10 Questions Buyers Ask Before Ordering Velvet Cushions for Hotels and Restaurants

Not long ago, velvet cushions were the kind of thing you would only expect in a boutique hotel lobby or a cocktail bar with a nice touch- not something a restaurant group or a design studio would actually order for every seat in a property. That has changed. Hotels, restaurants, cafes, and design studios are now ordering velvet cushions for guest room chairs, restaurant booths, hotel banquettes, front desk seating, and lounge chairs across every location in a group, not just one showcase room.

If you are sourcing seating for a hotel, a restaurant group, a boutique store, or you design for hospitality clients, here are the ten questions we hear most often from buyers before they place their first order, as well as answers based on what happens once these cushions are used every day in a hotel or restaurant.

 

1. Why is everyone using velvet in hotel and restaurant design right now?

 

A 2026 design trends report from Forbes points to a shift away from pared-back, neutral interiors toward more expressive, character-driven spaces. In hospitality, designers are using richer, warmer colors and layered textures to create spaces with a distinct point of view. 

Velvet fits directly into this shift because it adds depth and textural contrast without requiring the entire room to be redesigned. MityLite's furniture trend report makes a similar point about hospitality furniture in general. Plush velvet and other textured fabrics are showing up across hotels, conference rooms, theaters, and ballrooms this year. Interior designers are choosing texture, rather than a bold paint color, as the detail makes a room stand out.

 

 

2. Does velvet actually hold up in a busy hotel or restaurant?

 

This is the question we get asked first and it is a fair one to ask. The velvet that used to wear out after a few months was fashion velvet, made for clothing, not for seating. Velvet made for cushions and seat covers is woven differently, with a tighter, sturdier base and a much higher rub count (that's the test that measures how many times a fabric can be rubbed before it wears through), which is exactly what matters for a chair that gets sat in dozens of times a day. If you are also sourcing fabric for the frame the cushion sits on, our Warwick fabric collection is built to the same everyday-use standard.

 

3. What is the difference between velvet and velour?

Velvet and velour can look almost identical when you first see them, but they are made differently and that difference matters when you are specifying upholstery. Velvet is woven, with the pile created during the weaving process, while velour is knitted. That difference affects how the fabric behaves under pressure, how it catches light, and how well it maintains its appearance over time.

For seating, this distinction is particularly important. Upholstery velvet has a more stable construction and is designed for applications where the fabric will be stretched over a sofa, chair, banquette or cushion and subjected to regular contact. Velour's softer, more flexible knitted structure can be better suited to decorative applications where the demands on the fabric are lower.

If you are specifying a velvet look for a hospitality project, make sure the fabric is actually intended for upholstery rather than choosing based only on how similar the two materials look in a swatch.

 

 

4. Why are boutique hotels spending more on design lately?

 

This is not just a style trend. It is backed by real growth numbers in that part of the hotel industry. According to IBISWorld's research on US boutique hotels, revenue in this sector grew at an average rate of 8.7 % between 2020 and 2025, including a 1.9% increase in 2025 alone. 

Independent, design-led hotels are growing faster than standardized hotel chains, and industry researchers point to design as one of the main reasons guests choose them. A hotel lobby furnished with the same beige chairs used in every budget chain does not give guests a reason to choose that property over another one nearby. A room built around a distinctive material like velvet gives guests that reason.

 

5. Can I order custom cushions without buying a huge quantity?

 

Most cushion suppliers require a large minimum order. That requirement works fine for a big retail chain. It does not work for a hotel group with five properties, or a restaurant company opening its second location. Fabrica Kraft does not have a minimum order requirement. A single café owner and a fifty-location hotel brand can place an order the same way, at the same trade pricing, without either one having to compromise on cushion size, foam thickness, or fabric choice. This same custom-sizing approach applies to all of our cushions, not only velvet ones. 

Our guide on how to get custom cushions made without a big-brand order size discusses boutique hotels, built-in seating and ordering custom cushions without a large minimum order quantity.

 

6. Why are designers using velvet on statement seating?

 

 

 

 

Velvet is increasingly being used on statement seating to add depth, softness and a stronger visual identity to hospitality interiors. The trend is visible in commercial furniture as well: Four Hands Hospitality, a collection designed for hotels, restaurants and other high-traffic spaces, includes an olive-velvet sectional alongside other hospitality-specific upholstery pieces.

Olive is particularly effective for this kind of application because it brings color into a space without feeling overly bright or saturated. If you are looking to recreate this look through custom seating, Fabrica Kraft's Warwick Casimir Olive velvet can be used for custom cushions and upholstery. The premium velvet is designed to work across commercial and residential applications, making it an option for lounge seating, banquettes, accent chairs and other upholstered pieces.

