Our quilted velvet upholstery shines in The Highway Hotel [CASE STUDY]

The Highway Hotel, located in Plympton, South Australia, recently underwent an exciting redesign of its dining area. As a popular local venue and function destination, The Highway Hotel wanted to elevate the atmosphere and customer experience in the space while also addressing the practical needs of a high-traffic dining room.

This case study looks at how FibreGuard’s easy clean custom upholstery contributed to achieving the venue's goals. The project was supplied by Zepel Fabrics.

The Challenge: Creating a high-end yet practical restaurant interior

The Highway Hotel wanted to redesign its interior to have a more upscale, luxurious aesthetic that would attract a high-end clientele. However, as a busy restaurant and bar, The Highway also needed fabrics that could stand up to heavy use and be easy to clean.

With constantly full booking sheets, quick table turnover, and patrons dining late into the night, The Highway's dining booths endure plenty of wear and tear. Food and drink spills are inevitable in a bustling venue. The original upholstery fabrics simply could not be cleaned properly and began showing unsightly stains very quickly.

The designers faced the challenge of finding a luxe aesthetic through soft, beautiful textiles that could also handle intensive, daily use. The fabric had to be inherently stain-resistant and easy to clean so the dining booths would maintain their refined appearance over many years of use. This was a tall order in the hotel's quest to provide high-end amenities with the practicality required in hospitality interiors.

How FibreGuard's upholstery fabrics were chosen for The Highway Hotel

The designers at SURROUND INTERIORS by Fleur found the perfect solution for The Highway Hotel's needs with FibreGuard's luxurious quilted velvet fabric, seen here in a stunning gold colour. This rich, elegant velvet brings an upscale, sophisticated look and feel to the booths, while FibreGuard's stain resistance technology ensures our velvet will stay looking pristine and beautiful for years. No need for frequent steam cleaning that degrades fabric over time. Our fabrics look fantastic day after day with minimal maintenance.

The quilted velvet pattern adds dimension and depth, accentuating the plush, cushy booths that encourage lingering and relaxed conversation.

We’re proud to empower designers all over the world with the confidence to select light-coloured velvet knowing that stains will not permanently damage the appearance or durability of our fabrics.

The Highway Hotel's beautiful dining booths highlight how FibreGuard's easy clean velvet offers great aesthetics without sacrificing performance and textile stability.

Fabric Specifications

Combining the eternal appeal of velvet with the hot trend of quilting, this particular upholstery collection blazes a trail with its aesthetic appeal and practical sensibility. It features three quilted qualities of pure plush velvet, reminiscent of cotton velvet. The fabric has a sumptuous hand feel, enveloping diners in velvety softness as they sit in the booths.

While rich in appearance, this FibreGuard velvet is engineered with resilience in mind. The material has a high count of 200,000 Wyzenbeek double rubs, meaning it can withstand heavy use and traffic over time without losing its integrity. Stain resistance is also excellent thanks to our signature FibreGuard protection: even though you may have an accidental spill, our stain-free technology ensures that, wash after wash, your stain will be removed.

Learn more: Abrasion testing for performance fabrics: explaining Martindale and Wyzenbeek

Thoughtful details like these allow the velvet to maintain its beauty while withstanding the rigors of a busy dining establishment. Patrons can enjoy the elegant atmosphere without worrying about wear and tear issues down the road. Specifying this well-crafted velvet ensures the design vision for The Highway Hotel will hold up for years to come.

Fabric performance in high traffic spaces

Our FibreGuard velvet upholstery featured in The Highway Hotel has performed exceptionally well under heavy use in the high traffic dining area. The quilted velvet booths endure dozens of guests daily yet continue to maintain their luxurious look and feel thanks to the inbuilt stain resistance and impressive durability that make up the FibreGuard promise.

Our velvet has resisted staining from food and drinks, even notoriously troublesome items like red wine, ketchup, and curry sauces. When the occasional stain has occurred, it has been easily removed with water and mild soap if needed, without damaging the fabric or leaving an unsightly remnant water mark. Check out our full cleaning hub here.

In terms of wear and tear, the booths maintain their plush, quilted texture without pilling or fraying, even along high abrasion areas like seat cushions and table edges. The velvet has retained its vibrant colour as well, even through frequent sunlight exposure in the dining area.

