How to Spec Upholstered Furniture for Interior Design Projects

A specification is one line per piece: what it is, how big, what it is made of, what it is covered in, and when it arrives. For an upholstered piece, that means the size and the frame from the product page, the fabric family and colour from a swatch you have held, and every matching piece in one order.

Key Takeaways:

• A spec sheet is a technical build document, not a mood board.
• Always specify frame material, fill type (e.g., variable-density foam), and joint method.
• Fabric choices must include the exact family, color code, and pattern direction.

Imagine this; A sofa arrives in the wrong cream. The drawing said cream. The workroom chose one shade of many. Now your client is on the phone, asking whose mistake it is. Knowing how to specify upholstered furniture is how you avoid the call.

A good spec leaves the maker nothing to guess. Write it so a stranger builds the piece without phoning you, then approve a sample before production starts. We make every Antarria piece to order in the UAE, so we treat the spec as the real start of the job.

Keep The Mood Board And The Furniture Specification Apart

A mood board sells a look. A furniture specification tells the maker what to build. Mixing the two is how cream becomes a guess.

Keep the board for your client and the spec sheet for the workshop. Give each piece its own page, so a change to one chair never forces a rewrite of the whole schedule.

What Goes On The Sheet 

How To Specify Upholstered Furniture Fabric Without Surprises

Fabric deserves the most care because your client sees and touches it daily. These five steps use the facts on our fabric swatches page.

1. Name the use: A daily family sofa and a guest-room armchair need different cloth. Decide which one you are specifying before you open a swatch book.
2. Order swatches and judge them in the room's own light: Colours on a screen look different in person. Our fabric page says so and points to our Al Quoz showroom for a true read of colour and texture.
3. Does the room get spills or damp? Ask about water repellence early. Our Ridge fabrics are 100% polyester with a water-repellent finish. For any other fabric, ask before you order.
4. Plan for sun: Direct sun and heat put upholstery at risk of fading, so keep indoor pieces out of strong light.
5. Hand your client the cleaning routine: Vacuum regularly, dab spills with a damp white cloth, skip detergents and harsh chemicals, and book a professional clean once a year.

Pattern needs its own line. If you choose a stripe, state which way the stripes run on every piece. The maker will otherwise decide for you.

Choosing The Fabric 

Antarria's fabrics page groups its upholstery into families. Check what each family is said to do against the room it is going in. 

As a general guide, not a specification: put the busiest seat in the family that matches how it will be used, then request swatches. Screens don't do fabric justice, so the swatch in your hand decides, not the picture on your laptop. 

An Example: One Line For The Orenza Sofa

Everything in the first four lines is read straight off the product page. Fabric and colour are the lines only you can fill in. 

Put Matching Pieces On One Order

Pieces bought at different times sometimes differ slightly in colour, according to our fabric swatches page. So specify a sofa and its matching armchairs in one order.

If your client adds a piece later, warn them about a slight colour difference. Write the warning into the spec so the client hears it from you first.

What To Approve Before You Finalise An Upholstered Furniture Specification

On a made-to-order piece, your sign-off is the last checkpoint. We do not offer cancellations, exchanges or refunds on made-to-order pieces, so check each item below before anyone signs.

• The fabric swatch, seen in the room's light and signed by the client
• Sizes, checked against the floor plan
• The finish, held next to the fabric
• The delivery route, including lift and door widths
• The spec sheet, signed and filed with the order

Comfort is hard to judge from a drawing. If your client has never sat in the piece, book a visit to our Al Quoz showroom. We are open seven days a week, 9am to 6pm.

Then build the schedule. Every piece is made to order and usually takes around 3 to 5 week.

Delivery is free within Dubai. Our team carries the piece inside and, if you ask, assembles it on site. Someone must be present to receive the goods and sign for them.

Work With A Supplier Who Reads Your Spec

A spec is only as good as the person reading it. Ask every supplier what they inspect before delivery. Before a piece leaves our facility, we check joints, finishes, fabric attachment and overall build quality.

Ask how the supplier handles damage on arrival, too. If a piece arrives defective or damaged, we resolve it case by case.

Our trade programme gives designers a dedicated team for quotes and installations. We discuss trade discounts project by project. We also offer consolidated delivery and full installation, which helps on a project with many pieces.

If you want a second opinion on product selection, our free design services start with a 30-minute consultation, online or in store.

FAQs 

1. How do you specify upholstered furniture for an interior design project? 

Write one line per piece: the item, its size, the quantity, the frame and base, the fabric family, name and colour, the finish and the timing. For an Antarria piece, the size and construction come from the product page and the fabric from the fabrics page and swatches. 

2. What should an upholstered furniture specification include? 

The overall dimensions, the seat height and depth where the page gives them, what the frame and base are made of, the fabric and colour, the finish, the quantity and the lead time. Add a line that matching pieces are ordered together. 

3. How do you choose the right fabric when specifying upholstered furniture? 

Start with how the seat will be used, then compare the fabric families: Soft Grain, Textured, Super Textured, Velvet Smooth and Leather Smooth. Request swatches and decide with one in your hand. 

4. What should you approve before finalising a specification? 

The size against the plan and the route in, the fabric and colour from a swatch, the finish, the quantity and that every matching piece is in one order. Then check the timing, which is around 3 to 5 weeks at Antarria.

Visit our Dubai Showroom

Visit the showroom with your project list and we will talk it through. 

Address: Warehouse No. 3, 28B Street, Al Quoz Ind. Third, Dubai 

Store Timings: Open 7 days, 9am to 6pm 

WhatsApp: +971 56 118 4731

Website: antarria.com

Email: info@antarria.com