If you’re shopping around for entertainment room seating for sale, you’re going to have to make plenty of decisions based on what you’re looking for. From layout—whether you want a straight row of multimedia seating that can seat up to five people versus a row of three entertainment room recliners and a home theater loveseat—to what color upholstery will look best, and of course, whether you want an entertainment room couch with fabric upholstery or something made out of leather or another material.
The material you choose bears a lot of weight—it affects the décor and the vibe of the room, and you’ve also got to consider the upkeep and care of what kind of upholstery your chairs have. It’s a personal decision with all types having their own merits, but how does fabric seating—one of the most popular choices for media room recliners—compare to the rest?
Variety is the Spice of Life—and Your Fabric Upholstery
One of the clearest differences between fabric seating and different materials like leather and vegan leather are the sheer number of options you have with what kind of fabric you end up with. There are microfiber recliners designed for home theaters, media room seating upholstered with luxurious velour, and you might even be able to find some multimedia room chairs that have boucle upholstery—the list goes on. And with leather you’ve got, well, leather. Sure, there are different grades of leather, but you don’t get the same variations in texture and feel that you’ll find with their fabric counterparts.
There’s also a huge variety to choose from in terms of colors. While you’re sure to find some run of the mill colors available—think entertainment room chairs wrapped in white upholstery, black microfiber home theater recliners, and brown fabric—you’re also going to be able to easily find other options like purple, green, and even red multimedia room seating. You have a huge variety of options to think about, and when it comes to design and finding one of the best home theater recliners out there, the more options you have, the better.
The Comfort Factor
The argument could easily be made that those high-end, leather-upholstered media room loveseats you keep eyeing are super comfortable… after a certain period of time has passed. Straight out of the box, leather seating will need a period of being broken in via regular use and wear to achieve that cushy, sink-into-the-sofa feel that everyone loves about leather.
If you’re looking around for an undeniably comfortable home theater couch, and that trait is at the top of your list of what you’re looking for, it might not be a terrible idea to narrow the search down to strictly fabric seating. Fabric is soft, plush, and comfortable right out of the box, and it doesn’t require any sort of break-in to get the maximum amount of relaxation out of that new multimedia room chaise lounge wrapped in the softest velour out there. Fabric is also more breathable than leather—stay backed up against some leather seating for an extended period of time, and your back might end up getting a bit sweaty, but fabric doesn’t tend to cause this issue, making it perfect for those all-night movie marathons or gaming sessions.
Cleaning Fabric Upholstery
We’ve got to talk about cleaning, because try as you might to prevent it entirely, spills and stains are going to happen. Fabric and stains don’t really mesh all that well, and the type of fabric you’re trying to treat is also a consideration. In general, as with most stains, the quicker you’re able to catch it, the better the odds are of lifting the stain right off. Say you get some red wine on your home theater sofa that seats up to three—it’s not the end of the world. All you’ll want to do it blot the remaining wine off the sofa with a damp towel and some warm water, and then you’ll want to soak the stain in question with some sort of enzyme-based detergent or fabric cleaner for at least 30 minutes to lift the remainder of the stain off. If it’s still present, repeat the detergent soak until the stain is fully lifted. This works for most types of fabric. If you’ve got a huge microfiber sectional sofa for your media room, sometimes you can simply wipe the stain right off carefully due to the microfiber fabric’s properties.
Leather seating on the other hand is simple enough: catch the stain, wipe it off, and apply some leather cleaner to the affected area(s). Leather doesn’t stain that easily unless you’re not able to catch the stain soon after it occurs.
The Price of Luxury
If some of your search criteria is fining a reclining entertainment room chair that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you’re in luck—fabric seating happens to be one of the cheapest options when it comes to upholstery. While leather is a premium material, it also involves multi-step processes to manufacture, which drive up the cost. Fabric on the other hand, no matter what kind it is, is produced en masse in factories, which keeps the price point down and consumer-friendly.
That means that the quality home theater recliners that are loaded with luxurious features that you were hoping to get suddenly got a lot more affordable if you just stick with fabric upholstery. With the proper care and cleaning, a well-made fabric multimedia room sofa can last just as long as their leather counterparts.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to draw a clear winner between the types of seating, but fabric upholstery has a lot going for it and shouldn’t be immediately disqualified in favor of something more luxe like leather seating.