So, you’re in the market for some new seating for your home theater. You’ve been doing your research, looking at entertainment room chairs on the market and scouring Pinterest for some inspiration on theater seating design and layout.

A lot of the pictures you see are of theater seating upholstered in premium-grade leather, looking classy and timeless, and in others, you see chairs and sectionals done up in fabric upholstery that are also looking design-friendly. 

Leather seating in home theaters is certainly a classic look that deserves the recognition it gets, but fabric chairs can still easily get the job done and be a good choice for tons of people. Here are 5 of our favorite reasons to keep thinking about that fabric seat.

They’re cheaper than their leather counterparts

One of the biggest advantages of fabric is that it’s almost always going to be cheaper than leather and other luxury materials. If you’re looking for new theater seating and constructing an entire home theater at the same time, it can be a financially-savvy choice to cut some costs where you can and save those fancy, leather reclining entertainment room chairs for later when you think about upgrading.

Just because they tend to run cheaper, doesn’t mean that theater chairs that aren’t made from leather are inferior or any less of a good choice—at the end of the day, the material your seating is made from is more or less an aesthetic choice over anything else. A theater seat that’s upholstered in fabric can still have the same features and tricks that a leather seat has; it just has a little bit of a different feel to it.

Whether you’re building out your entire home theater or looking to just get some new bargain-priced theater seating, fabric seating is where it’s at. Plus, you could always take that extra money you would have spent on leather chairs and get something else cool for your home theater, like bass shakers, LED lighting strips for the room, or some high-tech audio equipment.

They’re typically easy to clean

Everybody has dropped and spilled something before. We’re all only human, and it’s more or less a “when,” and not an “if” it’ll happen again. When you’re shopping for theater seating, how easy a material is to clean will probably cross your mind at least once—after all, it’s good to be prepared.

Thankfully, fabric upholstery is pretty easy to clean. Depending on the type of fabric you go with, it can even be seamless to clean. Home theater sectionals with microfiber cushioning would be one of the easiest to get stains off of because of how tightly-woven microfiber material is. The tightness of the fabric naturally resists liquid, which tends to bead on top of the fabric, making it as easy as blotting the offending liquid, and then liberally applying some water to the affected area to fully rid the stain.

Other entertainment room couches and chairs made from fabric like velour or other cotton-derived materials are still easy to lift stains off of, but might require just a little bit more effort. Time is of the essence. The sooner you can get to the spill, the greater your odds of easily lifting the stain. 

For other fabric, the universally tried-and-true method of mixing water with any combination of dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda to form a paste-like substance holds steady as ever to get stains out. Find a soft-bristled brush to scrub that mixture into the fabric for a couple of minutes, apply water to wash it away, and voila—your stain should be lifted. If not, give this age-old recipe another go, and the stain is bound to come off with some effort.

They’re made with some of the plushest fabric out there

Vegan leather entertainment room chairs and their authentic counterparts might be timeless and look great in most spaces, but let’s face it: they can sometimes get sweaty and uncomfortable, plus they can take a while to break in and actually get comfortable. If you’re looking for some of the softest theater seating out there for those family movie nights where you all get huddled up on the sectional, fabric seating could be exactly what you’re needing.

 With so many different types of fabric to choose from, it could be worthwhile to check out a local, brick-and-mortar theater seating showroom to test out some of their fabric chairs to see which kinds you and your family like best. Check out some reviews online for entertainment room seating in the fabric you decided on, and keep your eyes out for any reviews mentioning how comfortable (or not comfortable) that seating is. The best companies who make entertainment room chairs take comfortability into account when manufacturing their chairs—after all, they want their customers to have a good experience in their seating and come back.

But everyone has their own preferences, and what might be the perfectly cozy chair to one person might be considered “stiff” to another.

Take your time doing your research on which models of fabric theater seating are the best choice, and you’ll surely end up with something supremely soft and ready for you to sink into and watch some of your favorite movies in.

There are tons of fabrics to choose from

Leather is leather. Sure, there are different grades of leather—some you’ll covet and want, and other kinds of leather you’ll want to steer clear from—but the material is the same. With fabric chairs, you’ve got a ton of choice not only for the color of the fabric, but the actual type, feel, and texture on that microfiber chaise lounge you’ve been eyeing for your home theater, for instance.

Having too many choices is never a bad thing. With the myriad of options for fabric, you could end up with something like velour entertainment seats in a row of 4 that throw it back and pay tribute to classic movie theater décor. Or you might find an entertainment room sectional upholstered in microfiber in a bright color that ties in perfectly with your modern aesthetic. 

Whatever you choose, having more than 1 option for the material your seats are can help you dial into the exact look you want for your home theater. Seating is always one of the biggest furniture focal points in home theaters, so finding the right kind of entertainment room chairs to match your aesthetic is vital.

They don’t require any extra maintenance

One of the other biggest draws to invest in some high-quality theater seating with fabric cushions is that they don’t require maintenance like other seating does. Leather seating comes with the tradeoff that it needs cleaned and conditioned on a semi-regular basis. Fail to do so, and you might end up with some unsightly cracks in your leather upholstery if it gets too dry.

Cotton and other blended fabrics, unlike leather, aren’t a breathable, “living” material. Because of this, they don’t require any added maintenance—keep them clean, vacuum them, blot out any stains or spills that come up, and you’ve got some furniture for your home theater that’ll last you years down the line.

With all of the great qualities and aspects of fabric seating, what are you waiting for?