Naples Fabric vs Plush Velvet | Which Is Best?

Naples fabric and plush velvet are the two most requested upholstery choices for Style Beds bed frames and ottoman beds Naples Fabric Bed offers a soft, tightly woven texture with a subtle low sheen finish. In contrast, plush velvet delivers a deeper pile, richer light catching sheen and a wider colour range for those wanting a bolder look. The right choice comes down to how much texture and shine you want in the bedroom versus how much colour choice matters to you.

Both fabrics are hard wearing, easy to live with day to day and available across our full range of upholstered bed frames and ottoman storage beds but they’re built differently and behave differently once they’re in your home. Naples is the fabric people reach for when they want something tactile and understated, with a flatter weave that resists flattening in high traffic spots like the base of the frame. Plush velvet is the choice when the bed is meant to be the rooms statement piece it has more depth, more shine under light and comes in 26 colours compared to Naples 11, making it the go to for anyone building a bedroom around a specific shade.

This guide breaks down how the two fabrics differ in feel, durability, appearance and upkeep, so you can choose the one that suits your bedroom rather than guessing from a swatch photo.

What Is Naples Fabric?

Naples is a soft, tightly woven upholstery fabric with a smooth, low sheen finish that gives a bed frame a relaxed, understated look rather than a glossy one. It sits somewhere between linen and light suede in feel firm enough to hold its shape on a headboard and soft enough to feel inviting against your back when you are sat up in bed reading or watching TV.

How Naples Is Made and Feels

Naples uses a denser, flatter weave than velvet, which gives it a slightly matte, textured surface rather than a shiny one. That tighter construction also makes it more forgiving in daily use because there no deep pile to crush or shade, Naples resists the pressure marks and shine marking that can show up on plusher fabrics after regular contact, particularly at the base of a headboard where you lean back most often.

Naples Fabric Colour Range (11 Shades)

Naples is available in 11 colourways across Style Beds bed frames and ottoman divans, spanning a mix of neutral, muted and warmer tones. The range is built for understated bedroom schemes rather than statement colour choices it’s the fabric people choose when they want the bed frame to feel calm and grounding, not the rooms focal point.

What Is Plush Velvet?

Plush velvet Beds is a deep pile upholstery fabric with a soft, luxurious feel & a distinctive sheen that shifts as light hits it from different angles. It’s the fabric most associated with a rich, boutique hotel look visually the more dramatic of the two options and the one people choose when they want the bed frame to be the room’s standout feature.

How Plush Velvet Is Made and Feels

The deeper pile is what gives plush velvet its signature softness and sheen light catches the raised fibres differently depending on the angle you view it from, which is why the same fabric can look lighter or darker across a single headboard. That same pile also means velvet reacts to touch and pressure, naturally showing shading or brush marks where it’s been pressed. This isn’t a fault or sign of poor quality; it’s simply how a deep pile fabric behaves and light brushing restores the surface to its original look.

Plush Velvet Colour Range (26 Shades)

Plush velvet comes in 26 colours, more than double the range available in Naples, making it the fabric of choice for anyone building a bedroom around a specific shade from deep jewel tones like emerald and midnight blue to soft, muted neutrals. That breadth of choice is a big part of why plush velvet remains the most requested upholstery option across Style Beds velvet bed frames range.

Naples vs Plush Velvet Key Differences

The core difference between Naples and plush velvet comes down to weave and pile Naples is flat woven with a low sheen finish, while plush velvet has a deep pile that catches light and feels noticeably softer to the touch. Everything else how each fabric wears, how it looks under different lighting and how much upkeep it needs follows from that one structural difference.

Texture and Feel

Naples has a smooth, uniform surface that feels closer to a heavyweight linen, firm enough to hold its shape without feeling stiff. Plush velvet has real depth and softness under the hand, with a plush, cushioned feel that makes the difference between the two fabrics obvious the moment you touch a swatch of each.

Durability and Everyday Wear

Naples tighter weave makes it slightly more forgiving in high contact areas like the base of a headboard, since there no deep pile to crush or shade with regular use. Plush velvet’s pile will show pressure marks over time a natural characteristic of deep pile fabric rather than a sign of wear and these marks settle back with a light brushing in the direction of the pile.

Appearance and Light Reflection

Plush velvet catches and reflects light as you move around it, which gives it a richer, more dramatic appearance in a room. Naples has a flatter, more matte surface that doesn’t shift with light the same way, giving it a calmer, more neutral look under the same lighting conditions.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Both fabrics follow the same basic routine vacuum regularly with a soft upholstery attachment and blot spills promptly with a clean cloth. Velvet benefits from an occasional brush in one direction to keep the pile looking even, while Naples flatter weave needs less regular attention to hold its appearance day to day.

Which Fabric Suits Your Bedroom Style?

The right fabric depends on whether you want your bed to blend calmly into the room or become its focal point Naples suits understated, neutral schemes, while plush velvet suits bolder, more dramatic ones. Both work equally well with Style Beds bed frames and ottoman beds, so the decision really comes down to the mood you want the bedroom to have.

