Furniture, and bouclé fabric – what is it with these two, anyway? Something about this pairing makes it so easy to up your furniture styling game. Let’s look at a few examples.

WHY BOUCLÉ  FOR FURNITURE, AT ALL?

There was once a time bouclé simply couldn’t catch a break. The ‘kind of-sort of’ rough and tumble look we now embrace as feel-good fuzzy, once worked against it.

Even when refined, it was written off as too forcefully decorate-y, its own kind of gaudy.

Bouclé is a heavy-enough fabric to be a reassuring choice, and malleable enough to wrap around most silhouettes.

Sturdy without being too stiff, in short.

But that’s realised later. Bouclé’s comforting tactile experience is being appreciated in new, and perhaps unexpected ways.

To say that life in the pandemic brought out a primal survival and rejuvenation instinct, would be an understatement. Deeply subconscious desires and inclinations – all seeking rootedness, restfulness and a way to return to all that really matters – expressed themselves in unbelievable ways.

EVOCATIVE HOME FURNITURE GETS A NEW DEFINITION

Then, it followed quite naturally, that there was a newfound love and respect for that touch-feel experience that gives shape and form to emotions that aren’t easy to express, or explain.

Bouclé simplifies the process with its unpretentious, lovable ‘loopy’ look, just doing its thing, being itself.

Those deeply subconscious desires for restfulness also tend to show in the literal way that we ‘curl up’ into ourselves; or ‘fold away’ from the rest of the world, when things become too overwhelming.

It’s a protective and recalibrating instinct – at work until we’re ready to hit the ground running again.

Which brings us to the first type of furniture bouclé really takes to.

CURVED SOFAS AND SOLO LOUNGE CHAIRS

Combining the chubby furniture trend with the return of the bouclé trend promises season-less, ageless style.

Even when not made of wool, and maybe just of cotton, or another blended fabric – a bouclé’s curled surface texturing does a great job of reimagining fleecy, cosy vibes. Wrapping it around the curvilinear backrest, or curved seating of your favourite sofas only amplifies that energy.

If you choose a bouclé in white, and upholster a few sofa pieces or loungers together in it, you’ve got yourself a delightful winter oasis. You’re thinking, igloo? Yes, sure, why not, if that’s what you like!

Speaking of an oasis; if shades of beige, camel, or champagne-bisque are more your colours, then bouclé upholstery for your favourite furniture pieces can certainly help recreate that desert glamping (glamour-camping) vibe.

STYLISH SIDES (OR STATEMENT ANCHOR PIECES)

There’s absolutely no reason why bouclé  wouldn’t look good on a pouffe, or sofa foot rest, and on those bed benches.

Bouclé suggests cathartic, cosy-fuzzy comfort, that  matches ‘foot therapy’ very well. A curved armchair in bouclé, with matching foot rest, also in bouclé? Who’s stepping out on the weekend? Nobody!

With bed benches, bouclé’s texture presents itself as an extension of a personal bed’s comforts. If your bed bench exists more for an additional seating option, than it does storage, then bouclé’ simply adds that lighthearted, laidback touch, which inviting seating arrangements call for.

Pouffes in bouclé – saving the best for last, maybe. Well, they’re simply adorable! They’re like oversized snowballs, or dollops of ice-cream, in your own surrealist wonderland.

When it comes to being semi-casual but also very sophisticated, pouffes can get the job done. With bouclé, they’re a break from the usual visual landscape, and can really lighten things when it’s beginning to get stuffy.

Much easier to move around from room to room, too. Bouclé pouffes are the right fit for the main drawing room, as much as they can be for the kids’ play room or the outhouse studio – and who doesn’t want that kind of versatility, right?

MOVE OVER, ACCENT WALLS

….Make way for the accent headboards in bouclé!

Headboards in embroidered or printed fabric are so easily available – most people can get their hands on one, but then, you’re not most people, are you?

Bouclé fabric on headboards is capturing imaginations everywhere. First off, it’s delightfully refreshing. One of those great ideas that don’t strike you as a great idea, until you imagine it, or see it in someone’s room. If creating statement textural contrasts makes you happy, and you’re looking for something different, then a bouclé headboard might just be the next thing to experiment with.

A GENERAL NOTE ON LAYERING

Not that bouclé wouldn’t look just as attractive in jewel tones or pastels, but the classic neutral palettes have a way of making bouclé’s texture speak for itself. After all, if it’s the fuzzy-cosy charm that we’re looking to celebrate, colours are probably best as some blend of modest, meditative, and unassuming – so that this charm can really shine through.

As a result, bouclé’s lends itself to layering experiments too, even if you don’t want to go all-out with furniture.

This layering also includes offsetting bouclé’s texture with that of other accessories in the room – from the natural colour and polish of wood, to MS steel add-ons; and the ombré effect on walls, or the weave on rugs underfoot, not to forget prints on cushions that may be propped up on bouclé furniture.