Hint: It’s all about luxe texture.
Photo Credit: David Cleveland/GAP Interiors
The importance of texture in a room is often overlooked. Fortunately, bouclé furniture provides plenty of it, bringing a luxe sense of warmth to its surroundings. It’s no wonder so many designers and home decor lovers are rediscovering its charms and timeless appeal.
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What is bouclé fabric?
“Bouclé” comes from the French wordboucler,which means “to buckle or curl.” It is both a curled, multi-ply yarn and a fabric that gets its distinctive nubby, almost fuzzy texture from myriad open loops. While primarily associated with wool, bouclé fabric can also be made from luxe materials including mohair, alpaca hair, and silk, as well as from cotton, rayon, and Lurex.
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Why is bouclé fabric good for furniture?
Commercially developed in the first half of the 20th century, bouclé didn’t gain prominence until the 1950s. Today Coco Chanel gets much of the credit for that, having used it to create her now-iconic short jacket when she reopened her couture house in 1954. Even before then, however, architect and furniture designer Eero Saarinen used bouclé as the upholstery for his groundbreaking Womb Chair, which debuted in 1948. His close friend, fellow designer Florence Knoll, had all but begged him to design a chair one could curl up in comfortably; the plush bouclé fabric enhanced the cocooning comfort of the chair’s curves.
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Other furniture designers subsequently turned to bouclé upholstery to complement the minimalist silhouettes of Mid-Century Modern sofas and chairs. Florence Knoll herself upholstered her boxy, square-armed namesake sofa and lounge chair in the fabric, which softened the silhouette and provided contrast to the slender metal base. Some designers leveraged bouclé to play into their furniture’s organic curves. Vladimir Kagan, a favorite of Marilyn Monroe, among others, used the fabric for his voluptuous Serpentine and Cloud sofas.
Bouclé is more time-consuming and costly to process than many other fabrics and more difficult to work with, which led to its falling out of favor by the 1980s. Now, however, it’s back in a big way. Some of that is due to manufacturing advancements. A larger factor is a growing desire for the home to be a cozy haven and a need for textural interest to make up for a lack of color in modern spaces with neutral palettes.
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The pros and cons of bouclé
It’s easy to name the pros of bouclé. It’s soft (especially a silk or cotton blend), and it looks just as luxurious as it feels. In fact, because bouclé is a heavy fabric, it provides an added layer of cushioning when used in seating. It also provides visual flair—a boon for those who shy away from patterns and prints. And unlike similarly textured materials such as sheepskin and sherpa, bouclé doesn’t mat and it’s as close to nonshedding as a fabric can be.
That said, the loops that make bouclé so distinctive can snag, break, or pill. If you allow pets onto your furniture, you’ll want to avoid a bouclé chair or sofa. For routine cleaning, vacuum with a soft brush attachment, testing it first on a hidden area to be sure that it won’t destroy the fabric’s loops. You can also use a lint roller to remove stray hairs or pilling.
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How to style bouclé in your home
Bouclé is ideal for any room where you want to create a sumptuous, welcoming ambiance—so just about any room.
A living room luxury.Creating a balance of textures is key in any space. In a living room dominated by marble, chrome, glass, and other cool, sleek, hard materials, a bouclé sofa or a bouclé ottoman will provide the softness you need to avoid a “look but don’t touch” vibe.
Layers like a dream.Similarly, bouclé throw pillows or a bouclé throw complement leather or linen upholstery beautifully. In a bedroom, a bouclé bench at the foot of the bed is a plush counterpoint to the typically flat, smooth surfaces of nightstands and dressers. For added pampering, bring in a bouclé-covered headboard—perfect for leaning against while you’re reading or scrolling in bed.
A beautiful buffer.Beyond furniture and throws, bouclé is well suited for drapery, particularly in rooms where you want to filter light. Its weightiness gives curtains a graceful flow and can help muffle sounds from outdoors as well.
Whether you opt for a few touches of bouclé or go all in with a statement sofa or chaise, the fabric will bring inviting texture and immediate luxuriousness to a room.
Feeling inspired to restyle your home? Book a consultation with our Nest Casa experts for personalized design service.
