Commercial Upholstery & Cover Choices for Booth & Banquette Seating
Commercial-Grade Fabrics for Booth & Banquette Seating
When you’re specifying booth seating for a busy restaurant, office, school or members’ club, the upholstery has to do more than just look good. It needs to be fire-rated, easy to clean and durable enough to cope with years of heavy commercial use. That’s why every HCF booth, banquette and fixed seating can be upholstered in Crib 5 contract fabrics and vinyls from leading brands – including Spradling, Camira, Agua, Panaz, Sunbury Design and Boy Riven, and why our acoustic meeting pods and office pods use the same high-performance upholstery throughout your workspace.
We can work with almost any commercial upholstery fabric you or your designer specify, but over the years we’ve curated a shortlist of proven, high-performance collections that we use day in, day out on trade booth seating and banquette projects. These ranges combine high Martindale abrasion ratings (to measure wear resistance), reliable flame retardancy and practical cleanability – ideal for high-traffic hospitality, education and workspace environments.
Not sure which collection is right for your project? We offer free fabric and vinyl samples across all our recommended ranges. Tell us about your venue, brand colours and usage, and we’ll put together a tailored sample pack so you can see and feel the options before you order.
How to Choose Your Cover
Different spaces need different performance levels. We’ll always guide you, but here are the key things to think about when choosing commercial upholstery for your booth and banquette seating:
Check Martindale abrasion ratings and choose severe-contract fabrics for high-traffic areas.
Wipe-clean faux leather and stain-resistant fabrics are ideal for food, drink and high turnover.
All covers must meet Crib 5 contract upholstery standards for commercial interiors.
Decide whether you want the sleek look of faux leather, the softness of velvet, or the natural texture of woven fabrics.
Recycled and natural fibre fabrics are available for projects with environmental targets.
Our Recommended Contract Fabric Collections
Below are the upholstery collections we recommend most often for our booth and banquette seating. Each range has been chosen for its commercial performance, Crib 5 fire rating and reliable availability. Valencia™ C5 is our standard, included option; the others are available with a small surcharge depending on the range and project.
Best for: Most restaurant, bar, café, club and education projects needing a tough, easy-clean faux leather finish.
Spradling® - Valencia™ C5 is our go-to contract vinyl for commercial booth seating and the cover we use on most trade projects. It’s a leather-look upholstery with a soft handle and a very high Martindale abrasion rating – independently tested to around 300,000+ rubs, making it suitable for severe contract environments where seats are in constant use. Finished with Spradling’s advanced Permablok surface, it offers antibacterial, anti-stain and mildew-resistant properties, and is designed to be wiped clean quickly between customers in busy hospitality settings.
Valencia™ C5 is a Crib 5 fire-rated, heavy-duty contract vinyl, compliant with key upholstery fire standards for commercial interiors. It’s also available in a broad palette of neutrals, brights and accent colours, so you can match chairs, banquettes and pods across a full venue or multi-site rollout. For most trade projects, this is the range we recommend as standard – cost-effective, highly durable and proven across thousands of installs.
Best for: Rustic, heritage and boutique interiors where you want a distressed leather aesthetic with contract-grade performance.
Valencia™ C5 Heritage takes the technical backbone of the classic Valencia C5 vinyl and adds a vintage, distressed grain for more character. Like the standard Valencia, it offers a severe-contract abrasion rating of over 300,000 Martindale cycles, plus a Permablok3® finish for stain and antibacterial protection. This makes it ideal for busy pubs, casual dining, hotel lounges and coffee shops where seating sees constant use but still needs to look warm and inviting.
The range is Crib 5 flame retardant, wipe-clean and designed specifically for contract upholstery, so you get the look of aged leather with the practicality of a high-performance vinyl. Choose Valencia™ C5 Heritage when your scheme leans industrial, rustic or club-style, but you still want fire-rated, easy-clean, heavy-duty upholstery throughout.
Best for: Premium hospitality, reception and lounge spaces needing an upmarket leather look with strong technical performance.
Alberta Hyde by Agua is a high-performing faux leather designed to mimic antique leather upholstery for demanding commercial interiors. It offers severe-contract abrasion resistance greater than 100,000 Martindale rubs, so it’s built for intensive use in hotels, cruise liners, healthcare, leisure and senior living environments.
