Cotton and linen fabrics are the most practical, durable and very suitable for sofa upholstery
Silk is the most expensive and high-maintenance fabric
Microfiber is similar to velvet but without its drawbacks
Satin and chiffon are suitable for accessories and curtains and give beauty and delicacy to the home

<The choice of fabrics for home furnishings is an important and sometimes difficult task due to the variety of fabric materials in our markets, and the options for fabrics are no longer limited to a limited number of types that man finds and weaves from the raw materials available around him. The development of industry and discovery has created different types of fabrics and materials that were not known before, and fabrics have become an important part of the selection and coordination task for homeowners, as they enter the manufacture of everything around us at home, from sofas and chairs to curtains and bedspreads to various home accessories. In this issue of Amlak Real Estate Newspaper, we found it appropriate to address the most important upholstery fabrics available in our markets to make it easier for you, dear reader, to choose.
Many textiles have natural roots, either from agriculture or grazing that produce plant or animal fibers, but the development of industry has contributed to increasing the types of furnishing fabrics and offering us synthetic types modified from natural ones to be thicker and more practical. In our report for this issue, we will list the most important fabrics that are used in the furniture industry and we will explain to you, our esteemed reader, their advantages, disadvantages, source, and cost in the next few lines.

Cotton

Cotton
Cotton on the market is divided into two main types, one of which is the natural cotton known since ancient times, extracted in the form of natural fibers from the natural cotton tree that are ginned and manufactured to finally obtain natural cotton fabrics. The other type is synthetic cotton, which is produced after processing polyester. Both types we find in our markets as suitable options for upholstery fabrics and are characterized by their soft and comfortable fabrics and high thickness to withstand high temperatures and use, and they are practical and easy to clean, wash, and care, so cotton fabrics of both types are suitable for use in all parts of the house, especially sofas, curtains, and accessories. The price of cotton fabrics is moderately priced, but synthetic cotton has a lower price than natural because it is lower quality and less soft.
Linen
Linen fabric is extracted from the flax plant, which was widespread in Egypt and was used by the pharaohs for embalming. This fabric is one of the fabrics similar to cotton in terms of its practicality and endurance, it is a thick and practical fabric in use and can be easily cleaned and tolerate washing, so it is suitable for bedspreads and sofa upholstery, also linen is characterized by its medium price and has multiple patterns and colors. One of the disadvantages of this fabric is that it is less soft than cotton and easy to wrinkle, so it is not recommended for use in home accessories or curtains.
Silk
Silk has been known since ancient times in China, as it was the largest place where silkworms were found, which secreted a substance that was later frozen to produce silk fibers. But nowadays, a manufactured silk fiber known as “rayon” is made from wood pulp or cotton lint after ginning. Both types are characterized by their luxury, softness and lightness, but the softness of these fabrics needs care in use and cleaning these fabrics needs special care, so we find that silk fabric is more prevalent in home accessories and silk threads are used in embroidering furniture to add a luxurious character to it. We also find silk as a complete fabric in luxurious bedspreads and some types of luxurious carpets such as Iranian carpets because silk is the most expensive type of fabric.
Satin
Satin is a lustrous fabric made by mixing a number of synthetic fibers with cotton fibers that contain substances that increase the luster of this fabric and its gloss This fabric is characterized by its smooth texture and this fabric retains its texture to be highly anti-crease. This fabric requires moderate care in cleaning and ironing, so it is very suitable for accessories, especially curtains, because it gives it elegance and luxury. The price of satin fabrics is medium and varies in types, colors and patterns. Chiffon
It is a soft fabric made of cotton, silk, and various other fibers, and the uses of chiffon are widespread as a complementary accessory or as a complementary and complementary fabric for room furniture fabrics. Chiffon comes in many colors and many of them are embroidered with beautiful designs that give it beauty and luxury, so this fabric is suitable for tablecloths and curtains, especially in rooms where we want to let light in.
Velvet
There are two types of velvet fabrics, one of which is made from different fibers such as silk, cotton, wool, and linen. This fabric is characterized by its absolute luxury, and it is the thickest type of fabric, but it is easy to collect dust and loses its luster quickly if it is not cleaned regularly. The other is microfiber, which is very similar to velvet but cheaper, more stain-resistant, and easier to clean. Both types of velvet are suitable for use throughout the home as upholstery for sofas and chairs, accessories, tablecloths and bedding, and curtains, especially in places that are intended to darken the space, such as bedrooms. Velvet is preferred in low-temperature areas because it emits heat, and velvet is also preferred in desert areas because it is easy to collect dust.
Wool
Wool fabric is made by using animal tissues extracted from the hair of cattle and has been known since ancient times, but nowadays synthetic wool is widespread, which is processed and mixed with other fibers to make wool more practical and less expensive. Wool fabric is thick, suitable for cold places and easy to care for, and its use in bedding and some accessories is widespread but limited. Wool is subtle and common in the carpets we find under our feet, especially in heritage furniture such as floor seating and hair houses.

Leather
Leather has been in common use since ancient times, as leather cloth was produced by tanning and dyeing animal skins and then used in various aspects of life such as water transportation, horse saddles and shoe making due to its thickness and waterproofing. Natural leather is still available, but its high price has prompted the manufacture of less expensive non-natural leather, which is made by mixing some fibers with different chemicals and dyed in many different colors. Leather is widely used in office seating, sofas, and chairs due to its thickness, luxury, quality, and ease of cleaning by wiping it with a special detergent. Care should be taken to keep sharp objects away from the leather to prevent perforation.

<The Gulf countries of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led the Arab performance in the index, occupying the top six positions. The Investment Climate Report, which this year witnessed a completely new methodology in monitoring the investment climate and the attractiveness of Arab countries for foreign direct investment, stated that Jordan came seventh in the Arab world with 31.2 points and ranked 57th globally, followed by Tunisia in eighth place in the Arab world and ranked 60th globally, then Lebanon in ninth place in the Arab world and ranked 64th globally, followed by Morocco in tenth place in the Arab world and ranked 66th globally.

Egypt ranked 11th in the Arab world with a score of 27.4 points and ranked 67th globally, followed by Libya in 12th place in the Arab world and ranked 78th globally, and Algeria in 13th place in the Arab world and ranked 82nd globally.
The group of countries that performed very poorly in terms of attractiveness to foreign investment (well below the global average) included Syria, Yemen, Mauritania and Sudan.
Globally, the report showed that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries dominated the top positions in the overall investment attractiveness index, led by the United States with 67.6 points, followed by Germany in second place globally with 66.4 points, and the United Kingdom in third place globally with 60.7 points.
Financial flows
Reports have also indicated that the Kingdom topped the MENA region in the volume of financial flows in May with $308 million, followed by Qatar and Dubai with $131 million and $129 million, respectively, according to Deutsche Bank's report.
Alexander Stafanowski, author of the study and research analyst at Deutsche Bank, said that the MENA markets recorded their highest levels of funding flows in the last five years, with inflows rising to $655 million in May 2013, a record level compared to the total outflows during the same period in 2012, which amounted to $192 million, adding that the region's markets recorded one billion dollars in net funding flows since the beginning of this year.

He emphasized that the recent revision of the Morgan Stanley index, which resulted in the inclusion of the UAE and Qatar markets in the emerging markets index, reflects the increasing confidence of foreign investors, and will benefit the markets of the region, to represent