For hotels and restaurants, this makes velvet particularly useful on lounge chairs, banquettes, sofas, and accent seating where the upholstery itself is meant to become part of the design. Instead of keeping every seating piece neutral, designers can use a rich velvet in olive, rust, navy, brown, or another deep tone to create a focal point while keeping the rest of the room more restrained.

 

 

7. Can velvet cushions be made to match my brand's colors?

 

If your brand operates more than one hotel or restaurant location, you want the cushion fabric to look identical at every property. Fabric colors sold off the shelf rarely match a brand's exact color code. Custom color matching solves this: you send us your brand's color code, usually a Pantone number, and we match the velvet fabric to it before production. 

Our velvet cushions collection is updated each season with colors chosen for hotels and restaurants, including warm neutral tones, jewel tones such as emerald and rust, and deep colors such as navy and oxblood. A deep brown Warwick - Novara Chocolate cushion, for example, works well in a private members' lounge or a dimly lit bar, where a bold color reads clearly. A lighter neutral velvet color works better in a bright hotel lobby, where a very dark or heavily saturated color can look out of place next to lighter walls and flooring.

 

 

8. Where should you not use velvet in a hotel or restaurant?

 

No single fabric works in every part of a hotel or restaurant, and velvet is no exception. Hotel entryways, restaurant bar tops, and any surface that gets spilled on regularly are the wrong place for velvet, even when it is a high-quality, well-made fabric. Most design studios use velvet on chairs and banquettes that get everyday hand and body contact but do not get spilled on constantly. For the areas that do get spilled on, such as a bar top or an entryway bench, they switch to a wipeable material instead. 

Our comparison of leather and Ultraleather explains how a wipeable material holds up against the daily spills and scuffs found at a restaurant bar or a hotel entry bench. Our Ultraleather cushions collection also resists bacteria, mold, and mildew, which is useful in a space that gets cleaned daily but still sees heavy contact from guests. The leather cushions collection is another option for these same high-contact areas if you want a warmer, more natural-looking material instead of a synthetic one.

 

 

9. Is velvet worth the cost for a busy hotel or restaurant?

 

The price on your first quote is not the number that matters most. The number that matters is what the cushions cost you over the next several years, including replacement and labor costs. A cheap cushion that needs replacing after one or two years of daily hotel or restaurant use can end up costing more in total than a well-made cushion that holds its shape and appearance for much longer. It is also worth standardizing the specifications for cushions used across multiple rooms or locations so replacements can be reproduced accurately later. 

Our guide to what to customize and what to standardize in boutique hotels explains how hotel designers can decide which seating pieces should be custom and which should follow a repeatable specification.

10. Can I get matching fabric, leather, and curtains from one supplier?

 

Velvet is never used on its own in a well-designed space. Designers usually pair a velvet cushion with a different fabric on the seating frame itself, a leather accent piece, and curtains or sheers on the windows nearby. Ordering all of these materials from one supplier keeps the colors, delivery timelines, and fabric quality consistent across an entire property. It also means you are not placing separate orders with three or four different vendors and hoping their fabric colors match once the shipments arrive. Our drapery and sheer collection is curated to work with the same seasonal velvet colors, which matters when you are ordering cushions and curtains for the same lobby or dining room and need the colors to match exactly once everything is installed.

Sometimes buyers are nervous about ordering custom cushions without seeing them first, especially for a client's project. It helps to hear from someone who does this for a living. Randi, who ordered a Warwick velvet cushion for a client's custom closet, left this review saying, “This is an excellent quality cover, even nicer than the workroom I have used in the past for my custom cushion work. I will definitely be working with this company again. Make sure to ask for samples. They are so efficient and helpful all the way throughout! Great turnaround time. This is my client’s custom closet.”

 

 

 

 

If you want to see the exact fabric she used, our Warwick Novara Taupe velvet is from the same fabric range, and it is built to hold up in both home and hospitality use. If you would like a fabric swatch in this color or a custom color match for your own project, contact our team directly at business@fabricakraft.com.

Quick answers, if you're short on time

Getting started

 

You do not need to order cushions for an entire hotel or restaurant property in a single order. Most buyers start with a smaller sample order for one room type, one bar area, or one row of booths. They check the fit, foam firmness, and fabric color against their existing furniture, then place a larger order for the rest of the property once they are satisfied with the sample. 

If you are working on a hotel, restaurant, or interior design project and want to order velvet cushions, send us your seat measurements, fabric color preference, and project timeline through the Contact Us page or by email at business@fabricakraft.com. We will put together a quote based on your specific project rather than a standard catalog size.