The easy clean properties and long-lasting durability of FibreGuard have made maintenance easy for staff while providing guests an elegant dining experience. Its stellar performance under intense real-world conditions only highlights the value of specifying FibreGuard for hospitality and commercial spaces.

Zepel Fabrics as the supplier of FibreGuard to the designers

Founded in 1978, Zepel has over 40 years’ experience providing high quality fabric to the Australian residential and commercial markets. They supplied FibreGuard easy clean quilted velvet upholstery for The Highway Hotel. Over the decades, Zepel Fabrics has grown into one of the country's leading textile brands, offering a wide range of innovative and high-performance fabrics for hospitality, healthcare, education, office, and residential settings.

Zepel Fabrics are known for their expertise in providing custom fabric solutions made locally to meet the unique needs of the Australian and New Zealand markets. With an emphasis on quality, sustainability and service, Zepel Fabrics aims to deliver exception fabric products while building collaborative partnerships with interior designers, architects, specifiers and end-users.

Visit their website for showroom information.

Interior design of the dining area

The stylish interior design of The Highway Hotel was handled by SURROUND INTERIORS led by principal designer Fleur Linke. Their goal was to create a chic yet relaxed ambiance, playing with light and textures throughout the dining area.

Fleur opted to use rich quilted velvet on the booth seating to accentuate the intimate feel of the space. The fabric adds a touch of luxury while remaining durable enough for a high traffic restaurant. Custom banquettes with elegant button tufting were designed to allow guests to dine comfortably for hours.

In addition to the velvet booths, Fleur incorporated marble dining tables, wooden accents, discreet light fixtures, and acrylic pendant lights to complete the aesthetic. Pops of plants and greenery connect the indoor area with the restaurant's al fresco garden dining area. The cohesive decor transports diners to a polished but welcoming oasis in the heart of Plympton.

Advantages of using FibreGuard fabrics in the dining area booths

The newly designed restaurant and bar at The Highway Hotel has been a huge success since opening with its new interior featuring FibreGuard easy clean upholstery. Feedback from the hotel's management and staff has been extremely positive.

“The luxurious quilted velvet booths make a bold style statement in the dining area while also meeting the practical needs of a busy hotel restaurant. Staff have commented too on how easy it is to wipe away spills and stains from the FibreGuard fabric, keeping the booths always looking fresh and clean with minimal daily maintenance.” – The Highway Hotel Management Team

Guests frequently compliment the stylish and inviting ambiance of the redesigned space, and many regulars have commented positively on the changes. The hotel owner is delighted with increased revenue and positive guest reviews praising the dining experience.

Overall, the project has exceeded expectations and positioned The Highway Hotel as a premier destination for dining and drinking in the local community and for travellers passing through. The interior redesign featuring FibreGuard has had measurable success for the venue.

Key benefits that FibreGuard brought to this specific location

The Highway Hotel project highlights the key benefits of using FibreGuard easy clean upholstery fabrics:

• Enhanced stain resistance - FibreGuard's proprietary coating allows spills to bead up so they can be easily wiped away, preventing stains from setting into the fabric. This is ideal for high traffic dining areas.
• Durability - FibreGuard fabrics hold up well to repeated use and cleaning without losing their appearance or becoming damaged. The quilted velvet used in the booths retains its luxurious look over time.
• Cost savings - The stain resistance and durability of FibreGuard fabrics save on maintenance and replacement costs compared to uncoated upholstery fabrics. Less frequent deep cleaning and reduced need for replacements improve the bottom line.
• Aesthetic appeal - FibreGuard fabrics are available in a wide range of colours, patterns, and textures to complement any interior design vision. The rich quilted velvet featured here enhances the upscale ambiance.
• Guest experience - Spill and stain resistance allows for quick wipe ups so guests aren't inconvenienced by soiled furnishings during their stay. This contributes to a polished environment.

The benefits of FibreGuard easy clean upholstery fabrics make them an excellent choice for commercial hospitality interiors like The Highway Hotel. Their performance allows the space to maintain its sophisticated style over years of use.

Explore our other case studies.

High performance commercial fabrics you can trust

We hope this case study has shown how FibreGuard's easy clean upholstery can elevate any hospitality or commercial space. With unbeatable stain resistance and durability, our luxurious quilted velvet will withstand high traffic areas while maintaining its beauty.

To learn more about FibreGuard performance fabrics and to request free samples for your next interior design project, contact us! Our team is ready to help you choose the perfect fabric to bring your vision to life, and point you to your nearest stockist.