Measured: Upholstery durability is lab-tested by abrasion and quoted as Wyzenbeek double rubs in the US or Martindale cycles in Europe. The two scales measure differently and do not convert.
The basics
What to know about upholstery material
Upholstery is the covering stretched over a frame and its padding, and it is the part of the piece that fails first. Frames and springs routinely outlive the cover. That means this choice decides whether a sofa is still in the room in ten years or out at the curb.
Three families cover almost everything sold. Leather is a hide, so it wipes clean, breathes, and marks into a patina rather than staining. Flat woven fabrics, from linen blends to engineered performance weaves, feel softer and cost less but absorb whatever lands on them unless the fiber itself resists it. Pile fabrics such as velvet stand thousands of cut threads on end, which is where their color depth comes from and why they show pressure marks.
One number lets you compare them. Abrasion resistance is tested by rubbing the cloth until threads break, and US listings quote Wyzenbeek double rubs. Roughly 15,000 suits a formal room, 25,000 and up suits a family sofa, and 50,000 is commercial grade. Read the cleaning code on the tag as well. W means clean with water, S means solvent only, WS means either, and X means vacuum only.
