Which Nugget® fabric should I get?

Durable. Machine washable. Infinitely buildable and endlessly slide-able. Comfortable for kids and kids at heart, and their pets too. 

We could go on and on about our love of Nuggety fabrics, so for this post on the blog, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. (Just don’t get us started on what the best Nugget fabric is. Or the best Nugget color. We’ll be here all day!) The TL;DR: All our fabrics are amazing, whether you’re shopping for a Nugget®, Chunk®, or Smore™.

Meet the fabric fam

From light and soft to ultra-cozy, there’s a Nugget play furniture fabric for every Nuggeteer. The Nugget fabric family tree includes microsuede, double-brushed microsuede, corduroy, and denim – all carefully created to put the “fun” in “functional.”

Our microsuede fabric is made with a durable, high-performance polyester, while corduroy and double-brushed microsuede are made using a polyester-nylon blend. Denim is made from 100% polyester, with a woven twill construction.

All four fabrics are equally soft, durable, and buildable, but there are some differences in texture.

The magic of microsuede

Classic microsuede is our original, high-performance polyester, and the smoothest-feeling fabric in the collection. 

It has a suede-like finish — hence the name! — and it’s durable enough to withstand just about anything, including the test of time. The longer you use it, the softer your microsuede gets.

Double the (microsuede) love

Double-brushed microsuede is very similar, but it’s brushed twice during production to create little grooves that give the fabric deeper dimension and a soft, luxe texture. It also has a slight sheen in certain lighting.

We’ve found that the small grooves of our double-brushed microsuede can help hide pet hair and debris, making it a great option for homes with four-legged family members!

Corduroy: A blast from the past

Our third fabric in our play furniture fabric fam is a super-soft blast from the past: Corduroy! Its ridges (we call ’em “wales” in the biz) are medium weight, providing a plush texture with plenty of grip for your most ambitious builds.

Delightful denim

Denim is the newest addition to our fabric line-up. Forget your old pair of stiff, distressed jeans — Nuggety denim has a bit of stretch to it, and it’s even softer than the softest pair you own. 

What about pet hair?

In general, we recommend matching your play furniture color to your pet's fur color whenever possible. If you have a darker pet, a darker color would work great to help hide any hair. If you have a lighter pet, a lighter color would be your best bet. We've also found that the texture and dimension of double-brushed microsuede can help hide pet hair a bit better than its peers. 

Like all upholstery and fabric products (especially ones being played with on the floor), some pet hair is inevitable, but we've found that a quick swipe with a lint roller cleans it right up.

Choices, choices

So: Which Nugget play furniture fabric should you get? You could spend all day reading Nugget reviews or hunting for “nugget microsuede vs double brushed Reddit” hot takes, or you could order a set of Nugget Fabric Swatches and see what they feel like IRL! One sample set includes all current solid colors, and it just costs $10. (You can then apply that $10 as a credit toward your future purchase of play furniture or Cover Sets!)

Bonus: Swatches are also a great way to check out our Nuggety colors in your own space! We also offer a digital Compare Colors tool here on the site that lets you see multiple colors side by side on your screen. We offer varied color options between the Nugget play couch, Chunk play ottoman, and Smore™ play chair, so you’ve got tons to choose from.

One last note before we go: While we offer four fabulous fabrics across our play furniture all-stars, some of our fabrics are only offered on select product lines.