Technically, Alberta Hyde is waterproof, stain-resistant, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, and meets key fire tests including BS 7176 Crib 5, BS EN 1021-1&2 and BS 5852 Crib 5, as well as IMO standards for marine use. It’s an excellent choice when you want a richer, more luxurious faux leather on booth seating, sofas or fixed benches while maintaining full contract, Crib 5 upholstery performance.
Best for: Statement booths, hotel lobbies, VIP areas and private dining where a plush velvet look must still behave like a contract fabric.
Agua’s Primeira / Primera Velvet is a high-performing contract velvet created specifically for commercial environments such as hospitality, leisure, cruise and senior living. It achieves a severe-contract Martindale rating of over 150,000 rubs, meaning it can comfortably handle heavy, daily use on booth seating, sofas and feature pieces.
The fabric is flame retardant to Crib 5, waterproof and highly stain-resistant, with excellent cleanability for common spills like grease, coffee and wine. Made from 100% treated polyester, Primera Velvet combines a soft, luxurious hand-feel with serious performance credentials. It’s the perfect upgrade when you want that rich velvet aesthetic but still need easy maintenance, durability and fire safety in a busy venue.
Best for: Office pods, meeting booths and task seating where sustainability, ergonomics and long-term durability are key.
Camira Xtreme is a modern crepe weave fabric made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester, diverting plastic waste from landfill.
It’s engineered for task seating and workplace furniture, with in-built stretch that works brilliantly on fully upholstered acoustic pods, focus booths and contoured seating.
Xtreme is a heavy-duty contract fabric with a 10-year guarantee, independently certified to ≥100,000 Martindale cycles, making it suitable for intensive commercial use. It meets key fire standards (including EN 1021 1&2 and BS 7176 Low/Medium Hazard) and carries environmental certifications such as the EU Ecolabel, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and Indoor Advantage™ Gold.
Choose Xtreme when you want a textile finish rather than vinyl, with excellent FR performance and a strong sustainability story for office-style booths and pods.
Best for: Acoustic pods, breakout booths and lounge seating where a natural, wool-rich aesthetic is part of the design brief.
Main Line Flax blends 75% virgin wool with 25% flax fibre to create a soft, multi-tonal upholstery with a natural, tweed-like texture.
It’s suitable for task seating, soft seating, panels and curtains, which makes it ideal when you want chairs, pods and wall panels to share a coordinated fabric story across a workspace or hospitality setting.
The fabric is inherently flame-retardant to Crib 5 Medium Hazard and classified as heavy-duty, with abrasion resistance independently certified to ≥50,000 Martindale cycles. Main Line Flax also carries the EU Ecolabel and other environmental credentials, making it a strong choice where designers are looking for sustainable, wool-rich, natural-feel upholstery for pods and banquettes.
Best for: Modern office booths, collaboration spaces and education pods with a sporty, contemporary look and strong eco credentials.
Camira RePlay is a knitted-texture woven fabric inspired by technical sportswear. It’s made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester and is TCPP free, giving it a future-facing sustainability profile.
The subtle two-tone micro colour detail creates a dynamic, athletic feel that works particularly well on meeting pods, focus booths, collaboration seating and study booths.
Within the RePlay family, rub tests are specified at around 100,000 Martindale cycles for heavy-duty commercial upholstery (for example, RePlay Zero and RePlay Zero 170 variants). RePlay fabrics are flame-retardant and carry environmental certifications such as the EU Ecolabel, OEKO-TEX Standard 100 and Indoor Advantage™ Gold, supporting sustainable building and fit-out projects. Choose RePlay where you want sustainable, performance-driven upholstery with a distinctly modern, sportswear-inspired aesthetic.
Best for: Outdoor booths, terraces, balconies and high-humidity areas where indoor fabrics would quickly fail.
Spradling Maglia is a textile-look coated vinyl that combines the appearance of a woven fabric with the durability of a marine-grade, outdoor-ready surface. It uses a vinyl topcoat with a Hi-Loft²™ polyester backing, creating a soft hand feel without sacrificing performance. Maglia is tested to >100,000 Martindale cycles, classing it as a severe-contract upholstery suitable for demanding hospitality and outdoor environments.
