Fabric and Finish Selections on a Hospitality Furniture Order: Choose Them, Ask for Proposals, or Supply Your Own (COM)
Choose the finish, ask for proposals, or supply your own fabric. Whichever route you use, approve one reference and carry it into drawings, samples and inspection.
Fabric and finish selection is an approval system, not a line that says “beige” or “walnut”. On a hospitality furniture order, every seating, casegood and fixed-joinery source needs the same approved references, even though the package is split across several production lines.
There are three workable routes: the project team selects the exact fabric and finish; FBM Furniture proposes options against the brief; or the project supplies its own material, known as COM. This article explains what changes under each route and what does not. For the definition and workflow of COM itself, see our separate guide to customer’s own material; this page focuses on choosing and coordinating the whole finish package.
Route 1: you select the exact references
Send the fabric, leather, laminate, veneer, paint or metal-finish reference with the item schedule. For a named material, include the supplier, collection, code and colour rather than a photograph alone. If the reference has performance requirements, send those with it.
The source then confirms availability and the construction that will use it. A fabric approved for one chair does not automatically cover another chair with a different foam, seam or fire route. Keep the approved reference beside every item number.
Route 2: ask us to propose options
Send the design intent, colour direction, performance requirement and budget position. We collect physical options from the relevant production lines and group them by item and room. The proposal is not approval: colour, texture and sheen are judged on physical samples, in the project lighting where possible.
Record the selected code and keep one signed or otherwise documented approval reference. If a later substitution is proposed, it returns to the same approval path.
Route 3: supply your own material (COM)
Tell us at quotation stage which items use COM and provide the material specification. The chair or upholstery source needs usable width, pattern repeat and direction, roll lengths, backing, defects policy and any required performance evidence. Quantity has to allow for pattern matching, cutting and waste.
COM does not remove the need for a production sample. The exact supplied material has to be checked on the intended foam, seam and frame construction before bulk production.
Build one finish schedule
Create one register with item code, room, component, material type, supplier and code, colour, sheen or texture, edge or seam detail, sample status, approval date and approved-reference location. For timber-looking pieces, separate core, face, edge and clear-coat or stain. For metal, separate base metal, pretreatment and visible finish. For upholstery, separate cover, foam and any barrier.
The register is the bridge between design approval and procurement. It prevents two sources from interpreting one mood-board image differently.
Send the finish schedule as it is
Send the room-by-room item list, drawings, references already selected, and mark any COM items. We will organise the remaining fabric and finish approvals by production line.
Approve in the right order
- Freeze the item and component list.
- Shortlist physical materials and finish samples.
- Approve the material code and colour.
- Approve a product sample or finish panel showing the real substrate and construction.
- Reference the approved sample in the drawing and purchase documents.
- Use the same reference at the inspection after bulk production is finished.
What changes when several factories make the package
Seating, casegoods, metal frames and fixed joinery come from different production lines. One hospitality palette therefore needs several controlled samples: the veneer or laminate on casegoods, the stain on timber chair frames, the powder coat on metal bases and the fabric on upholstery.
FBM Furniture coordinates those rounds and keeps the approved references against the item list. The sources remain separate; the room still has to read as one package.
What to send with the schedule
- The item list and quantities, room by room.
- Drawings for custom pieces.
- Material references already selected.
- The performance requirements for each material.
- Whether any fabric or leather is COM.
- The destination, so the evidence route can be checked before quotation.
Where FBM Furniture fits
FBM Furniture is the furniture sourcing line of FBM Sourcing Limited. We are a sourcing agent and do not manufacture or sell a fixed range. We split the package across the production lines that make each item, coordinate drawings and samples, and keep one approved fabric and finish register.
When bulk production is finished and before shipment, our own team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, fabric and foam, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, with photos and video. Your project team is welcome to attend.
Frequently asked questions
Can FBM Furniture propose fabrics and finishes?
Yes. Send the design direction and performance requirements and we can collect physical options from the relevant production lines. The project team approves the final references before production.
What does COM mean?
COM means customer’s own material: fabric or another covering supplied or nominated by the project. Identify it at quotation stage and provide the material specification, usable width, repeat and direction.
Is a digital colour image enough for approval?
No. Use physical samples for colour, texture and sheen, then approve a product sample or finish panel on the actual substrate and construction.
How do several sources keep one finish consistent?
Use one finish register with exact codes and approved samples against each item. Every source works to the same documented reference, and any substitution returns for approval.
When is the finish checked?
It is approved before production and checked again by our own team after bulk production is finished and before shipment, against the signed-off specification and sample.
Send the finish schedule as it is
Send the room-by-room item list, drawings, references already selected, and mark any COM items. We will organise the remaining fabric and finish approvals by production line.