A global trend in the world of furniture can be called eco-design. This trend sets the direction for the development of the entire furniture industry, from the production of materials from natural and environmentally friendly raw materials to the shaping and promotion strategy of furniture items on the market. Ecological or otherwise ‘green design’ can now be found in the catalog of any major European manufacturer. There are also factories on the market that focus entirely on making furniture only from natural materials. Together with ecological cleanliness and safety, such furniture brings an additional atmosphere of warmth, comfort, and simplicity to the house.
MATERIALS FOR PRODUCING ECO-FRIENDLY FURNITURE
When we choose a sofa, we pay attention to many aspects: its design, the quality of the frame from which it is made, and it is desirable to have a hygiene certificate that certifies its environmental friendliness. However, as a rule, we look first of all at the upholstery.
And now, in our world of rapid development in science and industry, there has been a major shift towards artificial materials, in addition to reducing the final cost of a finished piece of furniture, but also increasing its shelf life. For example, before, if there was a choice between upholstered furniture made of leatherette or genuine leather, any person unconditionally preferred the second. This was due to the fact that leatherette was something unintelligible and little resembling leather. Today, everything has changed, because, thanks to the development of modern technologies, artificial leather has become like its natural prototype, and in some respects even surpassed it.
ECO LEATHER
Eco-leather perfectly copies the texture of the skin and it is difficult to distinguish it from natural in appearance. unpretentious in care, vapor-permeable, resistant to tearing and abrasion, demonstrates good tactile characteristics, perfectly fits and drapes, is not subject to adverse weather factors, environmentally friendly, non-allergenic, non-toxic. Eco-leather is based on cotton fabric, which is quite durable and hygienic. That allows you to use it in children’s furniture. Velor, Nubuck, Pamela, Santa, being varieties of eco-leather, are produced in a wide range of colors, which allowed furniture designers not to restrain the flight of their own imagination, while performing the most complex drapery elements.
And here’s another updated version, brought to royal chic in interior design.
MICROVELOR
Microvelour (or microvelour) is a type of flock patented by the aforementioned MICROFIBRES company. Under this name, many different options for matter are produced, differing in the way the surface is decorated (using various embossing and dyeing technologies). Microvelour has high consumer qualities. The peculiarity of the original material is its glue. When it hardens, it turns into an elastic “breathable” structure, which at the same time firmly holds the pile, so that the fabric can even be washed.
However, the trend of our time, the time, so to speak, the struggle for environmental friendliness, has become relevant fabrics either 100% natural or to a greater extent. For example: Wool, linen, cotton … and despite the “capriciousness” of such material, the furniture, on the contrary, began to look much more comfortable.
INTERIOR FABRICS
The Luxury segment also has some nice updates. First of all, it should be noted that the textile industry is increasingly blurring the boundaries between the worlds of interior and fashion industries. Increasingly, you can find fabrics that come in the atelier of leading couturiers and in the studio of famous designers. As a result: the fashion for interior fabrics is becoming more and more dynamic. As you know, the Loro Piana brand ranks first in the world in terms of the quality of cashmere, wool, silk and linen fabrics. In addition, Loro Piana has the exclusive right to the world’s most expensive wool, the Peruvian vicuña. Loro Piana has obtained the exclusive right to acquire this precious fiber under the patronage of the Peruvian government. The fabric made from the wool of this animal has been known since the time of the Incas; it was she who was considered the fabric of the gods. Today, under the Loro Piana brand, not only clothing collections are produced, but also high-quality, expensive, exclusive fabrics made from natural fibers with innovative components for upholstery and home interiors. One of the “symbioses” of high art, the noble Giorgetti furniture in the home collection of Loro Piana Interiors. This combination is unique for the world market today.
In general, Italian furniture manufacturers have always been considered trendsetters in the furniture world. The secret of such success lies in the ability to apply the carefully preserved traditions of the masters of the past and combine them with modern materials, new technologies and artistic thought. In the modern production of furniture masterpieces, the Italians still prefer valuable tree species, the list of which includes dozens of both rare and more common well-known names. However, in the creation of almost any Italian furniture, there are some rules. For the manufacture of the base, selected pine, beech, poplar or oak wood is used, thoroughly dried and impregnated with a special solution that prevents possible deformation of wood fibers, as well as chipboard and MDF (in less expensive furniture). MDF, which is wood shavings glued together with a certain component, is easy to use in the manufacture of curly furniture parts. However, for flat rounding of large planes, multilayer plywood is more often used. Veneer, plastic, laminate, melamine are chosen as finishing when creating furniture – that is, the widest range of both natural and artificial materials.
