As a design-focused commerce editor who’s currently in the throes of furniture shopping for my new apartment, I’m pretty up to date on the latest interiors trends. Since I’ve been in the business for nearly a decade, I’ve seen many design fads come and go—but a select few have managed to stick around. And one in particular seems to be getting even bigger: I’m talking about bouclé. Quite frankly, I am sick of seeing it. There is beaucoup bouclé everywhere. Each time I type the word “chair” into Google’s search bar, bouclé is, without fail, in the first three suggestions. All of which begs the question: Have bouclé chairs gone too far?
According to not one, not three, but four interior designers, bouclé is here to stay. It’s unanimous, much to my dismay. “Bouclé stands as a truly timeless material, offering a wide spectrum of colors and boasting thicker, nubby textures ranging from softer to coarser feels,” says New York-based designer Becky Shea. “This fabric has maintained its quiet luxury since its inception. It’s not just a fabric; it’s an ambiance—it brings warmth, comfort, and sophistication to any space that embraces it.”
Speaking of bouclé’s inception, the much-used material has been around since the 1940s, when Italian furniture maker Eero Saarinen debuted his now-iconic Womb chair in the nubby fabric. Later, in the 1960s, Jacqueline Kennedy donned her infamous pink tweed Chanel suit in the same material, bringing it into the fashion sphere. “Ah, Coco Chanel, the epitome of chic!,” Shea muses. “She graced us with wool tweed in the 1930s, and by the 1960s, she was both experimenting with and enchanting us with bouclé.”
Brooklyn-based Emma Beryl shares Shea’s love of bouclé, but she has some advice for anyone considering upholstering a chair or sofa in the fuzzy fabric. “When choosing this material, you need to ask yourself if you actually like the bouclé for what it is or if you just want it because it’s trendy. Too much of a good thing makes it boring quickly.”
She’s not wrong. In fact, the reason trends tend to come in hot and exit the premises quickly is because they’re overdone and, frankly, just too much to live with longterm. So, if you love bouclé and want to embrace it, choose one piece to cover in the material and leave the rest of your furniture alone.
Cynthia Lananh, a designer based in San Francisco, offers these words of wisdom when it comes to decorating with the fabric. “Bouclé provides a warm and cozy aesthetic while also feeling classic and elevated,” she says. “It looks best when layered with other textured and soft fabrics. In serene, neutral palettes, the chunky woven texture of bouclé fabric is also a great option to use when blending transitional style pieces with more minimalistic designs.” If a pared-down style suits your personal sense of aesthetics, bouclé may be the perfect material because it recalls the quiet, soothing spaces of Scandinavia, the unofficial capital of minimalism. Of course, because it is such a versatile fabric, bouclé happens to work well with pretty much any look, which is perhaps why it is still very much on-trend.
Since the experts have declared it a material with well-deserved staying power, I suppose I’ll have to get used to it. If you’re already on board with bouclé, shop a few of House Beautiful-approved pieces below.
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