Faux Fur vs Bouclé: Which Fabric Suits Your Life (and How to Keep It Nice)

Choosing a fabric is like choosing a housemate. Both will be in your lounge room every day. Pick wrong and you'll resent them by August.

Grumpi pieces come in a few fabrics — faux fur, bouclé, snow velvet, corduroy, fleece and teddy — but faux fur and bouclé are the two people ask us to choose between most. Both live on the Peachi Swivel Chair, and bouclé also comes on the Loungi Occasional Chair. Here's the honest rundown.

Faux fur: the drama option

Faux fur is a statement. It says "I own a chair that people want to touch." And they will touch it. Everyone touches it.

It's soft, plush, and photographs like a dream. The trade-off? It shows direction. Sit in it, and the pile remembers. Some people love that lived-in look. Some people spend Sunday brushing their chair. Know which person you are.

Bouclé: the texture option

Bouclé is the looped, nubbly fabric you've seen in every design magazine since forever. There's a reason. It's textural without being loud, it hides everyday sins better than a flat weave, and it doesn't care which way you sat on it.

The trade-off? Loops are loops. Rings, pet claws and zealous zippers can snag them. Not a dealbreaker. Just physics.

Caring for faux fur

Short version: be gentle, be quick.

Shake off crumbs and give it a soft brush with your hand to keep the pile happy. Spills? Blot straight away with a barely damp cloth. Don't rub — rubbing mats the fibres and makes the spill famous. Keep it out of harsh direct sun where you can. No furniture fabric enjoys tanning.

Caring for bouclé

Bouclé wants a light vacuum with an upholstery attachment every week or two. That stops crumbs settling into the loops and becoming permanent residents.

For marks, blot with a clean cloth and mild soap. Again: blot, don't scrub. If a loop pulls, don't yank it — trim it flush with scissors and move on with your life.

Which one for you?

Got pets with claws? Faux fur forgives claws better than loops do. Got a busy house and no patience for grooming a chair? Bouclé. Want the plushest possible thing to sink into after work? Faux fur. Want the fabric equivalent of a neutral that still has personality? Bouclé.

Neither feels quite right? The Loungi range also comes in snow velvet, and the Plumpi in corduroy and fleece.

Can't decide from a screen? Fair. Order a fabric swatch and let your hands vote.

The honest bit

Both fabrics have passed AS/NZS 4088.1 fire testing, and both sit on the same foam underneath — durability tested by SGS to 20,000 seat cycles at 950N. So the choice is about feel and upkeep, not durability. Whichever you pick, it ships vacuum-compressed in a box. Metro delivery in 10 business days, or a $100 store credit if we're late.

Browse the full range and pick your texture. Your new housemate awaits.