Colour lives in fabric far more than leather ever allows, and every fabric Chesterfield chair proves it, handmade in Manchester across velvet, wool or tweed.
From
£922 Was £1,153
From
£922 Was £1,153
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Leather gets all the attention in Chesterfield, largely because it arrived first and has been photographed in every drawing room and gentlemen’s club since. Fabric is the quieter option and often the more interesting one, since a woven cloth brings colour, warmth and texture to the buttoning in ways a hide simply cannot reach.
There is a practical case for cloth as well as an aesthetic one. A chair covered in wool or velvet feels warmer to sit down on in January, absorbs sound instead of bouncing it around a hard room and costs noticeably less than the equivalent hide in most designs.
Here is the part that surprises people, because fabric is where the real range lives.
If you are unsure where to begin, order up to six free swatches and they will reach you within a few working days.
A single chair is a small enough canvas to be adventurous with, which is exactly why so many people choose a cloth here that they would never risk across a full sofa. The buttoning gives that cloth somewhere to gather light and shadow, so the pattern reads as depth rather than as flat upholstery.
The cloth matters more than the colour, since two chairs in the same shade look entirely different depending on how the fabric was woven and finished. Every one of these ranges is set out in full detail on Our Fabric.
VELVET
The most dramatic option we offer, with a pile that shifts tone as you move around it and catches light across every button. Velvet suits deep jewel shades particularly well and reads as luxurious rather than merely colourful.
WOOL Warmer, more textural and thoroughly practical, wool suits country houses and transitional interiors where leather can feel a little formal. It is the most forgiving cloth for a chair in daily family use.
HERRINGBONE
A woven diagonal that adds quiet pattern without shouting, which works beautifully when the room already has plenty going on elsewhere.
TWEED
The most British option of all, bringing heathered countryside colour indoors and suiting stone fireplaces, beamed ceilings and wing chairs particularly well.
BOUCLÉ AND MOHAIR
Bouclé brings a looped, nubby texture that reads as thoroughly contemporary, while mohair is genuinely indulgent with a soft sheen and real depth of colour.
VEGAN ALTERNATIVES
Our Hide range is a polyester alternative rather than genuine leather, offering a similar appearance with an entirely different hand feel.
Shade changes the mood of a room far more than the design of the chair does, so it is worth thinking about the light before the cloth.
Fabric works hardest when the room around it stays relatively quiet, which is exactly why it suits simpler interiors.
Walls that work. Soft white and warm neutrals let a bolder cloth become the obvious focal point of the corner. Deep forest green or ink blue grounds a lighter wool rather than competing with it, while warm plaster tones flatter both the buttoning and the leg finish.
Chairs to consider. The Conrad armchair shows a velvet at its simplest, with nothing distracting from the pile. The Woodstock wing chair gives a tweed or wool considerably more surface to be seen across, and a patchwork chair combines several cloths at once.
Cloth asks slightly more than leather does, though none of it amounts to much across a decade of use.
Every piece is made to order in Manchester and arrives within six to eight weeks, delivered free across mainland Britain. Our in stock chairs leave a good deal sooner if timing matters.
Wools and tweeds hide everyday marks well, since the woven variation disguises what a flat colour announces. Leather still remains the easier option in a genuinely busy family household.
Nearly every design can be upholstered in cloth, and unusual combinations are possible through our bespoke service. Ring the workshop directly if you have something particularly specific in mind.
Velvet for drama, wool or herringbone for everyday practicality, tweed for a countryside feeling. Bouclé is the choice if the room leans contemporary rather than traditional.
