISO-105B02 should be minimum grade 6
- d) Washing fastness BS EN-ISO-105C02 should be minimum grade 5
- e) Wet & Dry Rubbing Fastness BS EN ISO – X12: 2002 should be minimum grade 4
- f) Abrasion resistance (Martindale test) should be minimum 50,000 rubs.
In conclusion, to make it a standard after taking a look at all these features, is it a luxury demand or a need for us to care about the health, safety and living comfort that contract products will bring to our daily lives?
Güven SANCAK & Ersin SAMSA
09.06.2023