The range is UV-resistant, waterproof, mildew-resistant, antibacterial, antifungal and low-temperature resistant, and incorporates Spradling’s PermaBlok protective finish for added resistance to germs, abrasion and stains. This makes Maglia perfect for roof terraces, garden booths, covered smoking areas and semi-outdoor dining spaces, where you need upholstered comfort but also long-term weather and moisture resistance.
Prefer a Different Fabric? We Work with Most Major Contract Libraries
Alongside our curated collections, we regularly upholster in fabrics specified directly by designers and clients. We have strong relationships with leading contract suppliers including Spradling, Panaz, Agua, Sunbury Design, Boy Riven and Camira, and can source most Crib 5 contract upholstery fabrics from their books for your project.
If you already have a fabric in mind, simply send us: The supplier name & collection, the exact colour / reference code & any performance requirements (wipe-clean, healthcare, outdoor, recycled content, etc.)
We’ll confirm suitability for your seating design, check lead times and advise on any pricing difference compared with our standard Valencia C5 range.
See and Feel the Fabrics – Request Free Samples
Choosing upholstery from a screen is never quite the same as seeing it in real life. That’s why we encourage all trade clients to request free samples before signing off colours and specifications.
Tell us a bit about your project – the venue type, colour palette and likely wear level – and we’ll:
- Recommend the most suitable commercial fabrics or vinyls
- Put together a targeted sample pack of swatches
- Help you balance aesthetics, durability, cleanability and budget
Fabric & Upholstery – Frequently Asked Questions
Crib 5 is a UK fire safety standard for upholstered furniture used in commercial environments such as restaurants, bars, offices, hotels and schools. Crib 5 contract upholstery has been tested to withstand a higher level of ignition than domestic furniture, making it suitable for public spaces. All of our recommended cover choices are specified as Crib 5 fabrics or contract vinyls, and we’ll always check that any fabric you supply or specify is fire-rated for your project.
Yes. We can usually work with any commercial upholstery fabric from major contract suppliers. If you already have something in mind, just send us the supplier name, collection and colour code, plus any performance requirements (easy-clean, healthcare, outdoor, recycled, etc.). We’ll confirm if it’s suitable for your booth seating, check availability and advise on any price difference compared to our standard Valencia C5 range.
Valencia C5 is our core heavy-duty contract vinyl and is included in our standard pricing. It’s a hard-wearing, easy-clean faux leather suitable for most hospitality and education projects. The other ranges (such as Valencia C5 Heritage, Alberta Hyde, Primera Velvet, Camira Xtreme, Main Line Flax, RePlay and Spradling Maglia) sit in surcharge tiers because they are premium collections, offer different aesthetics (velvet, natural wool, outdoor) or come with enhanced features like sustainability credentials. We’ll always make clear which pricing tier your chosen cover falls into.
A good indicator is the Martindale abrasion rating. For busy restaurants, bars, cafés, offices and education spaces, we recommend high Martindale / severe-contract fabrics and vinyls that are designed for heavy use. All of our curated ranges have been selected for their durability, and we’ll guide you towards the most appropriate option based on how many hours per day the seating will be used, the type of venue and whether you’re specifying booth seating, office pods or soft seating.
Yes, we offer free fabric and vinyl samples for trade projects. Simply contact us with a few details about your project – venue type, colour preferences, any specific collections you’re interested in (e.g. Spradling Valencia C5, Camira Xtreme, Agua Primera Velvet) – and we’ll put together a targeted sample pack. This lets you see the colours in your space, feel the texture and test how the upholstery works with your finishes before you place an order.
Yes. For outdoor terraces, covered smoking areas or spaces with higher moisture levels, we recommend specialist outdoor and marine-grade upholstery, such as Spradling Maglia and similar collections. These are designed to be waterproof, UV-resistant and mildew-resistant while still meeting contract fire standards. Let us know where the seating will be installed and we’ll suggest the right outdoor-ready cover options for your booth or banquette seating.