In Praise of Performance Fabric for Your Upholstery and More

You might be thinking, “Why do I need performance fabric?” With today’s synthetic fibers being relatively easy to care for, even removable for a good cleaning, that’s understandable. However, high-performance fabric for upholstery and other home furniture uses has revolutionized the industry. If your household is high-energy with kids and dogs doing a number on YOUR furnishings, this scientific fabric solution is the best answer. Of course we at Ivan Smith Furniture carry many items boasting this wonder material adding years of longevity and a perennially new appearance to your favorite pieces and sets. Names to look for when shopping for performance fabric include Nuvella and Sunbrella.

Get Performance Fabric for Your Living Room Sofas

For your living room sofas and chairs, high-performance fabric simply can’t be beat to make your front room a true family room where children and pets are totally welcome. Never worry about spilled food or drinks again, because “these colors don’t run”! The performance fabric used to clothe select Ivan Smith living room furniture is entirely solution-dyed. That means when the artificial fibers are still in the liquid, molten plastic state, the color is directly added. By using the dye this way, it permeates the fiber completely. Because this vivid color is infused into each fiber, stains can’t penetrate and damage it! The answer for almost all mishaps is just wipe it off with soap and water, or for tougher stains (such as red wine on a white sofa), a diluted bleach solution. This weak bleach won’t hurt your color either.

Beat the Sun with Performance Fabric for Your Outdoor Umbrella

The colorfastness of performance fabrics means it won’t fade in the sun, meaning these fabrics are also ideal for your outdoor furniture and accessories from awnings to patio sets to huge cantilever umbrellas. One leading manufacturer tests its performance-fabric items for 1,000 hours, far beyond the industry standard! Sun damage is usually because it fades the fiber’s top layer, revealing its base color. Because these recyclable fibers are saturated, they simply cannot fade. Outdoor furniture is at our Tyler, TX furniture store and we can order it from any of our locations.

Whatever your performance fabric requirements, you’ll always find the answer at Ivan Smith Furniture's Ark-La-Tex locations.

Your Cantilever Umbrella: A Sunny Spring Guide

Here’s why a cantilever umbrella is a fantastic idea for your deck or patio this season. Spring’s here, so the sun’s out more and there’s the scent of flowers in the wind. You want to stay outside longer, maybe even firing up the grill on the first balmy weekend. We get a lot of those nice days in Ark-La-Tex. But you need shelter from the oppressive glare and rays, especially on our famously humid afternoons. Plus with our famously turbulent weather, fierce pop-up storms and all, don’t let a rain squall put a damper on your festivities. So here’s Ivan Smith Furniture’s handy guide to choose the ideal outdoor umbrella for the next big alfresco party at your house.

How Cantilever Umbrellas Work: Cool Engineering

With cantilever umbrellas, the fabric shade is suspended on a yardarm attached to a pole and counterweight, unlike a typical table umbrella in which the pole is central. It can also be affixed to a sturdy wall. With our giant free-standing umbrellas, the counterweight is often sand in the base. That makes sure a strong gust will never topple your new umbrella or send it flying across the yard! Best of all for you and your guests, you get maximum room underneath without a pole in your way.

Some Cantilever Umbrella Features to Consider

We recommend a free-standing rotating cantilever umbrella if you’re on your house’s deck at different times of the day. As the sun takes its course overhead, you can adjust these outdoor umbrellas easily because they rotate 360 degrees. To facilitate this, some high-end models give you a foot pedal. A ginormous cantilever umbrella can easily do what two or more ordinary patio umbrellas can! If you go the wall-mounted umbrella route, your purchase will be able to rotate 180 degrees.

Our selection of cantilever umbrellas are square or octagonal. Your shade coverage ranges from 9 to 13 feet. As big umbrellas cost less per square foot, that’s likely your best option.

If you plan on opening your cantilever umbrella when the sun is close to the horizon, say, for sunset dinners, consider buying a tilting model to best shade your gathering.

When you need to upgrade your deck furniture and accessories affordably, our Tyler, TX store and the Ivan Smith website are here to serve you!