Materials
Mesh, fabric or leatherette: choosing upholstery for an Indian office
DecArt Team · 02 Aug 2026 · 2 min read
Upholstery is usually chosen from a photograph, which is why so many offices end up with the wrong one. In an Indian office the deciding factors are heat, humidity, how the space is cleaned, and who sits in the chair — not the swatch.
Mesh
Mesh works because it does not trap heat. Air moves through the back, so a mesh chair stays comfortable in a room where the air-conditioning is fighting a 40°C afternoon, or where it is switched off at 7pm and people work on.
- Good for: full-day workstations, hot floors, anywhere people complain about sweating into the seat back.
- Watch for: mesh quality varies enormously. Cheap mesh sags into a hammock within a year. Ask about the weave and the frame tension, not just the word "mesh".
- Cleaning: vacuum and a damp cloth. Dust does settle in the weave.
Fabric
Fabric is the middle path: warmer than mesh, softer than leatherette, and available in the widest range of colours — which is what makes it useful for zoning a floor by team.
- Good for: mixed-use floors, meeting rooms, anywhere colour matters.
- Watch for: spills. Fabric absorbs, and chai does not come out easily. In canteens and cafés, choose something else.
- Cleaning: shampoo and extraction; budget for it once a year on heavy floors.
Leatherette
Leatherette reads as senior, wipes clean in seconds, and costs a fraction of leather. That is why it dominates cabins, boardrooms and reception.
- Good for: director and CEO cabins, boardrooms, healthcare and hospitality where surfaces are wiped down.
- Watch for: heat. Leatherette does not breathe, so it is a poor choice for a full-day seat on a hot floor. It also cracks if the backing is thin — the quality of the coating matters more than the colour.
- Cleaning: a damp cloth. No solvents; they lift the coating.
The honest recommendation
Most floors we quote end up mixed: mesh at the workstations where people sit all day, leatherette in the cabins and boardroom, fabric where the client wants colour. That is not a compromise — it is specifying for use.
If you cannot decide, ask for samples in the actual light of the actual office. A shade that looks warm under showroom halogen can look grey under office LEDs.
