How to upholster a chaise longue?

The chaise-longue armchair: design furniture

The Le Corbusier Lc4 chaise longue is probably the most famous armchair in the history of design. Today we know it as a reclining armchair with a steeply inclined backrest and an extended seat for leg rests.

A modern piece of furniture that is most eye-catching in a living room or study. In reality, every corner of the house is perfect for relaxing and therefore suitable for a modern chaise longue. This seat is particularly suitable for the living area, in elegant and modern settings. In the living room, it usually accompanies a sofa or a set of sofas, with which it creates a harmonious corner suitable for receiving guests.

The first model is attributed to the architect Le Corbusier, famous for his urban projects that influenced building in the post-war years. Known as the lounge chair, it was presented in Paris in 1929 at the “Salon d’Automne des Artistes Décorateurs” and soon after appeared in a French home not far from Paris.

But let’s see together how to upholster a chaise longue and which materials are most suitable.

Leather chaise longue: the ultimate in elegance

This type of seat was created by three great design artists Le Corbusier, Pierrand and Jeanneret precisely with pony leather upholstery with hair. A natural, full cowhide leather that retains the original colour of the animal and its name comes from its resemblance to the hair of the foal.

Cavallino leather is a fine leather but this armchair has also undergone several reinterpretations for its upholstery. In fact, the most common images for the black leather chaise longue  or white leather.

The black leather chaise longue, like all black upholstered armchairs, represents the ultimate in elegance. It adapts to the most stylish environments and is versatile in living and working contexts.

On the other hand, the white leather chaise longue also has its uses. Perhaps considered for more modern ambiences, white leather lends itself to contemporary living areas. In this case, pairing it with the white sofa needs to respect this colour.

The Cassina company that produces the original LC4 covers the leather armchair in different colours.

Fabric chaise longue: the modern and cosy version

The fabric chaise longue has a modern appeal. Actually, it is the upholstery of the designer chaise longue that differs from the original, authentic model in shape, structure and upholstery.

A fabric chaise longue is a modern-style seat that can be customised in colours and especially in the most varied fabrics. When faced with the choice of purchasing a fabric upholstered armchair, one of the first decisions to make is between natural or synthetic fabrics.

Natural fabrics are made from plant and animal fibres. The most common for upholstering armchairs are cotton, linen or wool. These are breathable and light, but susceptible to wear and tear and require some maintenance, especially wool.

Synthetic fabrics are obtained from artificial fibres, often derived from petroleum or plastics. We mention viscose, nylon, microfibre and polyester. These materials, compared to natural fabrics, are more resistant and easier to clean but less breathable.

Covering and protecting your armchair

If you have purchased a chaise longue or a sofa with chaise longue, it is important to protect it with accessories that guarantee the durability and resistance of the cover. Usually, you choose to cover your sofa or armchair with a thin blanket that can be different in colour and material.

The chaise longue cover is an indispensable complement for those who want to protect their sofa or armchair at all costs. It is not at all easy to buy a chaise longue cover. Precisely because not all chaise longues are the same, we must measure every centimetre of our sofa, so as not to make the wrong choice of buying a larger one to save time and effort.

The advice is to buy a fabric of the same colour, take its measurements and have a custom-made sofa cover or chaise longue cover sewn.