Naples for a Relaxed, Textured Look

Naples suits bedrooms built around neutral or muted colour palettes, Scandinavian inspired schemes, or spaces where the bed should feel calm and grounding rather than the centre of attention. Its flat weave and low sheen let other elements in the room soft furnishings, artwork, lighting do more of the visual work, while the Naples bed frame provides a quiet, textured backdrop.

Plush Velvet for a Bold, Luxe Statement

Plush velvet suits bedrooms built around a strong colour scheme or a more glamorous, boutique hotel aesthetic, where the bed frame is the rooms standout feature. With 26 colours to choose from, it’s easy to build the entire room around a single striking shade from a deep emerald headboard to a soft blush that still catches the light with real depth, right across our Velvet Bed Frames collection.

Naples and Plush Velvet on Ottoman Beds

Fabric choice doesn’t affect how an ottoman bed’s storage mechanism works Naples and plush velvet are both available across Style Beds Ottoman Divans Beds Frame, so choosing between the two comes down purely to look and feel rather than function or lift capacity.

Does Fabric Choice Affect Ottoman Storage Beds?

No the gas lift or manual ottoman mechanism performs identically whether the frame is upholstered in Naples or plush velvet, since the storage function sits in the base construction rather than the fabric itself. That means you can choose between Naples and plush velvet ottoman beds for the same reasons you’d choose it on a standard bed frame texture, sheen and colour range, not storage durability. For anyone weighing up plush velvet vs Naples specifically for an ottoman bed, the deciding factor is simply which finish suits the room a low sheen Naples base for a calmer look, or a plush velvet finish for a more dramatic one with the added practical benefit of clutter free underbed storage either way.

Care and Cleaning Tips for Both Fabrics

Naples and plush velvet both stay looking their best with light, regular maintenance rather than intensive cleaning a weekly vacuum and prompt attention to spills is enough to keep either fabric in good condition for years. The main difference in upkeep comes down to velvet’s pile, which needs the occasional extra step Naples doesn’t.

Vacuum both fabrics weekly using a soft upholstery attachment to lift dust and surface debris before it settles into the weave. If something spills, blot it immediately with a clean, dry cloth rather than rubbing rubbing pushes liquid deeper into the fibres and can spread the mark, especially on velvet’s deeper pile. Keep both fabrics out of prolonged direct sunlight, since UV exposure will gradually fade any upholstery fabric over time, including Naples and plush velvet.

Plush velvet benefits from one extra step an occasional soft brush in the direction of the pile keeps the surface looking even and restores its natural sheen after use has flattened or shaded it in places. Naples, thanks to its flatter weave, doesn’t need this step a vacuum and the occasional wipe down is generally all it takes to keep it looking as good as the day it arrived.

Why Choose Style Beds Naples or Plush Velvet Frames

Every Naples or plush velvet bed frame from Style Beds is handcrafted to order in Dewsbury, West York shire and backed by a 3 year warranty, a 30 night trial and free UK delivery so whichever fabric you choose, it’s built properly and protected if anything isn’t right. That combination of craftsmanship and cover is what separates a bed frame you’ll still love in five years from one that starts looking tired within one.

Handcrafted in Dewsbury, Yorkshire

Every Style Beds frame, whether upholstered in Naples or plush velvet, is handcrafted in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, rather than mass produced overseas. That means closer attention to how each fabric is applied and finished from the tension of the weave on a Naples headboard to the direction of the pile on a plush velvet one so the finished bed looks as good in person as it does in photos.

3 Year Warranty, 30 Night Trial, Free UK Delivery

Every bed frame comes with a 3 year warranty covering the frame and mechanism, a 30 night trial so you can properly live with your chosen fabric before committing and free UK delivery as standard. That trial period matters, especially when choosing between two fabrics as different as Naples and plush velvet it’s one thing to compare swatches and another to see how the finish looks and feels in your own bedroom lighting for a month.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

What is Naples fabric made from?

Naples is a tightly woven upholstery fabric engineered for a smooth, low sheen, matte finish rather than the deep pile and shine of velvet. That flatter construction gives it an understated, textured look and makes it more resistant to shading in high contact areas like a headboard.

Is plush velvet or Naples fabric more durable?

Both are hard wearing upholstery fabrics suited to daily use. Naples flatter weave resists shading and crushing slightly better in high contact spots, while plush velvet’s pile naturally shows pressure marks over time this is a normal characteristic of deep pile fabric rather than a sign of poor durability and it settles back with light brushing.

Which fabric is easier to clean?

Both fabrics follow the same basic maintenance routine vacuum weekly with a soft upholstery attachment and blot spills immediately. Plush velvet needs one extra step an occasional brush in the direction of the pile while Naples flatter weave needs no additional attention beyond that.

Can I get an ottoman bed in Naples fabric?

Yes, Naples and plush velvet are both available across the full Ottoman Divans range, with the fabric choice affecting only the look and feel of the bed, not the storage mechanism or lift capacity underneath.

Does Naples fabric fade over time?

Like any upholstery fabric, Naples can fade with prolonged direct sunlight exposure, so it’s best kept out of intense, constant sun near windows to preserve its colour over the years.